When you run your own business, it's tempting to take on every responsibility. There are many reasons for doing so: you want something done a specific way because you don't have the time to explain how to do it or because you're not sure someone else can handle the task. 

 

Delegating saves you valuable time and energy. Sharing duties with your team also fosters a sense of responsibility, engages them, and helps them develop their skills. 

 

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Topics: Outsource, Do What You Do Best And Outsoure The Rest, Winning Teams, Contractor Guidance, contractor delegation

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

 

Owning your business requires many skills, and among the most important might be the ability to manage negotiations. As a business owner, you could find yourself negotiating in many circumstances, such as: 

 

• Salary and job expectations with a potential employee 
• Financing terms with a lender
• Payment terms with a supplier
• Lease or property agreements
• Equipment agreements.

 

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Topics: Leveling Up, Systems And Processes, Construction Business Negotiations, Negotiating Contracts

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

When a business starts, it’s natural for the owner to be a jack-of-all-trades. You may not have the capital to hire specialists or access the technology to help you. As your business grows–or as you look to take a minor role in your construction company–you may find the industry has become over-reliant on you, which makes it difficult for you to take a step back. 

Have you M.A.P.ped your business yet? Consider this before retreating and delegating:

• Marketing - never sells more than Production can provide; on-time and on-budget
• Accounting - manages the money to maintain operations and produce a reasonable profit
• Production - delivers the project intending to exceed customer expectations

As you know, we are big on Marketing, Accounting, and Production; having a basic operation manual in place for your office, remote, and field employees pays off in the long run.

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Topics: Construction Strategy, Systems And Processes, Construction Company Cash Flow, Contractor Tips, Contractor Guidance

Every manager has habits that make them effective. Managing contractors doesn't just mean scheduling them and making sure they're progressing on the project, but also knowing how to address workplace matters proactively - for one, the growing generational differences among their peers to communicate effectively and boost productivity.

These days, it's inevitable that a diverse group of older and younger workers cross paths in the construction industry. After all, the young, tech-savvy, socially conscious Gen Y (Millennials) and Gen Z are currently the largest living generation in the U.S., navigating the workforce in record numbers. And the boomers may be retirement age, but that doesn't mean they're ready to stop working. Many baby boomers choose to enjoy "encore careers" – jobs that allow them to continue applying their skills and experience to personally meaningful projects.

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Topics: Leveling Up, Systems And Processes, Contractor Guidance

The daily processes and transactions involved in operating a general maintenance and repair contracting business can mean long hours of repetitive tasks and occasional oversights due to human nature. These days, you can use technology to take care of almost any issue facing your business.

Automating these tasks can result in significant savings in resources and eliminate mistakes caused by human error. The key, however, is to know which tasks should be automated and which ones warrant staff intervention and guidance. Let's discuss some of them:

 

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Topics: The Contractors Account, Cloud Based Bookkeeping Services, Outsourced Accounting For Contractors, Systems And Processes, Construction Company Cash Flow, Contractor Guidance

Most contractors are skilled technicians who learned their tradecraft in an apprenticeship program taught by a Master Technician, experience, or combination of these methods. 

 

There is a way to learn to operate your contracting company from a Master Contractor.

 

With time, they developed a Paradigm, Mindset, Understanding, whatever word makes the most sense to you about how construction companies operate based upon their experiences.

 

In their experience, production, getting work done is the most important part of the business because they always do as employees. 

 

Since all learning is based upon connecting new things to things we already understand, most contractors fall into the trap of only doing what they know and not learning what they don't know.

 

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Topics: The Contractors Account, Cloud Based Bookkeeping Services, Outsourced Accounting For Contractors, Systems And Processes, Construction Company Cash Flow, Contractor Guidance

There is a natural ebb and flow in the business cycle, which in regular times operates, somewhat predictable.

 

In normal times, contractors who pay close attention to their Five Key Performance Indicators financial reports and stay aware of the macro global economy and the microlocal economy can plan and earn an expected profit after paying themselves a reasonable salary.

 

The past two years have been anything but ordinary, and frankly, we are having a tough time with the economic forecasts models we follow, including our internal ones.

 

Something similar occurred from 1976 to 1980, and suddenly in early 1981, the national and global economy began to turn around, and there was a severe shortage of contractors and qualified construction workers.

 

 

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Topics: The Contractors Account, Cloud Based Bookkeeping Services, Outsourced Accounting For Contractors, Systems And Processes, Construction Company Cash Flow, Contractor Guidance

It’s been another excellent year for Fast Easy Accounting. We appreciate your support for those of you who have been with us through all these years; without our contractor clients, template customers, construction accounting academy students, email subscribers, podcast listeners, blog readers, and social media followers, we wouldn’t get to where we are today.

 

As we look back on our 2021, I hope your fondest memories will include the time you’ve spent with all the things you love and are passionate about. And because we love what we do and we are passionate about serving our contractor friends - for us, this year was all about empowering your contracting business by continually providing you with outstanding products, high-quality services, and dependable resources for your bookkeeping and accounting needs.

 

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Topics: The Contractors Account, Outsourced Accounting For Contractors, Systems And Processes, QuickBooks Construction Accounting, Happy New Year

As a Construction Contractor, much of your world is Outside The Box. You make what seems impossible and turn it into a finished product; the whole house remodel, kitchen or bath remodel, new roof, install an attic fan, replace windows, deck, patio, hot tub, swimming pool, children's backyard playhouse. 

 

The Handyman Contractor fixes "Things," which are very important to the clients who need them—fixing a door, hanging a closet rod, moving something, removing something. Compared to a Whole House Remodel, it may seem like you are not doing anything. The reality is that to the person who needed the work done that a few simple little things may change their whole world for the better. Your Work as a Handyman Contractor brings joy to their life. Be Proud of it. No job is insignificant, and no construction business is too small for us.

 

I want to be the person who says Merry Christmas! You have earned it. 

 

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Topics: The Contractors Account, Invoicing, Cloud Based Bookkeeping Services, Outsourced Accounting For Contractors, Systems And Processes, Construction Company Cash Flow, QuickBooks Construction Accounting, accounts receivable for contractors, Contractor Guidance