Almost every Contractor understands how to do basic repairs and remodels on a house.  
As the project grows it gets a little more complicated.
Is it a kitchen remodel, a bath remodel, upgrading the laundry area? Building a Deck?
Adding a second story addition? Adding a garage? 

Your Construction Accounting System started small and easy. Perhaps you tracked everything with bank statements and Excel sheets and it worked fine for a while.

Later as your Construction Company grew and you began to wonder where you are making and losing money (Job Costing) and you realized you need to better understand Construction Job Cash Flow you purchased QuickBooks thinking it was "Quick" and that is when the trouble started...

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For Most Construction Contractors Your World Is “Hurry Up” And “Wait.”

• Hurry up and answer the Call from the Customer.  
• Wait to make the appointment.  
• Hurry up and get to the job.  
• Wait for the Customer to come home, to be available.  
• Hurry up and create the proposal.  
• Wait for a decision.  
• In some cases, the Customer says “Yes” and then it is Wait for the Job Deposit.
• Wait to Start The Job

• Contractors doing Insurance Work are expecting to wait for Approval from the Insurance Company
• Wait for the 1st Installment from Insurance Company
• Wait for Inspection By Insurance Company
• Wait to collect Homeowner’s Deductible
• Wait for Final Payment By Insurance Company

All of this Hurry Up and Wait for activity makes it hard for The Contractor to schedule other jobs.
Many contractors are only holding a place open for the customer once a job deposit has been received.

There Is A Better Way - Fill The Funnel And Let Them Clamor To Get On Your Schedule!

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Contractors, Bookkeepers and Tax Accountants are trying to keep everything all in one place. That is great. A single bank account on the surface is the answer in simplicity.

Sharie’s Cash Management 101 Training I Teach Contractors Please Do Not Do This!

Why – when putting everything in one bank account; it could be a FINANCIAL DISASTER.  
Go to Home Depot, Lowes or any other larger store.  
Use your debit card; Drop or lose your debit card,
Someone finds it and buy stuff until he or she have spent all your money!
(may be a little harder with the chip but how many places can you run your debit card as a credit card?)  

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Construction Bookkeepers Without Training Is A Common Problem

Many Construction Bookkeepers start out as Admin Assistants and get promoted to doing the Contractor's Bookkeeping in their free time. They were not hired to be a bookkeeper but as an office person who does a little data entry.

This method not too bad if the employee stays a long time and grows with the company from owner working solo to gradually adding a few employees one at a time because as Randal says:

Growing By The Inch Is A Cinch; Growing By The Yard Is Hard!

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The Ripple Effect Of Not Counting All Your Income Happens When You Go To The Bank For A Loan

You need to be able to show the bank that you have enough sales to pay back the loan. For most contractors, an excessive amount of profit is NOT an issue.

There are always more than enough expenses that happen naturally in your Construction Company. And there are always tools that need to be purchased, repaired or replaced.

As 2017 tax season is finishing, I have heard from owners and employees who say. This Income or That Income doesn’t count. The fact is it all Counts.

The underground economy may be there but don’t count on the information being a secret. Between Memberships, rewards cards and using a credit card purchases are being tracked everywhere by somebody. (Some contractors think buying a truck for cash is not traceable).

Play it straight, report all of your construction company income and if your QuickBooks setup is done right and the bookkeeping entries are clean more often than not you may get a big fat tax refund!

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We Make Contractor Bookkeeping Look Easy

Because we do it every day, Monday through Friday and some holidays. This makes it over 300 days per year. With multiple clients, we are not new; it’s not new.

The same goes in your field of Construction. You do many of the same things over and over again. The end result is so clean and tidy, when the customer is watching you it looks like it was effortlessly done. That’s so simple “Why Couldn’t I Do That.” When I tried, it seems to be “A Lot Harder.”

Everyone has a skill set. Construction Bookkeeping and Construction Accounting is what we do. I confess – we think we find it easier having come from a Construction Background (for Randal growing up in a construction family and for us personally having started, owned, operated several Construction Companies).

We can speak with conviction about the basics and the more complex issues as you grow your Construction Company, Handyman Company, Trade Contractor or any one of the dozens of Construction Company types we serve.

Short List Construction Contractors We Serve

Brand New Construction Company	Handyman Company
Cabinet Installer	HVAC Contractor
Carpentry Contractor	Insulation Contractor
Carpet And Tile Contractor	Interior Designer
Commercial Tenant Improvement Contractor	Land Development Company
Concrete Contractor	Landscape Contractor
Construction Company	Masonry Contractor
Construction Manager	Mold Remediation Company
Contracting Company	Moss Removal Company
Contractor	Painting Contractor
Custom Deck Builder	Plumbing Contractor
Custom Home Builder	Pressure Washing Company
Demolition Contractor	Remodel Construction Company
Drywall Contractor	Renovation Contractor
Electrical Contractor	Restoration Contractor
Emerging Contractor	Roofing Contractor
Excavation Contractor	Spec Home Builder
Finish Millwork Contractor	Specialty Contractor
Flipper House Contractor	Subcontractor
Flooring Contractor	Trade Contractor
Framing Contractor	Underground Contractor
General Contractor	Utility Contractor
Glass Installation Contractor	Construction Employee
Gutter Installation Company	Construction Support Specialist

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Contractors who ask for help in Cleaning Up their QuickBooks File before filing taxes have better results. Because The Tax Accountant is happier because the QuickBooks file is clean and easier to work with, they will likely find more deductions which can save you money and in some cases mean the difference between success and failure in your construction company.

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

You are the Happiest because taking a trip to the Dentist for many contractors is less painful than going to the Tax Accountant. Once a Tax Accountant is “Broke In” you hate to change them.

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Messy Bookkeeping Happens Just A Little At A Time

When Contractors are doing their own bookkeeping, it becomes a problem that grows and grows

There is not any limits to the number of transactions that can be entered into QuickBooks improperly. Messy files build transaction by transaction or more simply put invoice by invoice, receipt by receipt all can be entered into QuickBooks improperly. There is no popup that says “This Is WRONG” – Do It Over.

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Contractor Bookkeeping Basics and Why

Today’s technology says “Do Everything On Your Phone”

Use an app to create an estimate, or better yet just send the estimate in the body of the email. That works when the customer’s reply is “Do It”. Great you start the job, finish the job, never send the customer an invoice; Why – They Don’t Need One – they know how much to pay from your original email because you included short explanatory paragraphs about each item of work you did.

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Contractors Struggle Between The Cost Of Having A Bookkeeper And The Value Received Because All Contractors Want To Have Is Peace Of Mind

Number 1 Frustration is discovering the contractor knows more about Construction Bookkeeping And Accounting than the bookkeeper they hired to do the job. Contractors end up trying to teach The Bookkeeper to do the job thinking every little bit helps.  

Number 2 Frustration is the Construction Bookkeeper asks “Is that part of my job description?”  

Number 3 Frustration is the Construction Bookkeeper will “Go beyond their duties and authority."

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