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

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0122 And It Will Be Interview Of Daniel Eric Bowling From SmartTradesmen.com   Tell us about your background and how you came to be where you are now I once co-owned a custom furniture design company, I have done many construction jobs including commercial drywall finishing, and most recently I have jumped into the world of online business.Upholstery is the trade that I am most known for.  I spent the last 10 years mastering this dying trade.  As I was mostly self taught and also younger than most in the trade, I brought in a fresh perspective.  While everyone else has this idea of a cookie cutter business with overhead and lots of expenses… Once I left my for company, I went a different route.  Low overhead and double my prices.  What I do is an art, so why not treat it as such.There are times that work gets a little slow, but when you charge what you're worth it is easier to make up the difference.  I have found that in the slower times, I can make GOOD money.  But when everyt

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0121 And It Will Be About Pressures of Life, Family Operating Your Unique Construction Company This Podcast Is From An Article Written By Sharie DeHart Sharie is voice on the other end of the phone when you call us at 206-361-3950 Calls come from Construction Contractors, Wives, Mothers, Bookkeepers, Advisors and others all wanting to find someone to reassure them that they are not crazy and what they expect and what’s expected from them is not unreasonable. On rare occasions there unreasonable expectations from all sides. Sharie will chat about your business, challenges, employees and spillover of personal stuff. Discuss The How’s Do I? (fill in the blank), What About’s, What’s Next, Can You Help?    Starting Point is with whoever calls in or emails asking her to call them. Chat may be from 10 minutes to over an hour as needed. It’s confidential – you are talking privately about your life and your concerns. Sharie is an impartial observer, for that special “Moment In Time” hope

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0120 And It Will Be About Contractors Who Turn Their Wives Into Construction Bookkeepers Are Headed For Divorce There is a storm brewing on the horizon and I have to address it before it is too late in an effort to help save a few good marriages. Lately there has been a surge of contractor's spouses who have left and filed for divorce and a lot more are on the edge. Girlfriends do not have as many reasons to stay so they usually pack up and leave early. I was very fortunate to meet a wonderful woman in high school, Sharie, and we married the year after we graduated while I was attending college majoring in accounting. As it happened I was raised in a family that earned a living as contractors. Sharie and I spent many years working side-by-side starting, owning and operating several construction companies so this article comes from the heart as someone who lived it. One fine sunny day in 1991 after I had been especially arrogant and short-tempered Sharie said to me: "Enough is e

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0119 And It Will Be About What Is Ten Minutes Costing Your Construction Company Profit Drain #1 In-House Bookkeeper Until Your Construction Company - Reaches at least $5 million in annual sales you cannot afford to hire a qualified bookkeeper or construction accountant.For Example - You Hire someone with bad habits who is a Cheap Bookkeeper part time at  $15.00 an hour for 10 hours a week thinking you will save money. The problem with that is you may not understand the true cost to have them on your payroll, including overhead, is closer to $25.29 per hour. Click Here For More   Every Ten Minutes Your Bookkeeper Is Costing You $4.21 Every Ten Minutes A Day Of Unproductive Office Labor Could Cost Your Company $273.93 Every Year At 10% Profit You Need $2,739.30 More Sales To Maintain Profit MarginIn Some Cases - We can do more work for less money by providing you with real construction bookkeeping and accounting + payroll processing + monthly and quarterly tax reports + year end W

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0118 And It Will Be An Interview With Jason Sturgeon From Arcade Consultants The first step of every client’s journey with me is the initial conversation. Whether across a table over a cup of coffee or lunch, on the telephone, or across distance via Skype, it’s important, as a consultant, to have a deep, meaningful conversation about what an organization needs, how it breathes and what the working pieces are, before we can talk about solutions. The exchange of information, during these chats, is not one sided, either. Prospective clients need to know more about me. Who am I? What, exactly, do I do? How do you know that I’m the right consultant for your organization? Over the course of many of these conversations, it has become clear that the first few questions are always the same – clients need all the same answers before they are ready to move on to the part of the conversation that pertains more directly to their own situation, and I am happy to have that discussion. However,

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0117 And It Will Be About When Your Accountant Says You Don't Need Job Costing It's Because They Don't Need It To Fill Out The Annual Tax Return! Contractors like you regularly ask us if there is a way to have Job Costing Reports and have their annual tax return prepared and the answer is Yes! 99.99% of the time we find out the same company that is providing the contractor bookkeeping services is providing the annual tax preparation services. As you may or may not know there is a whole lot more money in preparing tax returns than there is in providing contractor bookkeeping services. So if an accounting firm provides both contractor bookkeeping services and annual income tax service or if they have a related company which they STRONGLY RECOMMEND then you use to prepare your income tax return then you can bet your bottom dollar they will do everything possible in QuickBooks or Xero to make filling out the annual tax return as quick and painless as possible no matter what it costs

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0116 And It Will Be About Live Plan For Contractors Plan Your Work Then Work Your Plan - Who Has Time To Plan? Easy To Say And Harder Than Jumping The Grand Canyon In Two Leaps! Do you know of a contracting company that runs smoother than yours? They have the same challenges you do: Getting enough qualified leads to bid on and winning enough of them at a price that is profitable Finding employees who will arrive on time, do the work and not steal time, materials or customer Having enough cash to pay the bills before the end of the month and cash left over for the owner Until now putting together a formal Business Plan more painful than a dentist working on you without any painkiller. We found the answer. A simple financial forecasting tool that links to your Contractors QuickBooks file and does most of the work for you and it's...PAINLESS! Business Planning The Old Way: We have developed hundreds of Business Plans. Some for our internal use for our contracting companies when w

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0115 And It Will Be About Why Emailing Your Contractors QuickBooks File Invites Identity Theft Postcards Are More Secure Than Email! The reason is because fewer people have access to postcards send in the mail than have access to your email. A lot of contractors are told to email QuickBooks contractor data files to their tax preparer, bookkeeper or any number of places and continually put themselves at tremendous risk of identity theft or worse. In cases where they have stored data about their present and past clients they put their clients at risk too which if it is traced back to you could mean bankruptcy or worse. Any network carrier can see the contents of your email. Most of them never pay attention or track the content; however, there is always the chance that someone with proper clearance and software can intercept a copy of your QuickBooks contractor data file. We have warned against this practice for several years and in most cases nobody pays any attention until it is

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0114 And Today We Have A Guest On The Show, Patrick Ingram, Construction Contractor Marketing Specialist Patrick Ingram is an experienced contractor and a highly skilled marketing specialist who truly understands the challenges you face as a construction contractor in developing and executing a marketing plan for your construction company in this highly competitive environment. The Following Is An Outline From Patrick Ingram's Guest Appearance On The Contractors Success M.A.P. Podcast which you can listen to below. It is on iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Pocket Casts and all popular podcast directories.-----------------------------------------------------------------Editor’s Note: I have known Patrick Ingram for many years, I trust him and find him to be very knowledgeable and capable on the subject construction and mentoring emerging contractors as well as helping contractors who are facing current challenges to turn around their construction companies and put them back on the road to

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0113 And It Will Be About Do Contractors Need Every QuickBooks Feature? One of the most common complaints we hear from contractors is they feel like they are missing out if they are not using all that QuickBooks has to offer. Most contractors are hard driving Type "A" personalities who are concerned they are paying full price for QuickBooks and only using a fraction of what it can do and it drives them crazy. QuickBooks has over 100 built in reports and those reports can be filtered to display over 1,000,000 combinations. In addition to the staggering number of custom and special reports that can be developed in QuickBooks. The sheer volume of reports in QuickBooks makes it impossible to use all of them. The truth is no contractor uses 100% of the power of QuickBooks. For Example - The simple Profit & Loss Report Can Be Shown Four Different Ways With Little Effort Profit & Loss Report Can Be Shown As Accrual Basis or Cash Basis: Accrual Basis is generally for internal u

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0112 And It Will Be About Why Tax Accountants Are Hazardous Construction Bookkeepers Don't Let Tax Preparers Destroy Your Construction Company ProfitsTax Accountants - Can kill more cash flow and profit in your construction business in less than an hour by preparing your annual tax return using a messed up QuickBooks file than you can make up for with hard work in several months, if not years. This is because saving you money on your tax bill is not what they are paid to do; they are paid to fill out tax returns.This Is Not A Bad Thing - Rather it is a simple fact of business that people and companies do what they are paid to do. Tax Accountants also do not frame second story additions, cantilevered over an embankment in the dead of winter with a strong Northwesterly wind blowing in their face for the same reason; that is not what they are paid to do.The Answer Is - Have your Construction Accountant clean up QuickBooks before giving it to your tax accountant or tax preparer. Rea

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0111 And It Will Be About Contractor Bookkeeping Services Lies "We Live In A World Of What Is...Not What Should Be" - Randalism I am going to talk to you about a "Scammer" that could be draining cash and profits out of your construction company. It is the onslaught of "Cheap Bookkeeping Services" with an emphasis on Cheap! Contractor Bookkeeping Services Menu: | Good | Fast | Cheap | You Can Only Choose Two In the beginning, it appears to good to be true almost as if the contractor has found the impossible combination of Good+Fast+Cheap! After a short while, they re-discover the laws of business are still working and they are getting exactly what they paid for! They have engaged a bookkeeping service with data entry clerks trying to be bookkeepers! People who bless their hearts are not even close to being regular bookkeepers, let alone construction bookkeepers, which is completely different from regular bookkeeping as a shovel is from a backhoe! Learn More... The idea that anyon

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0110 And It Will Be About Passing Your Construction Company To Next Generation There will come a time when you will pass your construction company on to the next generation, sell it or simply close it down. If this is something, you are considering in the near future or perhaps several years down the road it is never too early to begin planning for it. Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance Planning hurts! Because it involves "thinking" which is, some of the hardest work you will ever do and it is the most profitable in the long run. Just knowing the answers or at least having a strategy for finding answers can mean the difference between comfortable lifestyle and the all too common "Work-Till-You-Die" treadmill that far too many contractors are on. Start by asking yourself two simple questions: #1 If your construction company were for sale, would you buy it? #2 How much would you be willing to pay for it?  Common Contractor Paradigms Of Mom And Dad Contractors They are Dog An

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0109 And It Will Be About The Truth Of Owning A Construction Company  Contractors Are Our Heroes! The rough and tumble world of construction company ownership is not for the weak or the timid. It is an arena where the price of admission is a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and long nights and lost sleep, with peaks of enthusiasm and depths of despair. It can feel like riding a roller coaster operated by a mad man trying to convince you to get off, get out and go do something more relaxing like teaching a pig to sing! If you work it right you can end up with a construction company that is like a money tree that can take care of you and your family for a lifetime and leave a legacy for your heirs. To get to the truth about your construction company you must go on a journey. It is four levels deep and like most successes in life it is simple but not easy.  The Four Levels Number One - What contractors want to hear Number Two - What contractors want to believe Number Three - Everything

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0108 And It Will Be About Working With Consultants To Help Your Contracting Company Many business consultants contact us after they start working with Handymen, Contractors and Construction Company because they are frustrated with contractors who are having trouble earning a profit. The primary root cause is most contractors do not understand their overhead costs and breakeven. In turn, contractors are frustrated with Bean Counters and Desk Jockeys who do not understand how construction works. Perhaps this article will shed some light that will help consultants and contractors understand each other and offer some tips that will benefit everyone. Business consultants live in a world where successful companies have a Business Strategy of M.A.P. or Marketing First, Accounting Second, Production Third and that is completely opposite of what most contractors do. Contractors, bless their hearts, we love them all! Most contractors operate their companies as if they were job superintend

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0107 And It Will Be About Contractors Who Babysit Their Bookkeeping Department Did You Hire A Bookkeeper For Your Construction Company And Now You Feel Like You Are Running An Adult Day Care Center? Is efficient bookkeeping difficult to achieve? Is your construction company under utilizing software? Do you have lack of confidence in your QuickBooks financial and Job Costing Reports?  Are you babysitting a bookkeeping dept that is supposed to be saving you time and money, not causing you to multitask instead of focusing on things that make you money? Are you a $100 an hour producer being slowed down by a $15 hour bookkeeper who has to be told what to do over, and over and over? When construction is booming it is hard to find a good bookkeeper who knows what to do and will do it and next to impossible to find someone is skilled in construction accounting because it is 10X harder than regular bookkeeping. Anyone can be a bookkeeper if QuickBooks setup is done correctly for construc

This Podcast Is Episode Number This Podcast Is Episode Number 0106 And It Will Be About The Cheap Contractor Spends The Most Money  In an attempt to save money, the cheap contractor does the following and ends up spending the most money and earning a tiny profit because they believe in Maximizing over Optimizing. In the short run Maximizing can payoff; however, in the long run it never does.  This article is a bit strong and it could offend some folks. If it offends you, please accept my sincere apologies. I tend to tell it straight and not sugar coat anything because I have been involved in the construction industry most of life beginning with working in my Step Father's construction company after school in the mid 1960's. During my lifetime, I have seen too many contractors work hard, never have enough money to retire. Some of them die from exhaustion and others just wore themselves out and lived their final years in poverty and only a few, less than 5% ever made enough money from owning and operating their

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0105 And It Will Be About How QuickBooks Journal Entries Distort Construction Job Cost Reports Lately We Are Seeing An Increase In QuickBooks Journal Entries Journal Entries - Are a quick and dirty way to get transactions in without putting forth time and effort to enter each transaction. In the short run you save time; in the long run you can forget about accurate Job Cost Reports. Credit Card Statements - Are the most common example we see followed by vendor statements from lumberyards, Home Depot, Lowes, concrete suppliers, plumbing and electrical suppliers and others. The Bookkeeper - Shuffles through a pile of paperwork or electronic documents and finds a credit card statement and notices that it has a lot of transactions. Depending on how well the bookkeeper has trained the contractor is what determines whether the transactions are properly entered and the costs assigned to a job using the item codes or if there is one giant Journal Entry. Using Journal Entries - Means the

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0104 And It Will Be About QuickBooks Is Not A Professional Construction Accounting Software  But It Can Be Made Into One For Contractors With Annual Sales Volume Between $0 Start Up And $10,000,000 Did you buy QuickBooks thinking it was “Quick” at keeping the “Books” for your Contracting Company and got very frustrated with it because it was neither? You are not alone! The question a lot of contractors ask is "Does anybody out there understand how to do the bookkeeping for my Construction Company?" It is not your fault QuickBooks fault, your spouse’s fault or your bookkeeper’s fault or anyone else’s fault. QuickBooks was built upon the foundation of very simplistic single-entry bookkeeping software called “Quicken” built on DOS. Quicken was developed for regular people, not businesses, to have an electronic check register for keeping track of bank balances without having to use those tiny manual paper registries that come with every box of blank checks? When Quicken was released

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0103 And It Will Be About Contractor Cost Library A Cost Library Is Another Secret Successful Contractors Use To Generate Enormous Positive Cash Flow And Profit Money doesn't grow on trees; it grows inside your properly setup QuickBooks file that is maintained by people who understand construction accounting. All you have to do is follow the Contractors Success M.A.P. and in due time you can become wealthy. This article is going to cover one of the secrets we share with consulting clients known as The Cost Library.  A cost library is used to develop construction estimates and there are three basic types of cost libraries contractors use: Heuristics - And experience is the most common method since they are essentially shortcuts that reduce the mental energy or cognitive load of making a decision. Contractors also call them Rule of Thumb, SWAG - (Silly Wild All-Encompassing Guess), Past Experience, Intuitive Judgment or common sense. Excel Spreadsheets - Most common among contrac