Payroll is one of those things that starts simply enough. You start your construction business and hire a few employees, and things tick along. It's straightforward enough to keep everything in line at first, but what happens to most companies is… they grow!

This is a great thing, but it also means that payroll becomes more complicated. As such an essential aspect of your business, payroll must run smoothly. Getting paid is, after all, the primary reason that most people come to work.

 

One of the biggest challenges contractors face is keeping track of overtime hours. With so many employees working on different job sites and projects, it can be challenging to calculate their overtime pay accurately. Complying with all federal and state labor laws is another essential aspect of a construction payroll system. This includes appropriately classifying employees as exempt or non-exempt, withholding the correct amount of taxes from their paychecks, and providing accurate wage statements.

 

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Topics: Payroll Processing, Payroll Options, Do What You Do Best And Outsource The Rest, Contractor Tips, Payroll For Construction Contractors

As a contractor, having a solid business plan is essential for growing your company and attracting new clients. If you're serious about getting the best value you can for your marketing budget, you'll need to develop a marketing plan.

One of the first steps is to identify your target audience. Who are your ideal clients? What are their needs and pain points? Once you understand your target audience, you can develop a marketing strategy that speaks directly to them.

Building a solid construction company marketing plan is essential for any business owner looking to grow their company. With the right strategy, you can increase your brand awareness, generate leads, and ultimately boost your revenue.

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Topics: Success In Owning A Construction Business, Leadership Styles, Contractor Tips, Building a Construction Business

As a small business owner, you know that managing your finances is crucial to the success of your business. But with so many accounting principles and practices, it can be challenging to know where to start. That's where we come in! This guide will break down the essential accounting principles that every small construction business owner should know. We'll discuss how these principles can help you keep track of financial transactions, create accurate financial statements, and make informed decisions for your business. So, let's dive in, shall we?

Why Are Accounting Principles Important for Construction Businesses?

Accounting principles are the foundation for any successful business. They provide a uniform framework for recording and reporting financial transactions, ensuring consistency and accuracy in your financial records. By adhering to these principles, you'll be able to:

• Make better financial decisions based on accurate and reliable data
• Monitor your business's performance and identify areas for improvement
• Meet legal and regulatory requirements for financial reporting
• Build trust with investors, lenders, and other stakeholders

 

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Topics: Construction Bookkeeping, Construction Accounting, outsourced construction accounting and bookkeeping, Cost of Goods Sold Vs. Expense, Job Costing, COGS

Construction business owners face various sources of stress that can negatively impact their well-being and overall business performance. Some leading causes of stress for construction business owners include financial pressures, tight deadlines, workforce management, safety concerns, and regulatory compliance. If not adequately addressed, these factors can lead to burnout, decreased productivity, and even business failure. 

Many entrepreneurs believe hard work and determination are all it takes to build and sustain a successful business. But when you consider the pressures of running a company, it seems wise to add effective stress management to the list. Left unchecked, stress can erode your passion and undermine performance – not to mention a severe toll on your health.

 

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Topics: Cash Flow, Construction Accountant Who Listens, MAP vs. PAM, Contractor Cash Flow Problems, Do What You Do Best And Outsource The Rest, Contractor Tips

Fear is a natural, emotional response to distress. The evolution of humanity was dependent upon feeling and responding to fear. Unfortunately, for some of us, fear is a stumbling block to unlocking our full potential and becoming great leaders. 

Fear can have a significant impact on business activities. If a business owner is afraid of taking risks or making decisions based on past negative experiences, it can hinder their success. It's important to remember that fear is often based on False Evidence Appearing Real or F.E.A.R. It's crucial to approach business decisions objectively and not let fear cloud judgment. By recognizing and addressing fear, business owners can make informed decisions that lead to success.

The good news is that courage is like a muscle, and when you exercise courage, it often becomes more robust and more natural. Here are a handful of ways to overcome fear, find courage and become a better construction company owner.

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Topics: Success In Owning A Construction Business, Leadership Styles, Contractor Tips, Building a Construction Business

A competitive advantage is something that you offer or have that the competitor does not. There must be compelling reasons for people to do business with you rather than with other construction companies.

The need to identify your point of difference is essential. The more similar your business is to many others, the greater your need to develop competitive advantages.

The key to benefitting from the competition is knowing how to take on competitors so your company earns a profit effectively. Look into your industry and the successful contractors around you not to lose sight of your vision for your construction company but as an inspiration to guide your systems and processes.

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Topics: Contractor Tips, Construction Productivity, Construction Organizational Change, Competition In The Construction Industry, Construction Competitors

Sales and profit are two very different things – as a construction business owner, you can find yourself without the cash to pay bills despite making sales you knew were profitable. You may also be startled to discover that solid cash flows from sales deliver little profit.

 

A cash flow forecast tracks cash flowing in and out of your business. The timing of these flows enables you to identify cash-rich and cash-lean periods. This helps make the right decisions, such as buying assets or preparing for cash shortfalls.

 

Cash flow is essential to the survival of your business – arguably more so than profit in the short term. Profit may be necessary for the longer term, but cash is needed to pay bills and operating costs quickly.

 

For example, if you're a plumber with reasonable cash reserves, you can survive until your business becomes profitable. However, if your business runs out of cash, you'll need to find a solution quickly to avoid going bankrupt.

 

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Topics: Construction Cash Flow, Cash Flow, Construction Accountant Who Listens, Contractor Cash Flow Problems, Contractor Tips, Improve Construction Cash Flow

Taking steps to create a good foundation in the early days of your business is essential for a sustainable and profitable future. 

It's rare these days that your prospective leads happen to find your construction business and become a client with no work. Your company has to grab people's attention, turn curious visitors into leads and then convert those leads into sales.

Keep in mind: Marketing-Accounting-Production

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Topics: Construction Marketing, Construction Bookkeeping And Accounting, MAP vs. PAM, Contractor Tips, Construction Productivity, Construction Organizational Change

If you feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of technological gadgets, never mind apps and other digital "solutions,"; you're not alone. Technology sprawl and the rabbit hole of more and more information available all the time makes productivity—and healthy downtime—a real challenge for many of us.

Although we may be quicker at completing redundant tasks, more time is wasted managing all our different apps and technologies—and more of us live in a near-constant state of distraction.

An epidemic of distracted workers

Maintaining focus on the job is increasingly difficult in the era of social media, chat apps, games, and the ability to search for anything at any time—whether related to the task at hand or not.

 

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Topics: Project Management, Construction Productivity, Construction Systems And Processes, Boost Construction Profitability

Cash is king! Construction Company cash flow is the movement of money in and out of your Construction Company; these movements are known in accounting circles as inflow and outflow. Inflows for your Construction Company primarily come from selling goods or services to your customers, but keep in mind that inflow only occurs when you make a cash sale or collect on receivables. Other examples of cash inflows are borrowed funds, income derived from sales of assets, and investment income from interest.

Outflows for your Construction Company are generally the result of paying labor, material, other direct and indirect costs of goods sold, and overhead expenses.

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Topics: Construction Cash Flow, Cash Flow, Construction Accountant Who Listens, Contractor Cash Flow Problems, Contractor Tips, Improve Construction Cash Flow