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

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0146 And It Will Be About When Is Outsourcing Your Construction Bookkeeping A Good Idea Outsourcing Your Construction Bookkeeping Works Best When: Your construction company is small with 1-10 employees and doesn't need a full-time bookkeeper. You need someone with more skills than the receptionist or office manager can provide. You need someone skilled in construction accounting who knows how to handle job deposits, progress billings, etc. You don't have the time, energy or money to setup an office, hire a bookkeeper and babysit them! If the bookkeeper is out on maternity leave, or if there will be a vacancy of several months. You need a Contractor Champion who is your advocate helping make certain things get done! Large construction companies have the resources to invest $250,000+ in order to setup and staff a construction accounting system like ours. which gives them everything they need operate a highly profitable construction company. You Can Access Our System Around The C

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0145 And It Will Be About About Three Ways To Increase Your Construction Company Sales In 30 Days Sell to more customers (hard and expensive) Sell more to each customer (easy and economical) Sell more often to each customer (easy and economical) The First One Is - The hard and expensive way to grow sales. We have analyzed a number of construction companies, that is what we do, and we know roughly what the cost to acquire a new customer is for many different segments of construction; remodel, concrete, plumbing, electrical, service work, handyman and others. Calculate the cost per new customer. This is easy to calculate by looking at your Profit and Loss Report for last year, find the marketing expenses and divide it by the number of new customers your business generated. We recommend you are sitting down and do not have any sharp objects or hot coffee within easy reach so you will not hurt yourself or anyone else. If you are new in business or do not have a large client list w

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0144 And It Will Be About The People That Got You Where You Are Cannot Take You Where You Are Going All Construction Companies Have Growing Pains - When you started your construction company it was all you or perhaps you had a partner or somebody who was helping with the office work like answering phones, bookkeeping and running a few errands. Your Construction Company Grew - And you found yourself with problem employees who little by little took over the back office operations and were preventing your business from growing. Here You Realize - The people who got you where you are cannot take you where you are going! It is a harsh reality that has everything to do with change. The only people who embrace change are wet babies and everyone else hates it. Passive Aggressive - Employees in positions of authority and especially Bad Bookkeepers become envious of your success and will destroy your contracting company from the inside like a cancerous infection if you don't replace them.

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0143 And It Will Be About Your Contractor Champion At Fast Easy Accounting Contractor Champions at Fast Easy Accounting are like concierges at a five star hotel. You get all the services at a fraction of the cost. Your Contractor Champion is someone with a deep background and first-hand experience in construction; having owned or operated a construction company with employees. Someone who understands your specific construction company, the type of work it does and how to make the best use of our contractors bookkeeping services system for you. This person will be your guide, mentor and friend. They are your advocate to make certain you are provided the best possible service and they have the authority to assign resources in the event of an emergency construction accounting situation such as special reports, quarterly tax reports, insurance audits and complex payment applications. They also monitor the quality and quantity of reports, emails, graphs and other data to make certain

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0142 And It Will Be About Bookkeeper Training In The Art And Science Of Construction Accounting Is Your Bookkeeper A Keeper? Do You Want To Keep Them For As Long As Possible? Do You Wish They Were Better At Construction Accounting? 50% of the problem is QuickBooks setup was done wrong and it causes you, the contractor, lots of pain and agony. 30% of the problem is knowing how transactions for your contracting company are different from regular bookkeeping. 20% of the problem is your Bookkeeper doesn't love solving puzzles and detective work; they are in the wrong profession. You can fix the first two problems with some outside help from us and some proper training. The last one nobody can fix. The fact is you are paying dearly for their education to learn construction bookkeeping and accounting but you just don't know it. You are paying with all of the mistakes that are being made, overpaying bills, taxes, payroll errors, unbilled work, late or misfiled Quarterly Tax Returns a

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0141 And It Will Be About Ten Solid Reasons Not To Have A Bookkeeper In Your Home Office Recently a contractor and his wife came to our Construction Accounting office in Lynnwood Washington and related a rather interesting story about a freelance bookkeeper that was coming into their home office where they are operating a small construction company to work on their QuickBooks For Contractors company file.They told how the freelance bookkeeper they hired never could get the bank reconciliation window in QuickBooks to match the bank statement. The bookkeeper would do a forced reconciliation which only compounded the problem causing their Financial Statements and Job Costing Reports to be less accurate and not as useful to them as they needed.In addition to several major bookkeeping errors the bookkeeper insisted that she never did anything wrong and it was the bank's fault if she could not reconcile the bank statement with QuickBooks.Furthermore the contractor and his wife were se

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0140 And It Will Be About Thanksgiving Day Please Join Us In Thanking All Contractors And Their Workers Thanksgiving Is A Time - To give thanks for all that we have and for the men and women who are part of the greatest industry on earth, Construction. You make civilization possible for everyone! Construction Is - The oldest industry in existence. Everything started with The Builder, and He had a Son who was a carpenter and everyone who was, is and will be part of the construction industry has a special connection to The Builder and His Son. The difference between Atheists And Christians is so close yet so far away. Click Here For A ComparisonConstruction Gets Deep - Inside you and will not let go and that is why Sharie and I co-founded Business Consulting And Accounting to still be a part of the construction industry and spend time with the people we love, admire and respect.Construction Is - A tough business and people failure is common. In fact most of our clients have either

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0139 And It Will Be About Why Contractors Need High Tech Construction Accounting Solutions High Technology Construction Accounting Offices Are No Longer A LuxuryThey Are Standard Operating Procedure Just To Keep Up With Your CompetitorsHigh technology office environments are now as important as the Smartphones and tablet were several years ago. If you were a smart, forward thinking contractor you got those long before your competition did and made a lot of money in a short period of time. You need to commit to spending $100,000+ to setup a high technology construction accounting office and staff it with Professional Construction Accounting Staff or outsource it a Contractors Bookkeeping Service before it is too late. Act Now! Don't wait until you are fighting for the crumbs left by successful high-profit contractors who know where The Top 20% of the market is, how to attract them, make obscene profits and retire early. Perhaps you don't want to invest $100,000+ to setup a high t

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0138 And It Will Be About Seven Unique Shocks Every Contractor Experiences The foundation of this article came in part from an article by Michael E. Porter, Jay W. Lorsch and Nitin Nohria published in the Harvard Business Review. I am a huge fan of Michael E. Porter because of his grasp and understanding of how business works and his ability to convert complex business strategies that anyone can easily understand. During the time when we owned an operated construction contracting companies Michael E. Porter's five forces model opened my eyes and provided a great deal of insight regarding how and why things changed in the construction market. Ten Unique Shocks Every Contractor Experiences Shock #01 - You Can't Run Your Construction Contracting Company Between the demands of customers, clients, bankers, payroll tax returns, sales tax returns (if that applies to you), vendors, suppliers and everybody and everything outside your construction company you do not have the time to run y

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0137 And It Will Be About Your Contractor Bookkeeper Retired And QuickBooks Is In Chaos You Arrive At Your Office Or Shop One Morning And Find Yourself Alone...And The Dead Silence Feels Like You Are In The Middle Of A Bad Horror MovieThe lights are off, no coffee brewing, no sounds of paper shuffling or the sound of your contractor bookkeeper typing on their keyboard. You are suddenly aware the office is chilly because nobody has turned on the heat. Then you see a stark white legal sized envelope lying on the bookkeeper's desk with your name hastily scribbled on it. You pick up the envelope and carefully remove the neatly typed letter which says... Dear John The Contractor, I have been offered a better paying position at your competitors construction company XYZ, Incorporated. I cannot begin to express how much I have hated working for you during the past 10 years with computers, printers and monitors that were here before I arrived in this miserable, dark, cramped, smelly offi

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0136 And It Will Be About How We Fix QuickBooks Job Costing Reports Problems If you are a contractor you know how to get the work done. At the end of your day when your body is tired, your muscles are aching and you are too tired to move is when you ask yourself three simple questions: 1.    Am I making money or losing money?2.    Which jobs and customers are making me money?3.    Which jobs and customers are costing me money? Every Complex Question Has Two Answers #1 Is Simple And Wrong #2 Is Hard And Right The Simple Answer Is to keep doing what you have always done and continue getting what you have always got. Don't pay any attention to your financial and job costing reports until it is time to file your annual taxes and gasp in dismay and horror while asking what happened? It is like the two guys living in a farming community that started a business buying and selling bales of hay. They had a large truck which they used to buy the hay, load it and make deliveries to their c

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0135 And It Will Be About About Contractors Who Hate Bookkeeping Would You Rather Walk Barefoot Across Hot Coals Than Do Paperwork? If this describes you just know you are not alone. Most contractors would rather do anything including work in the rain, sleet, hail or windstorm than do the bookkeeping. You started your construction or contracting company, house building firm, handyman business or your specialty contracting company to build, remodel, repair homes, commercial spaces and other structures not be a desk jockey! Did someone say you need to do all the bookkeeping in order to be a successful contractor? If so ask yourself are they a successful contractor? Chances are they're not! Successful contractors outsource their bookkeeping to a construction accounting service and spend their valuable time reading and understanding what the Financial and Job Costing Reports are telling them so they can make informed decisions. Bohunk Bob (Not His Real Name) Is A Typical Contractor

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0134 And It Will Be About Contractors With Bookkeepers Paying Bills Are Begging To Be Embezzled It Makes Perfect Sense For You To Delegate All The Mind NumbingContractor Bookkeeping Service Tasks As You Can! All Contractors will experience embezzlement at some point in their business life if they stay in it long enough. How much money will be lost is easy to predict. Group #01 - Contractors Who Have Experienced Embezzlement > Immediately outsource the bookkeeping chores to a reliable trustworthy Contractors Bookkeeping Service> The owner pays the bills every Friday and we can help by:> Getting all the bills, invoices, bank statement, payroll checks, etc. into QuickBooks so you know what to pay> Reconcile all of the bank and credit card statements> Process payroll and you review payroll and authorize payment> Process monthly and quarterly tax returns which you review and authorize payment> Enter and reconcile the vendor charges and statements which you review and authorize paymen

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0133 And It Will Be About Unique Successful Contractors Operate In Reverse To Poor Contractors Successful Contractors Do The Exact Opposite Of Poor Contractors The First Place to start is to understand how The 80/20 Rule applies to your construction company. It simply states that the top 20% of your clients generate 80% of your profit and the bottom 80% of your customers generate only 20% of your construction company profits.It Stands To Reason if you want to more cash flow and profits and more freedom in your life you would copy the operations of highly successful and very profitable contractors. They outsource as much as possible especially their Contractor Bookkeeping Services Needs so they can focus on finding and satisfying the needs of high-value, high-profit clients and leave the price shoppers, tire kickers, carpet pilots and web-surfers to the poor dumb contractors who prefer to work hard rather than smart, do everything themselves and end up wasting their lives in pain

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0132 And It Will Be About Maximizing Vs. Optimizing Your Construction Company The First Place - To start is to understand how the 80/20 Rule applies to your construction company. Some Construction Company - Owners feel that all staff members from the laborers to the Project Managers need to hustle and run everywhere and if they are giving less than 110% to the job they are not doing enough. Some Contractors - Like to make sure everybody knows they can be replaced at any time day or night which makes people uncomfortable and likely to search for another job elsewhere. If someone wastes ten minutes a day on your payroll click here to see what it could be costing you! When Contractors - Treat their tax preparer, banker, construction accountant, suppliers, construction attorney, financial planner (what should have been his Board of Advisors) vendors, bookkeeper and everyone they come in contact with like an enemy they are likely to lose money due to bookkeeping errors, slow service

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0131 And It Will Be About How High Profit Jobs Send Contractors Into Bankruptcy You have what appears to be a high profit job and now you are thinking you have it made and I hope you are right! The problem is high profit jobs have a way of turning into low or no profit jobs and in some cases they can bankrupt your construction company because you bid the project using whatever model you are accustomed to using and in the end you wind up with cash flow problems. Construction company owners who understand Construction Psychology and the need for Business Process Management (BPM) System also know the importance of being process dependent, not people dependent. One will bankrupt you and the other will make you wealthy.A lot of problems can be traced back to the "Halo Effect" which happens when a contractor thinks "We are so good at (fill in the blank) we should expand into (fill in the blank). They have the attitude "I am going after Moby Dick in a row boat with tartar sauce!"The mo

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0130 And It Will Be About Tips For New Contractor Startups  So You Are Starting A Construction Company. Perhaps yours will be building houses, a handyman business or a specialty contracting company like a plumber, electrician, HVAC, concrete or Landscape Company. Whatever it is congratulations you have or will be taking a big step toward being the Master of Your Own Destiny! Two Paths Are Open In Front Of You One Leads To Pain And Misery (P.A.M.) The Other One Leads To Success And Happiness (M.A.P.)   P.A.M. = Production Accounting Marketing = Pain And Misery “Failure In Construction Is A Few Simple Errors Repeated Everyday” - Randalism This Is The Most Popular - and yet the hardest and least profitable way to operate a construction company. Contractors thinking and doing what they did while working for somebody else instead of thinking and doing what a business person does. Production First This Is The Most Popular - and yet the hardest and least profitable way to operate a co

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0129 And It Will Be About Five Unique Bookkeeping Tips For New Contractor Startups So You Are Starting A Construction Company. Perhaps yours will be House Builder, Handyman Company, Specialty Contractor like a Plumber, Electrician, HVAC, Concrete Contractor or Landscape Company. Whatever it is congratulations you have or will be taking a big step toward being the Master of Your Own Destiny! I Trust This List of Five Accounting Tips For Contractor Startups Will Help You Many surveys and reports show nearly half of all new construction companies close their doors within the first five years of opening them. When we speak with contractors who failed most of them say it was due to lack of cash flow. Pretty obvious and yet when questioned all of them said they were "Blind-Sided" and were not aware they were running out of cash until it was too late. There is a point when a contracting company starts to fail and nothing short of a massive cash infusion can stop it and a domino effect

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0128 And It Will Be About Why Downloading From The Bank Destroys Job Costing And Profitability Downloading from the bank is easy and saves time; however, it does not allocate the transactions for accurate Job Costing Reports. The two main reasons highly profitable construction contractors use Job Costing Reports: #1 It is the foundation of your construction company unique "Job Costing Library".  This helps you estimate new projects using historical data. #2 It is part of your Business Process Management Process that can help you understand when, where, how, why and who you make and lose money. Every Transaction In Your Construction Company QuickBooks File Needs To Be Filtered Some transactions will need to be split into parts for example a loan payment may have part of the money assigned to Principle and the rest to Interest. Bank feeds and downloading from the bank works great for roughly 80% of the businesses and the other 20% like construction it causes major disasters which

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0127 And It Will Be About Unique Strategies For Contractors Preparing To Meet Increasing Demand Having Lived Through Several, Recessions Beginning In The Mid 1960's I Sincerely Understand And Empathize With The Challenges That All Construction Owners, Workers And Support Staff Have Faced For The Past Several Years The Good News Is Everything Is About To Change For The Better! There is natural ebb and flow in the business cycle, which in normal times operates, somewhat predictable. In normal times, contractors who pay close attention to their Five Key Performance Indicators financial reports and stay aware of the macro global economy and the micro local economy can plan ahead and earn a normal profit after paying the owners a reasonable salary. The past several years starting in late 2008 have been anything but normal and frankly, we are having a tough time with the economic forecasts models we follow including our own internal ones. Something similar occurred during the period