The year is almost over. Fourth-quarter and year-end deadlines are approaching. Most construction business owners who reach out to us describe this as their "Year End Madness" to prepare their documents for the tax accountant. 

The end of the year tends to be chaotic for construction company owners, but it's an excellent time to get some extra housekeeping done for your business. If you're on QuickBooks, you can click the Help Menu; depending on the year and version you're using, you can access the Year-End Guide, which will show you how to wrap up your business year. It's not an easy process, but it's all worth it. 

Why? Because tax preparers will take what you give them - they don't have the time, and it's much work that you've paid for, but a good tax preparer will know how much you can save if you can track your money. Bottomline - pay your taxes right, but it doesn't have to be more than what you owe.

Cutting costs can be a quick and easy way to improve the profitability of your construction business. Introducing cost-control measures can bring immediate savings and ensure you remain profitable in the long term.

But cost-control measures must be carefully managed. Eliminating errant expenses is beneficial, but indiscriminate cost-cutting could lead to a drop in quality or poor morale if staff fear being made redundant or are not given the tools they need to do their job efficiently.

This risk is heavily reduced by identifying where you can safely trim costs, setting clear cost-reduction targets, and researching any cost-saving initiatives before making changes to your contracting business.