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

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0083 And It Will Be About Business Round Table - Where Contractors Learn How To Fail! Tonight And Every Night - Including daytimes and weekends, a lot of construction company owners will gather at the Business Round Table. It is the little Round Table at the local bar where the go to teach each other all kinds of ways to run their contracting company. Unfortunately, for the attendees most of the discussion is based on hearsay, conjecture, stories from curbstone lawyers, half-witted bad bookkeepers, construction company owners on the edge of bankruptcy and people that have already run their businesses into the ground and learned nothing. Business Round Table Meetings - Are held at every local tavern, beer garden, lounge, backyard Bar-B-Q, anywhere contractors go to unwind after a tough day in construction. The Contractors Who Attend These - Discussions are for the most part very intelligent, articulate bright men and women who understand the construction trade at a very deep leve

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0081 And It Will Be About Bookkeeping Services For Contractors Using QuickBooks If You Own A Construction Company - Then you understand that Bookkeeping is just one of those mundane, nasty, dirty, aggravating, grubby little chores you get stuck with along with its rotten scoundrel cousin the Monthly / Quarterly Tax Reports. If You Have Employees - Whoa! Look out! Now you have payroll to process, in some cases you may decide to provide cash advances to your employees to keep them focused on the job and not on personal issues and finally there are all the Payroll Taxes you need to keep track of and file the reports for on a regular basis.Some Contractors - Decide their time is more valuable spent meeting prospective clients, putting together bids, managing jobsites and a whole lot of other things other than bookkeeping. So they find someone else to do it and that is the subject of this article. Just Like There Are - Skilled construction workers and clowns trying to pass themselves

The BCG Matrix Is One Of The Tools Fast Easy Accounting Uses To Help Construction Contractors Increase Profits Developed By Bruce Henderson - For the Boston Consulting Group in 1968 to help corporations analyze business units or product lines. It helps companies allocate resources and is used as an analytical tool in brand marketing, product management, strategic management. No Two Construction - Companies are alike. Every construction company has a unique blend of ownership and management philosophies, tools, equipment, staff, field employees, geographic location, and relationships with suppliers, vendors and professional service providers. This Means - That if construction company "A" earns a better than average profit percentage on residential remodel it does not follow that company "B" will be able to do the same. Get Rich In A Niche - By finding your company's sweet spot, that particular thing you are good at, that people want and will pay good money for and that you are best suits you. Then you spend t

Contractors Want Money; Banks Want To Lend Money, What's The Problem? Think of all the times: You loaned money to a friend or relative Provided labor and material for construction project without any deposit Did change order work that you never got paid for doing and never will Gave employees advances on their paycheck and never got paid back Multiply That By 100,000 And You Will Begin To Understand Why Banks Seem So Tight Fisted About Loaning Money Banks stay in business is by loaning money and earning interest. They work hard to find people and businesses and contractors that are good credit risks they can loan money too and get paid back in a timely fashion, with all of the interest due to them. Do your best to avoid raising any red flags. Five Red Flags To Avoid: #1 Your Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet Reports do not conform to financial industry standards #2 The financials tell the banker your bookkeeper doesn't understand Construction Accounting #3 The preparer's signature on the annual tax return

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0077 And It Will About QuickBooks Setup For Contractors We Fix Bad QuickBooks For Contractors Setup Issues. Did someone setup QuickBooks by trying to follow the built in template inside QuickBooks and you figured out you cannot get any of the financial and job costing reports you need to operate and grow your construction company? Let us handle your QuickBooks setup for your contracting company because accurate QuickBooks contractor reports are what profitable contractors use to help them steer their construction company through the ups and downs of the business cycle. We Do QuickBooks Setup For Construction Beginning With Year 2000 And Up Click Here For QuickBooks Setup Templates For Contractors · QuickBooks Pro 2000 And Up · QuickBooks Premier 2000 And Up · QuickBooks Premier Contractor 2000 And Up · QuickBooks Premier Accountant 2000 And Up · QuickBooks Contractors 2000 And Up · QuickBooks For Contractors 2000 And Up · QuickBooks Enterprise Contractors 2000 And Up · QuickBook

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0077 And It Will About How Outsourced Bookkeeping Saved A Remodel Contractor's Company Over the years I have spoken to hundreds of contractors about backing up their QuickBooks Some contractors have acted on the idea, and others, not so much. There are two kinds of contractors who use computers: Those who have yet to experience fire, flood, theft, bad bookkeeper or hard drive crash Those who have and are now passionate about spreading the word about backups This particular contractor is one of the nicest, gentlest and friendliest people you will ever meet; typical of all good contractors! He is a large and powerful man having worked in construction for over 30 years. Let just say he knows how to communicate in a gentle but firm way to get his point across to his employees and trade contractors. He was not particularly interested in the fact that we have remote servers and that our clients QuickBooks files are backed up every night. --------------------------------------------

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0074 And It Will About The IRS And Your Contracto QuickBooks File Will Your QuickBooks File Stand Up To An IRS Audit? Bad Construction Bookkeeping Practices Raises Red Flags As A Contractor You Get - A lot of attention from the local, state and Federal tax agencies because by nature you spend most of your time standing up, moving around, building, remodeling, repairing, maintaining stuff that makes civilization possible; and not enough time and energy on your construction bookkeeping. Construction Accounting And Bookkeeping - Involves a lot of sitting, intense reading, boring, routine, mundane work and a whole lot of continuing education classes and seminars. It is like flying an airplane, 98% boredom with 2% sheer terror! So You Tend - To put it off as long as possible or find a cheap bookkeeper and both options end in pain and tears. It Is Old News - To most accountants that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can ask for an EXACT COPY of your QuickBooks file and that they have

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0074 And It Will About Our Contractors Accounting Services Unique Differences Aren't All Bookkeeping Services The Same? That's a fair question and one I can respect because on the surface every business, industry and service provider appears to be the same. Coffee is coffee isn't it? Coffee from Starbucks could be said to be ground up coffee beans that have been mixed with hot water and how can that be any different than coffee from the machine that sits in the corner of the Greyhound Bus terminal? Wine could be said to be grapes pressed, aged and put into a container. What makes Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon NAPA Valley, 1941 worth more than wine under $5 at Trader Joe's? Long ago in a bike shop near Greenlake in Seattle, Washington I went shopping for a bike helmet and asked the clerk for a "cheap helmet" because in my mind all bike helmet were the same and I was not about to be ripped off. He had a profoundly simple answer: "If You Have A $10 Head Buy A $10 Helmet" He said it

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0073 And It Will Be Leveling Up Makes Contractors Wealthy Your Thinking - Patterns and what you think about the most is why you are where you are now. It is worth noting there is no profit in chaos and the sooner you understand that the better. It May Be Too Late - To recoup past losses from chaos but it is not too late to stop it from happening again. To begin with get a clear understanding of What Ten Minutes Costs Your Company and begin implementing a Business Strategy to eliminate chaos. When You Have - A Business Strategy for your construction company everything changes in your life and your construction company because you will see everything in different light. You May Find - Yourself with a different caliber of friends because of the leveling up process. Birds And People - Flock together with others like themselves because it is comfortable. It only makes sense to soar with eagles rather than keeping your head down pecking at the ground with the chickens. Your Income - I

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0072 And It Will Be About Why Good Tax Accountants Make Bad Contractor Bookkeepers Tax Accountants - Can kill more cash flow and profit in your construction company in less than an hour using a messed up QuickBooks file to prepare your construction company annual tax return than you can make up for in sales and hard work six months, if not six years. Saving 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, people and companies do what they are paid to do. Tax Accountants also do not form, place and finish stamped concrete driveways at high noon on a hot summer day and they do not frame houses or rough-in plumbing, electrical or HVAC for the same reason; that is not their primary skillsets and they are not paid to do it. Professional Accountants - Understand the relationship between QuickBooks and the Internal Revenue Service, IRS and the importance of paying the right a

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0071 And It Will Be About My Step Father's Inspiration Why I am producing this podcast is because it occurred to me that I may be coming across as a bit stern and serious. The reality is I am simply a Great Big Teddy Bear that loves accounting and helping contractors achieve their definition of success and anyone who has anything to do with building, remodeling or maintaining our homes and businesses. I was raised in a construction family in Seattle Washington in a quaint little house in the Interbay neighborhood, nestled in between Queen Anne to the east and Magnolia to west. It is also home to a railway switchyard which means in the 1960’s it was a great place for a young man to have some “Character Building Experiences” as it was a rough and tumble, tough and gritty place to hang out. My Step Father was a Landscape Contractor and he was my inspiration for going into construction and later becoming The Contractors Accountant. This is his and my story of how it happened. As I

This podcast is episode number 0070 and it will be about having a Board of Advisors for your construction Company Large Enterprise Level National And International Construction Companies have a Board of Directors to develop and oversee the Strategic Objectives of the company. They can provide insights from a very high level top down view because the board members are already skilled in running similar firms, which means they know how to navigate the treacherous waters of the difficulties in the construction industry. This one thing can dramatically improve your quality of life and everyone around you because it is part of the BPM, which is helping you go from working IN your company to working ON your company. Follow This Step-By-Step Process: #1 Find A Commercial Banker You Can Work With Go to your bank and ask to speak with the commercial banker. Every bank has one and they can be one of your most powerful allies and mentors. The good news they are on the banks payroll. Tell them you are working with a con

This podcast is episode number 0069 and it will be about Be-Do-Have Occasionally I step out of my role as The Premier Construction Accountant and into another one of my many roles, that of a Project Manager. In 2004 on a sunny day I sat in a room for several hours and worked very quietly while laboring over the Project Management Professional exam which was administered on behalf of the Project Management Institute. www.pmi.org At the end of the exam, I was exhausted and relieved. I passed with a very high score, which meant I was now a member of an elite group of people who understand and do our best to adhere to the standards and principles of Project Management and have the internationally recognized title Project Management Professional, PMP that you may have seen after my name; Randal DeHart, PMP Roughly, 80% of Project Management involves strategy. In any effective and efficient project, strategy precedes planning which precedes work. Most failed projects can be traced back to bad strategy. It has been

This podcast is episode number 00068 and it will be about why contractors bookkeepers embezzle and steal “A recent study found that business school education not only fails to improve the moral character of the students, it weakens it. ..students were asked, if given a chance of being caught and sent to prison, they would attempt an illegal act that would net them a profit of more than $100,000; more than one-third responded ‘yes’." Bad Bookkeeper Embezzlement stems from a feeling of entitlement and the need to get even. Listed below are some of the reasons bookkeepers have used to explain why they did it: #01 “I’m really not 100 percent sure why I did it. I’ve been thinking about that the last two-plus years.” #02 "I hate bookkeeping, anyway." #03 "I could use $10,000 to put a little spice in my life.'” #04 "I am not getting a fair shake at work." #05 "They owe it to me because I am the one doing all the work around here." #06 “I’ve made a lot of mistakes and now I’m forced to answer to them.” #07 "I was get

This podcast is episode number 0067 and it will be about Why It Pays To Offer Employee Advances Sometimes Construction Company Employees Need A Little Cash Between Paydays. Owning a contracting company with employees and a burning desire to generate a profit means  you need to do whatever you can within reason to help keep them focused on their job. If a need arises for cash between paydays they have several options and here are two of them: Option #1 - They get a payday loan from one of the many companies that offer that service. A typical 14-day advance of $100 will cost them roughly $15 which is approximately 391 percent annual interest rate. If they do it regularly, it can cause your good employee to get deeper and deeper in debt which means their cash flow problem gets worse not better. When do they visit the payday loan store? If they are paid for travel time to and from the jobsites they will typically do it on your time. Run the numbers and you will know it takes roughly ten minutes each way for the d

This podcast is episode number 00066 and it will be about Outsourcing Contractor Bookkeeping Services Vs. Jobs Anything Not Related To Your Core Construction Business Is An Outsourcing Candidate These days, contractors are under increased pressure to cut their prices to get enough work. And that means they need to reduce costs. New technologies and new approaches in cloud computing for construction accounting gives forward thinking contractors an amazing ability to get more for less - but in most cases, contractor's heads are still stuck in 1990, thinking they have to do everything themselves. In addition, a lot of in-house bookkeepers are a part of the problem, fighting back hard at the thought of letting any jobs or control goes to someone else. Let’s Review This First, separate in your mind the concept of outsourcing contractor bookkeeping services and jobs because they are not the same thing. For example, suppose you decide to upgrade your contractor bookkeeping software from shoeboxes full of receipts or

This podcast is episode number 00065 and it will be about Why Your Construction Company Needs Bookkeeping When you own a small contracting company, like a residential remodeler, plumber, electrician, concrete contractor, flooring contractor or any other construction related company it is imperative that you have a good clean set of books that are consistent and updated regularly. The Tax Collector Will Not Be Happy With Financial Reports Generated From A Whole Bunch Of Random Transactions Put Into QuickBooks At The End Of The Year Tax preparation, Quarterly Tax Returns, Payroll Tax Returns, Sales Tax Returns are the primary reason contractors need to maintain a detailed set of books, but there are other factors at play. It’s important to know how much money your contracting company is bringing in and how and where the money is going. It is important to compare your results to industry standards to determine where you need to improve your contracting company business model. There is a lot of information to be

This podcast is episode number 00064 and it will be about QuickBooks Support Hold Time I love QuickBooks Because It Does So Much For Contractors! When QuickBooks was first released as a DOS version in 1992 we purchased a copy and tried it and within three months we switched our entire construction division and our bookkeeping service division that served a few small contractor clients from another well-known construction accounting software to QuickBooks and have been happy as clams at high-tide ever since. In the 1990's I found QuickBooks technical support to be absolutely awful and for all practical purposes non-existent. The problem was two-fold; early desktop computers were unreliable and would break-down, lock-up and stop for any number of reasons and QuickBooks was like a two year old child learning to walk which meant it would crash, fall-down, lock-up and stop regularly. Most QuickBooks users who had contacted QuickBooks technical support in the early days would be on the verge of a nervous breakdown

This podcast is episode number 0062 and it will be about Virtual Bookkeepers Vs. Outsourced Bookkeeping At networking events, construction contractors have asked me if we are cheaper than a virtual bookkeeper is. I like to clarify the question by asking if they mean a virtual assistant or a virtual bookkeeper. There is a HUGE DIFFERENCE between a virtual assistant and a virtual bookkeeper. Virtual assistants can be a real asset to any contractor because they have all of the computer hardware, software and office space in their home, which means they can handle a variety of mundane tasks better and faster than most contractors, can and they can do it for a lot less money. Moreover, they do not need access to any of your sensitive financial data. The time contractors save can be used to do things only they can do like meeting with clients, scheduling jobs and riding herd over apprentices. In short, doing the $50 to $100 an hour work and outsourcing the $15 to $25 an hour work to a virtual assistant makes sense.

This podcast is episode number 00061 and it will be about Sean Kavanaugh's Unique Plumbing and Mechanical Contractor Insights The Following Is An Outline From Sean Kavanaugh's Guest Appearance On The Contractors Success M.A.P. Podcast which you can listen to below. It is on iTunes, Stitcher Radio and all popular podcast directories. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Hey Randal thanks so much for having me on the show. I really appreciate it. I guess before we dig in I should probably give a bit of background on myself. My name is Sean Kavanaugh and I've been in the plumbing business in the Chicagoland area in some capacity for 22 years. Right out of college I began working for my father at Litvin Plumbing where he was the president. Litvin was a fairly famous hi-rise contractor and one of the first high rise contractors in Chicago doing the plumbing work for the John Hancock Building, Water Tower Place, Marina Towers (Think Bullet with Steve McQueen) and many others. I was hire