Our New eBook is out! More than 15 pages filled with Marketing, Accounting, and Production tips, checklists, and best practices that you can use year-round for your construction business success.
Free Download here.

FEA Randal And Train
Call Us At 1-800-361-1770
Bookkeeping Trial Test Drive
Outsourced Accounting
Contractor Bookkeeping Templates For QuickBooks And Xero
Construction Accounting Academy
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

Building On Solid Ground: Your Construction Bookkeeping Foundation

Posted by Sharie DeHart on Fri, Jul 05, 2024

As a construction business owner, you must stay informed about your finances and financial situation. You do this through bookkeeping, the process of recording transactions in your business. This includes transactions, credit card charges, and any other economic activity within your company.
 
Financial management can easily be overlooked when managing projects, dealing with subcontractors, and ensuring customer satisfaction. However, neglecting proper bookkeeping can significantly impact the growth and success of your construction business.
 
Read More

Topics: Bookkeeping For Electrical Contractors, Bookkeeping For Commercial Tenant Improvement Cont, Bookkeeping For Custom Home Builders, Bookkeeping For Remodel Contractors, Bookkeeping Needs, Bookkeeping For Plumbing Contractors, Bookkeeping, Construction Bookkeeping, Systems, Construction Systems And Processes

Custom Home Builders Have Unique Bookkeeping Needs

Posted by Randal DeHart on Wed, Jul 18, 2012

Custom Home Builders Have Unique Bookkeeping Needs

  1. Not Just Any Bookkeeper Will Do - Too often spec home builders hire a bookkeeper and end up with the wrong bookkeeper if they believe all bookkeepers are the same. Nothing is further from the truth. You would never hire a construction worker with a background as a handyman to be on your framing crew because they are trained to take their time, lay out tarps in the work area and think about every piece of lumber before cutting and installing it. They could do a fine job, the only question is how long would it take and would you be able to charge the homeowner enough to make a substaintial profit?

  2. QuickBooks Setup - And choosing the correct QuickBooks Version is the most critical part of all because it is the foundation upon which your entire financial system is built. Put the wrong foundation under your business and it will not matter who is doing the bookkeeping because it will always be a mess and you will never get the reports you really need in order to operate and grow your business profitably. Your Board of Advisors and especially your banker will be unhappy; however, they may not say it outright, just that your loans, lines of credit and referral opportunities may be limited.

  3. Custom Home Builders - Need people trained in construction bookkeeping who understand how to put together a bank draw correctly, not someone with experience in regular bookkeeping. The difference between a Professional Bookkeeping Service and a Cheap Bookkeeper can cost you tens of thousands of dollars a year or more on your bottom line profit.

  4. Custom Home Building - Is similar to other construction accounting because the custom home builder accumulates costs in the Cost of Goods area of QuickBooks. One of the areas where it is different is when the builder negotiates "Allowances" for fixtures and finished goods. Often during construction there are a numbe of change orders, addtions and deletions and a lot of the time the homeowner wants to provide certain materials. Whenever there is a large single peice of equipment or part the custom home builder may ask for a deposit before placing the order. For a short while the deposit is actually a liability not income until the part is futher along in the process.

  5. Professional Construction Accounting Firms - Have a Bookkeeping System to generate the same results every time. During construction there will be some expenses that should be properly allocated to Direct and Indirect Costs of Goods sold and some to Expenses and only a Skilled Professional Bookkeeping Service knows the difference.

  6. Many Bookkeepers Have Been Stumped - Trying to force QuickBooks to do the accounting for custom home building and I understand and empathize with their plight. We spent years and thousands of dollars developing a process that works with QuickBooks. And every year we continually innovate and add new features and benefits to it! We know what to do! 

  7. Custom Home Builders - Who also do some remodel work, buy houses for rental inventory and buy houses to fix up and sell, house flippers, create special problems for regular bookkeepers. There is only one method that works well and we have we have a system that allows all the bookkeeping to be done inside QuickBooks and it can save you time, manage cash flow and save money on taxes. We know what to do!

  8. Complex Bank Draws - And owners who insist on full accountabilty using their own form, their lenders forms or ours with milestones, multiple deposits, payments, changes, payment history and running totals that your client can follow is something we can prepare for you and send them to you as often as you need them.

 

What You Can Expect From Our Custom Home Builder Contractor Bookkeeping Services:

In The Long Run We Are Less Expensive Cheap Bookkeeper

And We Offer Cloud Based Desktop QuickBooks

 Cloud Based Bookkeeping Services

  • Fully functioning QuickBooks desktop version

  • Export to Excel and Word which is part of the service

  • Print anything directly from QuickBooks, Word or Excel on your own printer

 

 

QuickBooks Expert Specializing In Construction Bookkeeping Services

 

About The Author:

Randal DeHart, PMP, QPA is the co-founder of Business Consulting And Accounting in Lynnwood Washington. He is the leading expert in outsourced construction bookkeeping and accounting services for small construction companies across the USA. He is experienced as a Contractor, Project Management Professional, Construction Accountant, Intuit ProAdvisor and QuickBooks For Contractors Expert. This combination of experience and skillsets provides a unique perspective which allows him to see the world through the eyes of a contractor, Project Manager, Accountant and construction accountant. This quadruple understanding is what sets him apart from other Intuit ProAdvisors and accountants to the benefit of all of the construction contractors he serves across the USA. Visit http://www.fasteasyaccounting.com/randal-dehart/ to learn more.

Read More

Topics: Bookkeeping For Custom Home Builders

QuickBooks Setup And Chart of Accounts For DIY Contractors
Download Our Free App For Construction Contractors

click to download the Contractors APP now from the App Storeclick to download the Contractors APP now from the Android store

Access Code: FEAHEROS

accounting articles

Subscribe by Email

How Can We Help?

 
Contractors Bookkeeping And Accounting Services

Who We Help

How We Help

Next Step

FAQ's

Contractors Bookkeeping And Accounting Services

Outsourced Construction Accounting Services For Contractors All Across The U.S.A. By Fast Easy Accounting 206-361-3950

Serving Construction Contractors
Across The U.S.A
Including Alaska
And Hawaii

Podcast On iTunes
 
Click Here To Listen In iTunes
Contractor  Success M.A.P.
Contractors Bookkeeping And Accounting Services

Remote Access Your QuickBooks  Using Secure Servers

Outsourced Bookkeeping Services For Contractors At Fast Easy Accounting

Highly Recommended by Locals On Alignable

Most Popular Posts

Read the Latest:

Browse by Tag

badge

Blog Suggestion Box

We Remove Contractor's Unique Paperwork Frustrations

Quickbooks certified proadvisor

Xero-Accounting-Services-Fast-Easy-Accounting

Financial-Intelligence-And-Performance-Reporting-Tool-Fast-Easy-Accounting Hubdoc-Document-Collection-and-Management-System MBA Member Fast Easy Accounting 206-361-3950
 
contractor-success-map-podcast-listen
 
Don't forget, you can hire our services at FastEasyAccounting.com
 
 
How To Use Our Services