Some Contractors Hire Part Time Secretaries to do everything including construction bookkeeping and then wonder why their company debts keep growing and crushing them.
The thinking appears to be: "I have low price work so I need to cut costs by hiring a part-time secretary that can do everything including my construction bookkeeping. No experience needed, anyone who can fog a mirror can do construction bookkeeping"
My Secretary Should Have Been On Top Of These Things:
Making sure that I get paid from my customers
Sending the Notice to Owner of Intent To Lien to protect my financial interests
Getting field employee time cards for every job with breakdown for time spent on each task
Having all the job costs sorted and linked to each job in QuickBooks for Contractors
Tracking change orders in QuickBooks for Contractors for each job
Double checking to make sure the contractor gets paid for all change orders
Following up to be sure a written estimate has been sent to every customer
Collecting a job deposit before the work starts
Verifying the signed contract is in place
Creating a proper invoice for the job and getting it to the customer
Asking the customer for progress payments
Explaining to the customer why the contractor refuses to take credit cards
Twelve General Office Duties:
Be the receptionist
Make coffee
Answer the phone
Make calls to chase down paperwork
Sooth angry customers, employees and suppliers
Fill out every new form that arrives in the office
Clean the office, the restroom and general housekeeping chores
Maintain the computers, keep paper and toner in the printers
Get construction workers to fill out paperwork
Sort and open the mail
Be the project administrator
Ride herd over the construction workers
Fifty Construction Bookkeeping Services That Need To Be Done:
Setup QuickBooks For Contractors to provide the reports the contractor will need
Search for lost and missing paperwork in company cars, trucks and vans:
On the dashboard
On the seats, under the seats and behind the seats
Inside boxes, crates and toolboxes
In the coffee cup holders and tucked in the sun visors
Continually ask construction workers for paperwork, bills, receipts and packing slips
Enter new employee contact information, W-4, wage rates, tax rates and garnishments
Chase down employee time cards and ask for missing job cost information
Enter everyone's time cards into QuickBooks and assign job names
Keep track of loans to employees
Keep track of employee reimbursements
Process payroll and include reimbursements, health insurance, loans and garnishments
Enter small receipts for fuel, dump, repairs, supplies, expenses, office supplies, meals
Maintain and update vendor list with contact information, account numbers and terms
Enter purchases of material, supplies, equipment rental, tools and other items
Enter vehicle payments with separate transaction lines for principal and interest
Maintain a fixed asset list with depreciation schedule
Enter banking transactions including EFT, ACH, NSF, checks, debits and automatic payments
Enter banking transfers between checking and savings accounts
Separate direct and indirect job costs from overhead
Keep track of which customers pay sales tax and which ones are not taxable
Enter credit and debit card transactions and keep the contractors business and personal charges separate
Enter other business, personal, employee, non-partner card transactions
Maintain accurate credit card register balances for company debit and credit cards
Maintain accurate register balances for special credit cards like Home Depot and Lowes
Maintain accurate records of personal debit and credit cards used for company purchases
Keep track of online payments and purchases
Watch for fraudulent charges on bank and credit card statements
Keep track of job deposits and apply them to the proper customer invoices
Keep track of customer payments, refunds, charge backs and over payments
Reconcile checking, bank & vendor credit cards, vendor statements
Search emails, scraps of paper, voice mails and social media for missing paperwork
Enter customer invoice details from whatever paperwork they can find
Create new invoices to send to the customer so the contractor can get paid
Record and maintain accurate records of customer Payments and job deposits
Enter Schedule of values for new jobs
Maintain the petty cash journal
Generate Job Cost Reports for the contractor
Enter estimates from scraps of paper and emails from the contractor
Do progress billing on large jobs including Payment Applications
Add customer names and contact information
Maintain records for changes in estimates, schedule of values and payment terms
Add vendor names and contact information
Record payments from customers
Enter bank deposits
Enter bills
Pay bills
Fill out and file Labor and Industries quarterly tax returns
Fill out and file Sales Tax quarterly tax returns
Fill out and file Employment Security quarterly tax returns
Fill out and file Payroll 941 Tax quarterly tax returns
Keep everything organized and easy to find in filing cabinets, boxes and other storage systems
Know exactly where every bit of paperwork is so it can be retrieved on command
Four Shop Duties Contractors Give Their Secretary:
Accept deliveries of tools, equipment and materials
Clean the shop
Organize loose materials
Organize small tools and equipment
Run personal errands for the contractor
Shop for office supplies
Deliver stuff to job sites
Go to the bank
Go to the post office
Contractors say they are hiring a secretary then adding the construction bookkeeping as one more thing; because it is just a few keystrokes.
Contractors get frustrated because the results are not what they expected and they are always short on money coming in and long on money going out.
Customers don't pay you because they didn't get an invoice
The invoice didn't show credit for down payments, job deposits or past payments
Change orders were done but not invoiced and paid which hurts cash flow and profits
Payroll is late which means construction workers are taking your tools to the pawn shop
Tax returns filed late or not at which adds penalties and fines which hurts cash flow
Checks start bouncing which adds more fees and hurts cash flow
Bank reconciliations are wrong which means contractors don't know their cash position
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/