The key to making Xero Accounting Online work is ensuring your account is correctly set up and maintained. Perhaps you own a service and repair firm specializing in plumbing, electrical, HVAC, or maybe a handyman service or someone who does small construction projects that last from a few hours to a few days, and you only need to give your customer or client one invoice?

 

Suppose you've just started working with Xero; making a few mistakes while learning is expected. We see pretty common errors - and unfortunately costly - so you should be aware of them if you want to get the most out of Xero's powerful cloud accounting system. 

 

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Topics: Xero For Construction Companies, QuickBooks Online Converted To Xero, Construction Bookkeeping And Accounting, What Is Xero Accounting Online, Contractor Tips

Several aspects of the construction business can only be learned through experience. One of them is negotiating contracts.

 

Most people fear the negotiation procedure because it is an intrinsically uncomfortable process. Asking for more money or making personal demands doesn't come naturally to everyone. But with the right toolkit, you can breeze through contract negotiations. And you'd better get used to it because you'll have to handle many contracts whether you're a construction company owner or employee.

 

Having the right mindset is critical to contract negotiations. You have to believe that you are going to get your way. Bring a positive attitude and a smile to the table. You're not signing contracts with the enemy. The people you're negotiating with will be your business partners in one capacity or another.

 

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Topics: Construction Bookkeeping And Accounting, Contractor Tips, Contractor Guidance, Construction Business Negotiations, Negotiating Contracts

Cash flow refers to the movement of money into and out of your business. It's based on the amount of money you bring in minus the amount you spend. A positive cash flow means bringing in more than you're spending. A negative cash flow means you aren't bringing in enough to cover your expenses.

 

Your construction company can run into problems by not charging enough for goods or services, having late-paying clients, growing too quickly, or simply spending too much money.

 

Solid cash flow management is vital to ensuring your contracting business survives, but not everyone understands what cash flow is or how to manage it. That's likely what makes it a leading cause of stress for small business owners. 

 

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Topics: Construction Cash Flow, Cash Flow, Construction Bookkeeping And Accounting, Increase Cash Flow, Construction Systems And Processes, Contractor Guidance

Every day you make financial decisions about your company, which affect how successful and sustainable your construction business is. If you're responsible for the bookkeeping and all the paper management (bills, receipts, estimates, invoices), you could be making errors that affect your decisions. Because of an incorrect decimal place, you may think that you have more money in the bank than you do. Or you may not fully understand how a decision today affects your business tomorrow.

 

Keeping up with paperwork is a typical construction business time waster we noticed in more than thirty years in the industry. Doing your books often winds up costing you more money in the end, not to mention the time and energy that goes into a task you despise or, at the very least, don't fully understand. 

 

This is one area that many construction company owners hate to be part of but still choose to take responsibility for.

 

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Topics: Bookkeeping Services, Construction Bookkeeping And Accounting, Technology For Your Construction Company, Construction Systems And Processes, Contractor Guidance

Success in operating a profitable construction business is all about maintaining the proper balance of control over both The Profit Centers and The Cost Centers. If either one gets too powerful and is allowed to run your construction company, it can cause more damage than good.

 

The definition of a Non-Profit Construction Company is one that tries to fix its weaknesses and continues making the same mistakes repeatedly, expecting a different result and continues to struggle until the owner lays down and dies from over-work and exhaustion.

 

A Highly Profitable Construction Company builds on its strengths and core competencies and continues innovating, growing, and responding to changes in its environment. 

 

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Topics: Construction Bookkeeping And Accounting, Technology For Your Construction Company, Automated Data Entry, Construction Systems And Processes, Contractor Guidance, Construction Business Budget

With the potential for business life to return to something resembling normal, it's good to look at your budget and see where you may need to shift some of your priorities. Pay attention to how your spending over the past few years affected your business and either helped you achieve or took you away from your overall goals. 

 

Considering how your business and your employees functioned in recent years can help you predict upcoming trends, enabling you to plan for adjustments. 

 

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.

 

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Topics: Construction Bookkeeping And Accounting, Technology For Your Construction Company, Automated Data Entry, Construction Systems And Processes, Contractor Guidance, Construction Business Budget

Contractors who ask for help in Cleaning Up their QuickBooks Files before filing taxes have better results than those that do not. The Tax Accountant is happier because the QuickBooks file is clean and easier to work with. They will likely find more deductions that can save you money and, in some cases, mean the difference between success and failure in your construction company.

• Because the QuickBooks file is clean, the Tax Accountant will have fewer questions for you.
• Because the QuickBooks file is clean, the Tax Accountant can easily find the reports needed to file your tax return.
• Because the QuickBooks file is clean, the Tax Accountant can focus on saving you money.
  

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Topics: QuickBooks Cleanup, QuickBooks Contractors Financial Reports, Construction Bookkeeping And Accounting, QuickBooks Construction Accounting, Contractor Guidance

Every contractor who goes out of business has one thing in common, bad financial reports or none at all.

Does this sound familiar? Contractor opens a business because they are so skilled at trade. With a small amount of cash, less than $10,000, a few credit cards with $5,000 available credit, they are off to the races.

You tell friends and relatives about your new adventure and get lots of jobs. Of course, you wouldn't take advantage of friends or relatives at meager prices, would you?

You open supplier charge accounts credit cards from Home Depot and Lowes. Your working capital increased by $20,000. "Wow, life is excellent! I should have done this a long time ago!"

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Topics: Construction Company Failure, QuickBooks Contractors Financial Reports, Bad Construction Bookkeepers, Construction Bookkeeping And Accounting, Contractor Guidance

As your construction business grows, it's essential to have trusted financial professionals managing your books and providing strategic financial advice. 

 

After all, the busier you get, the more complex financial management becomes - and the less time you'll have to maintain your books and try to make sense of all the data. 

 

However, many construction business owners are not sure of the differences between a construction bookkeeper, a construction accountant, a financial planner, and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) - or whether hiring one or all of them makes the most sense.

 

Keep in mind that each branch of accounting serves a different function similar to how it works in construction. There are framers, rough carpenters, and finish carpenters, and all three work with lumber, yet in most cases, the skill sets to do everything are rarely found in the same person.

 

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Topics: QuickBooks Contractors Financial Reports, Construction Bookkeeping And Accounting, Winning Teams, Contractor Guidance

Many data support the idea that it's less costly, easier, and more efficient to encourage repeat customers than bring in new ones. Among the stats Hubspot lists are: that a 5% increase in customer retention is responsible for more than 25% increase in profit; repeat customers are nine times more likely to convert than first-time visitors, and a 2% increase in customer retention has a similar impact to your bottom line as reducing costs by 10%.

Understand The High-Profit Client - Most of them have personality traits commonly known as drivers - folks who are accustomed to getting things done quickly and efficiently. They do not mind paying professionals to service, repair, or build new construction projects related to their houses and commercial buildings.

Design and develop your internal customized systems and processes when and where it makes sense. As much as possible, when it is cheaper to buy something ready-made for a fraction of what it costs you to do-it-yourself then buy it.  

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Topics: The Contractors Account, Construction Bookkeeping And Accounting, Systems And Processes, Business Planning For contractors, Contractor Tips, finance