Frequently Asked Questions - Foundation Software

A man in black t-shirt Fred Ode is the original founder of Foundation Software, LLC.

Fred Ode, founder of Foundation SoftwareFred started the company in 1985 after his experience working with other construction software programs. He saw that the industry lacked a software package powerful enough to meet its unique accounting demands while being flexible enough to meet a client’s specific needs.

Today Fred is a minority owner of the company, aligned with CEO Mike Ode and Thoma Bravo to put the people and processes in place.

FOUNDATION Software has a long history of success and has carefully planned for longevity. We’ve been in business since 1985, and we’ve turned a profit every one of those years. This cash has been carefully reinvested in our research and development efforts as well as in liquid reserves to ensure the company’s stability even in an economic downturn. Our executive team also includes a Chief Growth Officer, who’s primary responsibility is to find new entry points for our company and keep us innovating within the market so our sustainable growth continues. As a result, we can confidently say that we’ll be around for a long time to grow and support FOUNDATION construction accounting software.

FOUNDATION is specifically designed for contractors, many of whom are union or work prevailing wage jobs. We work hard to ensure that all aspects of the system will work under the various complex requirements of local unions and government authorities. We easily accommodate union payroll and reporting (including multiple unions and home/away logic) as well as certified payroll, or, Davis-Bacon functions.

All FOUNDATION data is stored in a Microsoft® SQL Server® database, which boasts extensive security, including password encryption and built-in measures to protect data in the event of hardware failure. In addition, FOUNDATION has integrated security features that let you control each user’s access to individual windows. It offers separate payroll security to protect sensitive salary information as well as optional project manager security to protect job cost information by the manager on each job. A thorough audit trail is maintained so that all voids, reversals and adjustments are saved and can be reported.

We maintain a directory of CPA firms who work with construction clients, some of which work with FOUNDATION clients. We do not specifically endorse any of these firms; however, we are known for accommodating CPAs and are preferred by many. If your current CPA is not familiar with FOUNDATION, we offer documentation and other services specifically for CPAs to help them understand how the system works and its advantages for both you and them. For more information on these services, please visit our CPA Overview page.

There are many reasons why FOUNDATION stands above its competition. Among them are:

Better technology. FOUNDATION is built on Microsoft® SQL Server®, one of the most powerful and secure databases available. That means technology built from the ground up with a commitment to continuous improvement, something our clients understand well.
Complete date sensitivity, meaning that any report can be run for any date. This allows you to run financial statements, aging reports, etc., for any time period in the history of your database.
Doesn’t force a hard-close. FOUNDATION construction accounting software offers features to “lock down” the dates of transactions but also has the flexibility to allow adjustments into prior periods, further maintaining date sensitivity on reports.
Fully integrated general ledger and job costing. This allows you to run financial statements by job—an excellent tool for really seeing with precise data the impact of each job on your business.
Powerful defaulting. Data entry in FOUNDATION is much easier to use than in its competitors because so much information can input automatically based on your customized setup. For example, to enter an invoice, you may have to complete as little as four fields. The rest of the information can be set just once to default every time, with easy overrides.
Superior training and support. Training to go live on the system is included in your purchase price, as is six months of toll-free phone support, Web support, online help and regular updates. Many systems have hidden training and support costs and are much more difficult to set up on your own.

Get information on the features of FOUNDATION, or contact our sales department.

FOUNDATION is programmed, sold and supported out of our headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, and several satellite offices. Because we carefully interview, hire and train all of the staff involved with FOUNDATION, we can ensure that all of our employees are well-educated in our software and that they follow the Foundation Software philosophy. While our home office might not be in your backyard, we promise that when you work with our sales and support departments, it will feel just like we’re just down the road!

The answer depends on many variables, such as the amount of data to transfer, the number of people involved with data transfer and training, etc. Some clients have gone live quickly. Others take a bit longer. On average implementation takes a couple months to complete. Planning the implementation and creating an individualized timeline for your company will be an important step in the process. Rest assured that we have developed a systematic approach and will work with you every step of the way to ensure a painless and successful conversion.

Foundation Software offers support out of our headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio. We do not use dealers or outside sales or support representatives because we believe we can ensure higher-quality service from one centralized location. All of our support representatives and trainers go through an extensive training process to ensure that the best possible help will be available for you. In addition, we offer a toll-free telephone number with extended support hours so that a live staff is available through business hours even on the West Coast. Our phone is always answered by a real person—no automated systems or long on-hold times to deal with! And you can easily convey the urgency of your call. If you’re in the middle of payroll or have a CPA or computer specialist on-site, your call will take priority.