It is late on a Friday night almost 11:00PM and I was inspired to write one last article before the week is over and I trust someone, somewhere will get value from it and maybe a bit of inspiration to keep on keeping on.

How high is the stack of paper on your desk?  2”, 4", 6” or more? Would it be helpful to know more information than just how much and when the checks cleared the bank?

Contractors Bookkeeping Services Four Levels Of Learning

As someone who has been around since the early days of information technology...beginning with chiseling on stone tablets, moving on to using charcoal to write on the back of tree bark and then progressing to IBM punch-cards, it is good to finally get close to using current technology in an era where we can have QuickBooks desktop version online and have it appear as if it were on our local computer.

QuickBooks Job Costing Work In Progress (WIP) Reports

Job Costing Work In Progress (WIP) Reports are not included in QuickBooks For Contractors. These are custom reports that must be built by putting together combinations of reporting options inside QuickBooks For Contractors software. There are thousands of possible combinations so the best approach is to decide what you want the report to do for you before investing several hours building one.

All Contractors Wrestle With Having Journeymen Vs. Paying Subcontractors

When I say "Journeyman" that means someone who has a minimum of 10,000 hours combined experience in training and practice. In our trade we call bookkeepers who work for retail stores, bookkeepers. Construction bookkeepers are people with at least 10,000 hours training and practice in construction accounting and bookkeeping services.

Construction Company Opportunity Costs

Opportunity costs are something contractors earning over $200,000 a year in take home pay understand and use on a daily basis and since the majority of our readers earn less than $75,000 I felt it would be something useful to share.

Every day Your Get Bombarded with ways to spend your hard earned money. Instead of saying no all the time here is a key strategy you can use to separate the good from the bad.

Contractors With Job Costing Library Have A Competitive Advantage

Every contractor has a Job Costing Library, some keep it in their head, some keep it on paper with names like completed jobs, bids, estimates. Other contractor's keep it in their QuickBooks for contractors software records. Still other contractors rely on places like RS Means for comprehensive databases of construction costs. These are similar to the "Flat Rate Books" used by car repair shops for decades.

A Framing Contractor's Story

To protect his privacy we will refer to him as John, not his real name. After a few years working on a production framing crew for a tract home builder John decided to strike out on his own and start a framing company working for custom home builders because he was sick and tired of the fast paced go-go-go environment of tract home building.

Cost Variables To Help You Choose Construction Software

Many contractors with expensive high-end construction software are re-examining if QuickBooks for Contractors is all they really need and if switching over to it makes sense.

If you own or manage a construction company, contractor bookkeeping is a pain in the backside and your least favorite thing to do next to training a brand new apprentice!

You know you need the Five Key Performance Indicators and Job Costing Reports to operate and grow your construction company just like you need the five key performance indicators on the dashboard of your company vehicle.

Contractors Do You Want To Know How Much Profit You Made On Your Last Job So You Can Earn More On The Next One

Contractors, Do You Want To Know How Much Profit You Made On Your Last Job So You Can Earn More On The Next One

Contractors Do You Want To Know How Much Profit You Made On Your Last Job So You Can Earn More On The Next One

Contractors Do You Want To Know How Much Profit You Made On Your Last Job So You Can Earn More On The Next One

Contractors Do You Want To Know How Much Profit You Made On Your Last Job So You Can Earn More On The Next One

Home Improvement Contractor, Hanover County Virginia

"I found your how to video on YouTube and really like how you have it set up and appreciate the pointers you had to offer. Tired of these customers constantly changing stuff on us and creating delays or extra work. I need to start being compensated for my time, but want to make sure I am doing it the right way. Thank you for your assistance."

Charles Nagel from Qvinci Software recently interviewed me regarding how our contractors clients feel about having 24/7 web access to their QuickBooks For Contractors financial reports without ever having to look at QuickBooks.

Construction Accounting Vs. Regular Accounting

All Accounting Uses The Accounting Equation

An Open Letter To Contractors Who Make Their Wives Do The Bookkeeping

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.

Contractors have told me that regular bookkeepers and

New apprentices have something in common

Neither one understands construction

I agree 100%

Contractors Often Ask Us A Simple Question:

We have read Who We Help, researched you on LinkedIn, and at least a dozen other places on the web, read your customer reviews and are convinced you can help us; but, can't we get the same thing from leveraging a hungry bookkeeper working from home and save Money?

Trouble With Estimates?

• Do you want a Fast Easy Estimate form?

• Have you ever said "I need a simple estimate!"

• A simple estimate you can use anytime and anywhere

• Something the contractors bookkeeper can understand and put in QuickBooks?

You need this simple estimate because you can use it anytime, anywhere. It has lines for description, quantity, rate, and amount. It automatically subtotals the items, adds Washington State and other state sales tax and totals everything for you!

Fill it out, give it to your customer and get the job!

The construction bookkeeper puts the estimate in QuickBooks and you have a new project! 

Click Here To Get your FREE Estimate form

To see a video of how to use the free estimate template click here!

If you need help with QuickBooks Setup, QuickBooks Cleanup or Outsourced Contractor Bookkeeping we can help! All work is performed at our office in Lynnwood, Washington.

If you like the Free Invoice Form for construction companies perhaps you would also be interested in a Free Change Order form. Simply click on the button below:

When a construction project grows beyond two invoices, and you add job deposits and change orders the process gets real tricky. There is no "Magic Button" in QuickBooks that will generate a complex invoice that makes sense to your customer.

We have an application for payment system similar to the G702/G703 we developed on Excel for complex invoices that can use to generate complex invoices for you. You do not need Excel or any Excel skills because we do everything for you and send it to you as a PDF file!

These invoices show the money trail from beginning to end in a way that everyone can understand and appreciate which means you get paid faster, with less hassle and your clients will love you for it!

Learn More About Commercial Payment Applications

Learn More About Residential Remodel Payment Applications

Learn More About Our Invoicing And Statement Services To Help You Get Paid Faster

Application For Payment Checklist

For other FREE construction forms click here

Help with Bookkeeping, Payroll Processing, Quarterly Reports

Another Version Of The Ever Popular Free Time Card Download For Contractors

It's About Your Company

• Do You Own Your Construction Business Or Does It Own You?

• Contractors Daily Workload - Too Many Hats And Not Enough Time

• Managing Toothpaste Caps Before They Grow Into Pet Peeves

• General Contractor Business Cycle - And So It Begins!

• The Four Types Of Contractors

It's All About You

• You Are The Most Important Employee In Your Construction Company

• When A Business Owner Looks For Employee – No Skills Required?

• Contractor's Secretary Does Everything Including Bookkeeping!

• Is Your Bookkeeper Training You Or Are You Training Them?

• Contractors Employees Are Not Required For Success!

It's About Your Future

• Who, What, When, Where and Why of Contractor Bookkeeping Services

• How Ten Minutes A Day Is Killing Your Construction Company Profits

• The Nine Steps To Construction Bookkeeping And Accounting

• Internal Revenue Service And Your QuickBooks File

• Contractors Are Our Favorite Clients

  QuickBooks Expert Specializing In Construction Bookkeeping Services

   

   

  About The Author:

  Sharie DeHart, QPA is the co-founder of Business Consulting And Accounting in Lynnwood Washington. She is the leading expert in managing outsourced construction bookkeeping and accounting services companies and cash management accounting for small construction companies across the USA. She encourages Contractors and Construction Company Owners to stay current on their tax obligations and offers insights on how to manage the remaining cash flow to operate and grow their construction company sales and profits so they can put more money in the bank. http://www.fasteasyaccounting.com/sharie-dehart/

Lately a lot of contractors are contacting us about getting a fresh clean start in their QuickBooks contractor file. We are doing quite a few custom QuickBooks setup and QuickBooks cleanup projects and the end results in most cases the contractors are amazed at how much smoother and simpler it is after we are done.

What Are The Benefits of Outsourcing Your Contractor Bookkeeping Services?

Our Contractor Clients Have 24/7 Access To QuickBooks Contractor Financial Reports!

Among the first bits and peices of mentoring we offer new contractors relates to string theory. Not the particle physics definition; rather a Randalism - "Develop your M.A.P. and let it guide to achieve your definition of success"#1 Marketing - Define your target market in terms of the geographic area, how far are you willing to travel to get do the job and the type of buildings, residential, commercial, industrial.

We worked with a contractor had been in business for over ten years and hired a bookkeeper two years earlier that took over his QuickBooks For Contractors and turned it into one of the worst disasters I have ever seen. From the start of my career in construction accounting in the 1970's until today I have seen a lot of disasters!

There is a common misconception in roughly 20% of all contractors who believe "Making deep noises from the chest will be received by the bookkeeper as important messages from the contractor's brain" - Randalism.