Many small construction business owners tend to handle their accounting and bookkeeping, especially when they've just started. However, keeping track of the finance side of the business– everything from income to expenses to tax compliance– can be overwhelming.

 

Mistakes can happen quite quickly and can have costly consequences for your business. Below are five of the most common Do-It-Yourself accounting errors you should avoid.

 

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Topics: Construction Accounting, contractors bookkeeping and accounting, outsourced construction accounting and bookkeeping, contractors bookkeeping and accounting seattle, Construction Accounting Vs Regular Accounting, DIY Construction Accounting Errors

There is no better time to reflect and think seriously about your construction business. Excellent organization systems add considerable value to any business because they allow you to spend more time working on your business rather than on it.

Year over year and regardless of the economy, one thing never changes; 20% of the contractors earn and keep 80% of the profits because they have a Business Process Management Strategy like our Contractors Success M.A.P. that tells them how, what, when, where and why to focus their limited resources on the M.A.P. = Marketing / Accounting / Production.

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Topics: The Contractors Account, Construction Marketing, Construction Accounting, MAP vs. PAM, contractors bookkeeping and accounting, Accounting Software for Contractors, Contractor, Construction Productivity

Keeping track of sales, earnings, expenses, and purchases are fundamental to your construction business's overall health and sustainability. Effective bookkeeping produces the data you need to evaluate your current practices, anticipate challenges, and set attainable future goals. But despite their proven importance, many business owners dread and avoid accounting tasks.

Smart Contractors know their time is more valuable spent meeting prospective clients, putting together bids, managing job sites, and many other things other than bookkeeping. So they find someone else to do it. 

Any bookkeeping and accounting firm that does not know how to calculate complex algorithms that take into account fluctuations in the workload and generate a monthly fee that is fair to you and them they need to go back to school and take those courses on Decision Modeling, Statistical Analysis, and Business Process Management.

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Topics: The Contractors Account, Bookkeeping Services, Construction Accounting, contractors bookkeeping and accounting, outsourced construction accounting and bookkeeping, Accounting Software for Contractors, Contractor

One of the biggest concerns contractors have about outsourcing their bookkeeping to a cloud-based contractor accounting service like ours, is they think it means sending jobs off-shore rather than keeping your dollars in America where they can help other Americans. In too many cases, that is precisely what occurs.

 

Many contractors would like to subcontract out their bookkeeping services, and the two main reasons they don't is - fear of losing control and cost.

 

To paraphrase an old quote and adapt it to the construction industry, "It is not the strongest, toughest, hardest working construction contractor that survives, nor the most intelligent among them. It is the construction contractors that are most adaptable to change."

 

 

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Topics: FAQs, The Contractors Account, Construction Accounting, contractors bookkeeping and accounting, Accounting Software for Contractors, Contractor

How many times a day do you hear from someone saying, “It’s Boring", or "I’m Bored.” It is a red flag that should light up your “Oh Crap” meter. Moreover, more important, whenever an employee says it. Because this usually means they are shortcutting the work versus the fact that you have so many right processes in place that the work is genuinely dull. Being bored is a factor in manufacturing jobs.

I saw a special where a manufacturer described how the process is that they moved employees on a scheduled basis between workstations to help them avoid boredom and stay fresh throughout their workday. Proved to be a Win-Win for everyone. Studies found that alert employees have fewer accidents, which in turn reduces your cost of doing business and raises cash flow and profits.

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Topics: The Contractors Account, Construction Accounting, contractors bookkeeping and accounting, Accounting Software for Contractors, Contractor

Contractor Bookkeeping Basics and Why

Today’s technology says “Do Everything On Your Phone”

Use an app to create an estimate, or better yet just send the estimate in the body of the email. That works when the customer’s reply is “Do It”. Great you start the job, finish the job, never send the customer an invoice; Why – They Don’t Need One – they know how much to pay from your original email because you included short explanatory paragraphs about each item of work you did.

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Topics: Contractor Bookkeeping, contractors bookkeeping and accounting

Job Estimates vs. Actuals Summary - Report shows you how accurately your company was on estimating. This report summarizes estimated versus actual costs and compares estimated revenue to actual revenue for all customers that have an active estimate.

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Topics: QuickBooks For Contractors, QuickBooks, contractors bookkeeping and accounting, Reports, QuickBooks For Contractors Setup

QuickBooks Job Profitability Reports

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Topics: Business Process Management For Contractors, QuickBooks, contractors bookkeeping and accounting, QuickBooks Clean-Up, Reports, BPM, Key Performance Indicators, KPI

Construction Businesses Using QuickBooks - Need quarterly snap shots of your five Key Performance Indicator Reports for developing your Business Strategy and maintaining your Business Plan projections vs. actuals reports.

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Topics: Bookkeeping Services, contractors bookkeeping and accounting, outsourced construction accounting and bookkeeping, Reports, Key Performance Indicators, KPI, contractors bookkeeping and accounting seattle

It Is Tax Time Again - And if your tax preparer sends you a bunch of "Journal Entries" for your QuickBooks call Sharie 206-361-3950 or email her Sharie@FastEasyAccounting.com and we can help you with it.

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Topics: Construction Bookkeeping, contractors bookkeeping and accounting, Tax Accountants, Journal Entries