Contractor Success Map With Randal Dehart | Contractor Bookkeeping And Accounting Services

This Podcast Is Episode Number 433, And It's About Why Smart Construction Business Owners Never Stop Marketing One classic mistake construction business owners make when money gets tight is stopping marketing or cutting their budgets. At first glance, it seems logical to cut down your expenses during harsh economic conditions. However, in reality, it's the opposite of what you should do.   When your construction company is struggling, cutting your marketing budget will further hurt your business. During this time, you should go the extra mile to be at the forefront of the minds of your clients and prospects. With an effective marketing strategy, you should be able to increase sales.   However, if you need to tighten your belt, here are some steps you can take instead of putting a pause on your marketing efforts. 1. Be strategic about how you spend your money. First of all, don't waste money. This sounds simple, but in reality, many construction business owners are not mindful of their spending. Be strategi

This Podcast Is Episode Number 432, And It's About Cash Flow Advice For Construction Businesses Solid cash flow management is vital to ensuring your business survives, but not everyone understands what cash flow is or how to manage it. That's likely what makes it a leading cause of stress for construction business owners.   Cash flow refers to the movement of money into and out of your business. It's based on the amount of money you bring in minus the amount you spend. A positive cash flow means you're bringing in more than you're spending. A negative cash flow means you aren't bringing in enough to cover your expenses. Your company can run into problems by not charging enough for goods or services, having late-paying clients chronically, growing too quickly, or simply spending too much money.   Without proper tracking and matching of income and expenses, most construction companies never know if they made a profit until the job is over. Cash flow can vary throughout the year, depending on sales cycles or w

This Podcast Is Episode Number 431, And It's About Consequences Of Avoiding Your Construction Bookkeeping Every business needs a financial plan. Your financial plan gives you a way to monitor and review your cash flow, make adjustments to your spending, and anticipate any upcoming economic issues. It can also make you more prepared to request funding or find investors so you can bring more money into your construction business.   Although many business owners are aware that financial planning is essential, it is often overlooked. Without a financial plan, however, you could find your business doesn't make the money you expected it to—or you could wind up with unanticipated expenses and no way of paying for them.   If you are a contractor, you are most likely a "doer," someone who gets things done, not now but right now! When you see anyone not swinging a hammer, drilling holes, pouring concrete, laying carpet, putting paint on the walls, or a thousand other construction tasks, the first thing you think is the

This Podcast Is Episode Number 430 And It's About Five Key Points To Optimize Construction Sales And Profits Owning a construction company and being an employee requires different mindsets and attitudes or paradigms. Both positions are natural enemies and generate tension, leading to various diseases; mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual.   Construction workers live in the real world, where everything can be seen, heard, felt, tasted, and sometimes smelled. They can look around and see evidence of their activities. Their long-term time horizon in years past was two weeks, which is why most payrolls are paid every two weeks. With various check cashing and payday loan outlets, their long-term time horizon has been replaced with now and right now!   However, construction company owners like you work in a world that is intangible and imaginary, where nothing is real or solid. Nothing in this part of their world can be perceived with any of your five senses: Sight, Sound, Feel, Taste or Smell. Your long-te

This Podcast Is Episode Number 429, And It's About The Challenges Of Construction Business Partnership Randalism: A Partnership is the only ship designed to sink. However, we understand your preference, so I would like to talk about it in this blog post. Joint ventures are a bit like change orders. They can be an incredible opportunity to make or lose much money very quickly. Almost as quick as betting money on a roulette wheel in a casino. Joint Ventures have their own accounting rules. The devil is in the details. How costs and profits are shared among the participants depends on how the joint venture is structured and the terms of the agreement. Contractors with annual sales of less than $10,000,000 often get together to work on a specific project. They find a friendly competitor to supply labor and equipment for a percentage of the job, hourly fee, or a flat number. This could technically be a "Joint Venture"; however, the time and scope are generally short and sweet. For example, a concrete contractor ma

This Podcast Is Episode Number 428, And It's About Managing Field Workers Effectively In Your Construction Business The construction manager is conditioned to avoid emergencies by being proactive. It is necessary to have systems in place to deal with emergencies when they arise. After the crisis has passed, the effective project manager evaluates the root cause of the trouble and implements change in the system to avoid a repeat performance. It’s also one thing to manage workers when they’re all in the same place at the same time. However, when you run a construction business with field workers, things can get a lot more challenging. Not only are you typically not on the same job site as them, but you might also have workers scattered over a variety of sites and projects.  Managing them doesn’t just mean scheduling them and making sure they’re progressing on the project, but also knowing how to shift people and equipment between sites to boost productivity. Here are three things you can do to manage field wo

This Podcast Is Episode Number 427, And It's About Consequences Of Avoiding Your Construction Bookkeeping If you ask 100 business owners what they like least about running a business, the chances are good that bookkeeping will rank high on the list. It's an annoying and frustrating chore that takes up much time and is easy to put off until tomorrow. Moreover, Construction Companies have unique bookkeeping needs. Some bookkeepers and bookkeeping systems may cost you more than they are worth in salary, fees, and loss profits because you cannot get QuickBooks reports and financial reports when you need them. Chances are, you are suffering from bookkeeping pain, and your bookkeeper or accountant is overwhelmed trying to figure out how to do construction accounting. Good bookkeeping leads to informed decisions. Avoiding your bookkeeping is dangerous, however. For example, not knowing your construction company's financial situation can result in a series of missteps that could ultimately cost you your business. H

This Podcast Is Episode Number 426, And It's About Construction Business Mid-Year Reminder For Setting And Reviewing Goals How are you and your construction business? Have you considered what you'd like to achieve in the coming twelve to eighteen months? Or maybe your set of priorities for the next half of 2021?   Contractors like you are typically highly creative and optimistic; thus, you often have difficulty narrowing down your ideas from among all the exciting possibilities, whether it's an opportunity to expand to a new market or choose a better time management strategy.    While some of you love planning, others feel overwhelmed by the process. So how do you decide on just a handful of goals that take priority, with so many moving parts that make up a construction business?   1. Set SMART Goals Focus your efforts and increase your chances of achieving your goals by the SMART guideline: Specific, Measurable, Achievable (Attainable), Realistic, and Time-Bound. Start by defining your top three business g

This Podcast Is Episode Number 425, And It's About Digital Disaster Recovery For Your Construction Company Hiring or not hiring employees is one of the few optional things the business owner chooses, changes their mind, or changes direction as needed. With so much discussion about employees, payroll, and payroll taxes, you may feel that you miss out on not hiring many employees. The reality is that as a small business owner, you do not have to hire employees. The two extremes in any business are "Too Many People" (with many looking busy) and "Too Few" (a handful are overloaded). An example of Too Many People is for a midsized firm having everyone with access to the accounting. I mean everyone from the "Shop Guy," Warehouse, Outside Salesman to Accounting Staff. Depending on the size of the construction business, this might be necessary. However, for most companies letting everyone have access to the balance in the company checkbook creates "White Noise" and causes friction. "The company is making all this m

This Podcast Is Episode Number 424, And It's About Five Ways To Make The Most Of Your Construction Business Downtime Every business experiences slow periods when the market for their goods or services lessens and sales drop. Construction business owners like you might be tempted to view downtimes as unproductive or wasted, but there are ways you can make the most of your business during these seasons. Here are five ways to ensure this time isn't wasted: 1. Take a good look at your business When things are busy, it gets easy to fall into a habit of taking care of day-to-day tasks and forgetting your overall business picture. However, slower times are an excellent opportunity to step back from the daily grind and ask yourself if your business is still moving towards its goals, what opportunities or challenges are on the horizon, and whether it's time to try something new. Examine various aspects of your construction business, such as your marketing and sales, to see if they're all working together or if they n

This Podcast Is Episode Number 423, And It's About Rebuilding Trust After A Negative Online Review Online reviews are an essential marketing tool for many small businesses, especially for service-based businesses like yours. They give potential customers and clients a chance to see how effective your goods or services are, how responsive you are to your clients, and what other people's experiences of your business have been. As a result, the vast majority of people check online reviews before making a purchasing decision.   When reviews are great, that's a fantastic thing. But, unfortunately, it's when you get negative reviews that you have to adjust. You can't please all customers all the time.   Here's the thing: a negative review can actually be positive for your business. So how do you rebuild trust after a client has vented their frustrations online? 1. Leave the negative review up.   A negative review doesn't have to be the end of the world. Although customers like to see five-star reviews, they unde

This Podcast Is Episode Number 422, And It's About Digital Disaster Recovery For Your Construction Company Sales are about addressing your customers' needs and problems. By understanding the issues clients face, you can show them how your service solves their problems.  Here are some tips for asking the right sales questions to better understand and help your customers.  1. Don't jump into sales questions right away. Sales aren't just about making a sale, although that's certainly part of it. Instead, sales are about building relationships. That's how you make a sale today and encourage repeat business tomorrow.  When you start asking questions, don't begin by asking questions about the sale specifically. Instead, ask questions that develop a relationship and give you a chance to get to know the client better.  For example, ask questions about their long- and short-term goals. After that, move into questions about the issues they face and what solutions they currently use. Then, find out what does and does no

This Podcast Is Episode Number 420, And It's About Digital Disaster Recovery For Your Construction Company Emergencies can happen in the blink of an eye. Gmail, Yahoo, MSN, and social media are all in the cloud. When disaster strikes, flood, fire, theft, earthquake, or a lousy bookkeeper deliberately destroying business records or computer crash, you are protected against data loss by these online programs. Buy another computer, set it up, and you are back in business.   What about your bookkeeping records? Your customer list? Who owes you money? Who you owe money to? Payroll? Employee advances and loans?   Job deposits, sales tax reports due, the list goes on. You never realize how much you depend on your Construction Accounting System until it is gone forever!   What about your contracts, bids, other hard copies of documents you use to operate and grow your construction company?   When you run your own contracting or trade business, your life involves many long days being on job sites while managing projec

This Podcast Is Episode Number 420, And It's About Optimizing Your Construction Business Website for Local Searches   For most construction businesses, increasing sales during this time will be very beneficial and may provide some much-needed cash flow relief.    Local search engine optimization (SEO) is an integral part of any online marketing strategy for traditional businesses which serve a specific geographical area.   Local SEO works in much the same way as standard SEO, although some significant differences are considered. Taking the time and trouble to optimize your website for local is essential since about a fifth of desktop queries and more than half of mobile searches have local intent.    To capitalize on this fact, you'll need to make sure that your website appears in local searches. Fortunately, local SEO is somewhat more straightforward than regular SEO, which is significant because it is less competitive.   The first step to optimize for local searches is to include your regional keywords,

This Podcast Is Episode Number 419, And It's About Becoming A Better Construction Manager By Developing Accountability The success of any business, large or small, depends considerably on nurturing an efficient, productive workplace.   While improving employee productivity should always be a priority when the ultimate goal is a sustainable and profitable business, the process is easier said than done.   Being a better construction business owner is not just about the habits you practice in front of others. It is often about the habits you practice behind closed doors that make you an easy person to follow.   Whether you work alone or managing a group of people, practicing accountability matters. Accountability is a touchy subject that can make many people feel uncomfortable, but it protects you as a leader and can exponentially increase the level of influence you have over a corporation or group of followers.    Here are a few ways you can develop the kind of accountability that makes you a better construct

This Podcast Is Episode Number 418, And It's About Steps Construction Company Owners Can Take To Avoid Employee Fraud Billing schemes. Skimming. Check-tampering. Employee fraud is a real risk for businesses with fewer than 100 employees. In fact, according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, small businesses lose almost twice as much per scheme to occupational fraud. If you Google Search "Construction Bookkeeper Embezzlement," you will see thousands of hits, and most of the problems construction companies suffered could have been avoided if the owner had known about and followed a few simple guidelines. Unfortunately, until a contractor has gotten to know us, they tend to think of us as just another contractor's bookkeeping service. This means some contractors think we are crazy to suggest that any trusted employee, especially an in-house bookkeeper, would steal money from their company, and so they ignore us until it was too late. Be aware of the "Employee Theft 10-10-80" Rule Discovered over m

This Podcast Is Episode Number 417, And It's About Winning Tactics For Contractor Paperwork You started your contracting company to have fun, be your own boss and do the work you love. Now you are overwhelmed with paperwork, and the fun is gone!   One of the biggest struggles construction business owners deal with is the overwhelming amount of paper they have to organize as part of their everyday tasks. Invoices, receipts, bills, contracts, client records, pay applications, insurances, licenses - are just among the few in the seem to be never-ending "etc."   Keeping essential documents is necessary. Most contractors go from one extreme to the other. One extreme is saving everything for decades, and the other is tossing everything out.   What to save? What to toss out? At Fast Easy Accounting, we no longer need to print and save every document in file folders and keep adding new file cabinets. Our paperwork processes ensure your happiness and peace of mind knowing that your papers can be retrieved electronic

This Podcast Is Episode Number 416, And It's About If My Construction Business Is Making A Profit Where Is The Cash Some construction business owners find themselves in the difficult position of running a business that appears to be profitable but still having no money in the bank. It's a critical situation to address. After all, a lack of adequate cash flow is one of the leading causes of small construction business failure.    Here are three reasons why profitable construction businesses have little money in the bank and what company owners can do to handle these tricky situations.  1. Using business money for personal reasons Owners may be using their business bank account as a personal bank account, withdrawing the money as they see fit. Of course, business owners need to earn a living. Instead of using the business account as a personal account, you should give yourself a wage and transfer that from the business account to your personal account at set intervals. If your personal money runs out, you can

This Podcast Is Episode Number 415, And It's About Proven Practices To Collect Construction Client Payments Effectively All construction contractors have experienced bad debt's financial pain, which is defined as a customer who refuses to pay no matter what you do. We've been there before, and it will probably happen again in the future. Owning and operating any business, including accounting, means sometimes you provide goods and services and not get paid. Knowing The Answers Helps "If you know the answers, the questions will not bother you" - Randalism. When you sat for an exam or a school test and knew the material forwards and backward, it was fast and easy. The exams and tests for the classes you struggled with were the opposite. In your construction company, it is the same; you need the answers to develop understanding, which helps us all let go of the past and move forward. The larger your construction business grows, the more likely you could end up operating as a bank without the hundreds of ways to

This Podcast Is Episode Number 414, And It's About Leading Contractors Successfully Through Major Organizational Change We are all currently experiencing and adapting to present pandemic times. We've probably adjusted our business model to cater to our clients, new and existing. Construction business change is almost always a good thing, but often poor management means that the workforce becomes disengaged and the change process painful. In the worst cases, this results in irreparable damage being done. It doesn't need to be this way. Follow these steps and empower yourself to lead your contractors through significant organizational change successfully. 1. Understand the change Make sure you understand precisely what is changing and how it affects your people. Speak to whomever you need to ascertain this properly. You need to know what the impact is on your people and the jobs they do.  Educating yourself will mean you're better equipped to communicate with your staff. It will give them confidence that you a