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

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0333, And It Will Be About Why High Demand Doesn't Always Equal High Profit In Construction   The business cycle operates like ocean waves that cause a lot of construction business to go out in a year or two. Some grew too fast without reliable financial reporting tools and proper guidance.   As you may know, there is an expansion and contraction Isoquant that occurs in all businesses. For construction companies, it is accelerated because of the enormous risks in project work. The changes in demand for Labor, Material, Other Costs, Subcontractors can occur almost overnight which often causes a financial death spiral, and the contractor does not know they are in trouble before it is too late.   We have discussed time and again that construction accounting is different from regular accounting because of the confusion between Costs of Goods Sold and Expenses, and that is one of the significant issues here. Also billing and invoicing is a bit more complicated because the sales ar

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0332, And It Will Be About What Every Contractor Needs To Know About Payroll Processing   When it comes to paying employees, laws and the IRS, have made the payroll function a time-consuming nightmare for the small business owner.   Small business owners spend an average of eight hours a month performing payroll functions. That's 12 full days a year that could be spent generating sales, prospecting new business opportunities, improving products or services, or servicing customers.   Getting time cards input into QuickBooks and processing payroll can be a big hassle for your construction company.   Employee advances and loans that you forget to deduct can drain away your entire profit. Timecards come in late causing payroll to be under enormous pressure to meet direct deposit deadlines. Tracking employee bonuses, reimbursements and garnishments take time and money and can cost your company some serious fines, penalties, and lost productivity if not handled correctly. Why Outs

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0331, And It Will Be About Build A Construction Accounting System That Works Best For Your Company   Construction is a tough business, and people failure is common. Most of our clients have either failed or come very close. It doesn't matter how many times you are knocked down; it only matters that you learn your lessons, get up, and go again. Some lessons we already took note of years ago, having owned and operated our construction company. By building a system and gaining insight from us, you can pick up from our mistakes which you don't have to go through and can start avoiding before it comes crashing down.    We are deeply passionate and committed in the construction industry that we want to support you, our clients and readers, to achieve your definition of success. Whether you're a contractor, owner, spouse, a business professional, bookkeeper, or accountant; we understand your frustrations because we've been where you are now, and we're here to help.   Introducing

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0330, And It Will Be About Fast And Easy Contractor Networking Profitable contractors attend networking events not because they have nothing better to do; they do it because it pays off. You can either spend hours doing office tasks like bookkeeping or getting face to face with someone who may need your services. Meeting people gives you the chance to build and develop relationships, hire you, or refer you to someone who might. Most of our contractor clients work alone or with a small team, making connections vital and refreshing to meet other professionals doing similar work. Although not every networking event is going to yield a harvest. You might end up learning about all kinds of needs and opportunities about everything under the sun except what you came for - qualified construction leads to support your business. However, this is another path to cultivate and harvest repeatedly. As an example: A home builder learns about a commercial tenant improvement contractor who ne

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0329, And It Will Be About Ways Your Construction Company Can Spend More Now And Save You Money Long-Term During my lifetime, I have seen too many contractors work hard, never have enough money to retire. Some of them die from exhaustion, and others just wore themselves out and lived their final years in poverty and only a few, less than 5% ever made enough money from owning and operating their construction company and outside investments to retire early enough and enjoy a comfortable lifestyle.   This article is a bit strong, and it could offend some folks. If it offends you, please accept my sincere apologies. I tend to tell it straight and not sugar coat anything because I have been involved in the construction industry most of my life beginning with working in my Step Father's construction company after school in the mid-1960s.   In an attempt to save money, the cheap contractor ends up spending the most money and earning a tiny profit because they believe in maximizin

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0328, And It Will Be About 5 Things Your Construction Bookkeeper Wants You To Know If a Contractors Bookkeeping Services System doesn't work and they want it fixed but will not allow any changes, they need a magician, not a construction bookkeeper. Our workflow removes paperwork frustrations only if the contractor is also willing to do their part. It hurts when we have to let a contractor client go elsewhere because we are not able to help them. We sincerely believe we can help all contractors have more freedom, by earning more money, working fewer hours and sleeping better at night by taking the pressure off their bookkeeping so they can focus on financial reports and job costing reports, instead of data entry. In a few rare cases, contractor clients have wanted specific financial and job costing reports, but they flatly refused to allow us to make changes in their contractors bookkeeping services system which would have made it possible. We understand they are operating from

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0327, And It Will Be About Proven Reasons Why Contractors Lose More Money Doing Their Books As a construction or trade contractor, you are highly skilled, intelligent, and adaptable. That is a given because you operate in a multi-faceted changing environment doing the impossible with limited time, money, and resources on every project. Moreover, soon as one is finished, another one is waiting for you.   Many contractors like you feel that hiring a Professional Contractor Bookkeeping Service is a waste of money when you should be able to do it yourself. You press a few keys on your keyboard thinking you are going to get the results you want, accurate bank balances, a report showing who owes you money and who you owe money to, a Profit and Loss Report and Balance Sheet Report you can understand and if all goes well perhaps even some Job Costing Reports. Instead, what you get is a hot steaming pile of fertilizer that cannot even be used in the garden.   The DIY (Do-It-Yourself)

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0326, And It Will Be About Understanding Other Construction Company Costs And Opportunities To Increase Your Profit   Many contractors are having trouble adapting to the new economy. I have made more mistakes – than ten of the average contractors put together. I've learned a great deal of hard, hard lessons, and worked my way through several "Character Building Moments." What I am about to ask you to do is something I have done for many years during my contracting days, and it still works.   Understanding Other Costs:   Marketing Cost   The cost your company spent to acquire and maintain the job. Depending on how you allocate marketing dollars as a percentage of sales or a fixed budget will have an impact on your marketing cost per job. Your cost-per-call, closing ratio, and other related information is all part of your operations, accounting, and bookkeeping reports.   Mobilization Cost    Are the costs you incurred to get a crew to the job site in terms of travel time and veh

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0325, And It Will Be About Construction Company Marketing - Leads, Customers, And Clients It takes work to make the phone ring. It takes even more work to increase the sales ticket. Customers are looking for a contractor to do a little work. If you offer three options, do you find customers usually choose the middle option?    When trying someone new, they may go with a "Low Risk" by prepaying for services on a "Deal" on a contractor lead generation service. The deal allows them to set a "budget." It allows them to try you out before mentioning any additional details. Have you ever heard anything like this from a prospect: "Hello Contractor, I had nothing better to do this week, so I filled out your form and called you on the phone to ask you come to my house and while I act your tour guide because I am thinking of having some work done."? Not likely.   Most homeowners have a real need before asking for a stranger to come to their home. They are looking for any "Affinity" that

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0324, And It Will Be About Effective Strategies For Contractor Timecard Issues Employees need to fill out timecards. The most practical reason is that all employees want to get paid, early, often, and regularly.   For those of you that are parents, do you remember when you brought home your newborn baby? They need food, water and diaper changed. You learned all about "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" Some children who are born on a HOT summer day seem to get "overheated" quickly and do not suffer quietly.    If you have employees, you may notice in some similarities to raising children because in some cases you the contractor take over where your employee's parents left off. They want their paychecks (allowance) on a regular basis, and it had better not bounce at the bank due to insufficient funds.   If any of your construction worker's paychecks do happen to bounce or they are not able to cash it at the bank because your construction company does not have enough money in the pay

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0323, And It Will Be About How To Manage Cash Flow Properly In Your Contracting Company Construction company cash flow is the movement of money in and out of your contracting business; these movements are known in accounting circles as inflow and outflow.    Inflows for your construction company primarily come from the sale of goods or services to your customers, but keep in mind that inflow only occurs when you make a cash sale or collect on receivables. Cash is king! Other examples of cash inflows are borrowed funds, income derived from sales of assets, and investment income from interest.   Outflows for your construction company are generally the result of paying labor, material, other direct and indirect costs of goods sold and overhead expenses.   Is cash flow the same as profit?   While they might seem similar, profit and cash flow are two entirely different concepts, each with entirely different results. The concept of profit is somewhat broad and only looks at income an

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0322, And It Will Be About How To Build A Construction Company That Can Grow Without You   Perhaps more.    An alarming number of construction company owners are being ripped-off and driven into bankruptcy. That sounds harsh, but it's true. Whenever we see a contractor heading towards a problem, an issue, or a big disaster, we immediately raise the alarm. We are cautious about doing it so when we say there is a potential problem, our clients know we are serious.   Contractors by nature are tenacious, resilient and have a tremendous amount of "Grit And Determination To Succeed" which means they are not easily disturbed or prone to react hastily or rashly at the first sign of trouble. This is just one of the many qualities I sincerely admire about these wonderful men and women. Most of our contractor clients will listen carefully and thoughtfully when we offer advice and words of wisdom because they know, like and trust us and are aware that everyone on here at Fast Easy Accounti

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0321, And It Will Be About How To Build A Construction Company That Can Grow Without You   If you are the typical construction contractor trying to keep track of your construction projects, meetings, tasks, and conversations without the tools and technologies you could be living in a nightmare. You can either keep on "Powering Through"- spend your life endlessly chasing details, missing appointments, suffer untold losses in cash flow and profits; or you can start developing a plan and work on your business.   You may be getting your construction projects done with sheer will-power, but the lack of processes, business plan, and strategy will eventually wear you down.   Successful contractors improve processes all year long. Your construction company can benefit from this system that other successful contractors are using now, which means there is no need to "Reinvent The Wheel." As your construction company grows and evolves, your processes can support the controlled and planned

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0320, And It Will Be About What Every Contractor Needs To Know About Profit And Growth Coaching When my partner, Sharie DeHart and I, were running construction and plumbing service and repair businesses beginning in the early 1970s until 2000 we felt we did not need to pay anybody to tell us what to do because we knew exactly what to do.   After several very painful and extremely costly mistakes, we found the adage "Experience Is The Best Teacher...And The Most Expensive" to be oh so true!   We found ourselves, our family, employees, and suppliers were all riding on our Roller Coaster of Surprises, some good, some bad. On occasion, we would wake up screaming bloody murder only to discover it was the middle of the afternoon, and we were not asleep!   After a while, we decided perhaps there was truth to "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." I will admit I was a bit arrogant thinking since I was raised in a family of contractors that I knew a lot about construction.

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0319, And It Will Be About Increase Traffic And 30 Content Ideas For Construction Blogs Go through a quick search of construction/home service-based businesses near you, whether it’s a Handyman, Plumber, Painter, or a Framing company, or better yet google your competition and look at their information. Does it link to their websites? And if so, do they maintain a blog? How many people, including you, search the web for information before making a decision – buying equipment, booking a hotel, or eating at a restaurant? While a company website establishes your credibility as an industry leader, blogging presents an excellent opportunity for you to develop a relationship with your audience, strengthens your reputation as an authority in your field, and helps you stand out from the competition. You care enough to provide your prospects and followers relevant and useful information that they can practice and apply. When creating content, ask yourself these questions: • What is the pu

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0318, And It Will Be About Establishing Your General Contracting Business - T.I.P.S. On Starting It Right Running a business for general contractors like you is an overwhelming yet fulfilling task because there are so many things only the company owner can and should do. In most cases, when the owner's spouse contacts us, it is because they are trying to help with the business, but they know they need outside assistance, so there is more quality time with the family. Most contractors, and small business owners, in general, haven’t realized that what you don’t know can keep up at night. Instead of focusing your efforts in maintaining your relationship with your past clients and building a new one, you were up wondering whether you’re making or losing money. Today more than ever, it is necessary to have a properly set-up accounting and bookkeeping file and maintain it. Someone with the knowledge and training combined with an understanding of construction to Set-Up, Clean-Up, Tidy-

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0317, And It Will Be About Five Basic Construction Accounting Tasks To Complete Every Month   Proper construction accounting is all about the details. The answers you need to operate and grow your company are in reports. Everything starts with cash because "cash is fact, profit is an opinion." All transactions in the bank account of your construction accounting system no matter if it is QuickBooks or Xero, must be assigned to the proper accounts: Income Job Deposits Payroll Taxes Cost of Goods Sold (Direct and Indirect Costs including Labor, Material, Other and Subcontractors) Other costs including permits, plans, bills from suppliers, and purchases on your personal credit cards Overhead These tasks form the solid foundation of your small business. As a small business owner, you have more important things to do than to keep your own books. We take care of your books for you, so you can get back to the job of running your business and generating profits.  1. Bank Reconciliation

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0316, And It Will Be About Contractor Tactics On How To Avoid Payment Problems Construction companies need short-term liquid working capital such as cash, lines of credits, loans, owner financing, credit cards, supplier accounts, and other forms of money to conduct daily operations. Small construction companies with annual sales volume less than $10,000,000 and other requirements enjoy some benefits that are not always available to larger firms. Likewise, larger firms can leverage economies of scale. The larger your construction business grows, the more likely you could end up operating as a bank without the hundreds of ways to generate revenues from fee income and interest calculation that banks use. The most popular method designed by investors and developers and shrewd business people who understand the concept of divide and conquer is for contractors to get little or no down payment for a construction project, do all the work, including change orders and then try to collect

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0315, And It Will Be About Bookkeeping And Accounting Solutions For The Busy Contractor   The calls, emails, messages, and walk-ins that our company deal with every day come from construction contractors, spouses or significant other, construction bookkeepers, advisors, students, and financial planners among others. I do my best to offer support even if it does not lead to an immediate request for our services. The pressures of running a construction company are tremendous. Incoming money is usually unknown, but expenses and bills are due now. You are not alone; many contractors feel the same way. Owning a construction company is so much different from just working for another construction contractor, and in most cases, new contractors had no idea what is involved in the business end of the operation before they started. To make a lot of money in contracting, you need these three things, and that means paperwork: Since you got into the construction business because of your skil

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0314, And It Will Be About Proven Tax Reducing Opportunities For Your Construction Company Accounting has two sides: Internal Accounting (Management Accounting) - for making money. Its purpose is to help you operate and grow your business profitability. External Accounting (Tax Accounting) - for paying taxes. Its purpose is to prepare tax forms, report your income, and make sure you pay your fair share of taxes. Understanding the difference will impact your company's financial health and wealth. Both groups of accountants must know the relationship between your internal bookkeeping and the Internal Revenue Service, and the importance of paying the right amount of taxes. There are a lot of professional bookkeepers, accountants, and tax preparers and they all serve a different role in your business. In-House Bookkeeping Contractors who do not earn a lot of money see bookkeeping as overhead which costs money and therefore is a drain on profits so they get a cheap computer, tiny mon