Contractors Are In The Business Of Being In Business

As A Contractor You Are Either Getting Paid, Paying Someone Or Both

Contracting Is All About The Money And Taxes

Which is better for you, Employees or 1099 Contractors? In the world of the State and Federal Agencies. Someone who works for you is either an Employee (on W-2) or a Subcontractor. You need to be issued 1099 at the end of the year, and you need be able to prove they are legitimate Subcontractors!

What we sometimes forget is the personal side of our life and do not realize we have employees. Nanny tax is for any household employees that you have for yourself, the obvious is the Nanny who provides childcare. It also includes a Housekeeper (unless using a licensed maid service).

Reminder from Tax Accountants is the Elder Care market. If you have an individual who is caring for an elderly parent (they are subject to Nanny tax unless you are using a licensed service.)

Do you have support people? Are they making your life easier or are they a risk to you and your Contracting Company?

Support People:

Are your support people working for you just to make a little money on the side?
Who is the Person who cleans the office?
Who is the Person who keeps up the landscaping?
Who is the Person who works as an Admin Assistant and runs errands?

Next step is what may seem like a nosy question. Does this person have multiple clients? If anyone is working for Just You; then the State Agency is going to say they are your employee.Once the State Agency determines you have employees – Payroll taxes are due.

Just a friendly reminder – State Agencies talk to the IRS.
States across the country are explaining to Construction Contractor that the person they hired as a 1099 Contractor is actually an employee.

If neither of you wants to have them be an employee – then they must have a business license, business cards, website, using an outside bookkeeping service and anything else that shows they are in business.

Each state is different regarding Contractors Bond, License, and Liability Insurance. Some states want Contractors to start out with a Handyman license (which restricts work based on dollar amount of the invoice) and then moves up to a full contractor’s license.

In Washington State – Contractors are either a Home Builder, General Contractor or a Specialty Contractor (Trade Contractor which is limited to individual trades). Some occupations do not require a contractor’s license. Another difference is whether a Contractor must take a test to be licensed. Since Washington State is a sales tax driven state (no income tax), Who is required to collect sales tax?

Plumbing, Electrical require individual licenses which depending on the state maybe receptacle with other states.

Temporary Labor. If you only need someone for a few days, it might be better to use a Temp Agency.
The rule is that Casual Labor is $600 or less per YEAR. Sometimes contractors think it is $600 per quarter.
If someone is paid more than $600.00, they need to be a W-2 employee on payroll or a subcontractor.

More states are adding more and more company paid benefits to employees. The name of the benefit, definitions and each state’s requirements vary. Smaller companies may be exempt from providing some benefits. It is necessary to “Understand” which Paid Off benefits are mandatory; the exact benefit name.

Paid Time Off may include one or more of these:

Family Leave
Personal Time Off
Sick Leave
Vacation Time

Electronic Time Cards Are Important No Matter What Size

Your Construction Contracting Company

Electronic time cards mean the office can stop chasing employees for timecards.
Owners time should also be on an electronic timecard; especially when tracking jobs with T&M billings.
Nothing is more frustrating than having an employee guess where they were last week.
What job were they on?
What time did they start?
What time did they leave?
Did they incur Overtime?
Do they have multiple pay rates for work, travel?
Do you pay travel time?

Detailed reports can help with Job Costing, billing. GPS feature can help properly route calls to save time and fuel. (Verify employee is where they are supposed to be)

Most employees have a Smart Phone and a data plan which allows texting.
With an electronic timecard employees can log in, clock in, change jobs, tasks, clock out easily, quickly and efficiently. Get It Done Now! Receipts can be uploaded immediately and turned into the office later.

Better yet – No one has to read scribbled handwriting and misspelled words will be reduced as spell check, or auto correct software is an easily available and affordable app everywhere.
With paper timecards “Buddy System” for clocking in and clocking out may be a problem.
In restaurants going on break and forgetting to return can be an additional issue.

Even the most productive employee needs processes and procedures to feel secure.
Great Employees want to do a good job, want to be paid what they are worth. It is unfair to the “Great Employee” when a “Bad Employee” is abusing the system. Remember to do written coaching reports.

In the most simple terms, a Paper timecard is all about trust that the employee is where they are supposed to be when they are supposed to be and the office can receive the timecard in a timely fashion, be able to read the timecard, process the timecard and pay the employee. Easy Right?

Summer time is here and hiring part time help is easy. Remember if your part time help is Under 18-Year-Olds you need to register with your state. The Under 18-Year-Olds have special Child Labor Laws. Hours Worked Pay Rate
Types Of Worked that can be performed.
For every employee even for the Under 18 Year Olds need to be on payroll with taxes being withheld.

Contractors are so busy doing the work that regular paperwork is a challenge. Keeping track of all of the HR (Human Resources) functions is just another burden. Recommend using a 3rd Party Payroll Service. Why? It’s Clean and Tidy. (One stop shopping for a whole group of HR and Tax Services)

Many of 3rd Party Payroll Services have a built-in HR component. By adding HR component, you may be able to add additional services such as Medical, Dental, 401K. Depending on the level of service the 3rd Party Payroll Service has electronic timecards, job costing, prevailing wage reports.

The automatic items:

Create and mail out W-2’s
File W-2 with Social Security Department
Create and File 941 Quarterly Reports,
Create and File State Unemployment Forms,
Create and File State Income Remittance
Track and Pay Child Support
Track and Pay Other Garnishments
Pay State Unemployment
Pay State Income Tax
Workers Comp filing is depending on the individual state

More states are requiring PTO (Personal Time off) Sick Pay Vacation Pay Family Leave Time
Do you know what the individual rules are?
Do you know what minimum wage is?

Seattle has a higher minimum wage that the State of Washington.
Seattle requires PTO for employees traveling into Seattle on a limited basis (example delivery drivers)
Across the country, other individual cities can be just as challenging.

The Labor Laws when you were a new employee on that first job is not what the rules are now.

Do you want to guess what the Payroll and Payroll Tax Rules are?
The 3rd Party Payroll Services – know the employment and tax rules for your state.
Why? State and Federal Agencies must talk to the 3rd Party Payroll Services. You or me as individuals it is much easier to be given the runaround. If you need help – they are there to help you.

Depending on your situation Fast Easy Accounting provides payroll services using Intuit’s Online Payroll
If you have more than a couple of employees; recommend working with 3rd Party Payroll Companies who knows “What To Do” when you “Explain Your Situation.”

Our Favorite Payroll Processors:

Gusto
Paychex
ADP

Everyone is embracing Cloud Services. We are looking to improve our services and processes every day.
Adding internal software to help us be more efficient and are looking for cloud-based software to help you be more efficient and same time every day. What does 10 minutes waste every day cost your Contracting Company?

Ten Minutes Waste Kills Your Construction Company Profits

Profit Drain #1 In-House Bookkeeper

Until Your Construction Company - Reaches at least $5 million in annual sales you cannot afford to hire a qualified bookkeeper or construction accountant.

For Example - You Hire someone with bad habits who is a Cheap Bookkeeper part time at $15.00 an hour for 10 hours a week thinking you will save money. The problem with that is you may not understand the true cost to have them on your payroll, including overhead, is closer to $25.29 per hour. See the chart below:

Every Ten Minutes Your Bookkeeper Is Costing You $4.21

Every Ten Minutes A Day Of Unproductive Office Labor:

Could Cost Your Company $273.93 Every Year

At 10% Profit You Need $2,739.30 More Sales To Maintain Profit Margin

In Some Cases - We can do more work for less money by providing you with real construction bookkeeping and accounting + payroll processing + monthly and quarterly tax reports + year end W-2, W-3 + profit and growth management consulting + financial and job costing reports + paperless data storage and more at a lower overall cost and as an added bonus show you how to make more money than you are now!

Profit Drain #2 Cheap Tools And Equipment

Cheap Tools And Equipment - Cost a lot of money that you cannot see; out-of-sight means out-of-mind. Invest in the best tools and equipment you can afford because in the short run you will save money. Construction workers who take pride in their work produce better results faster with fewer repairs if they have quality tools and equipment.

Make More Money Faster - With productivity gains. See the chart below:

Every Ten Minutes Your Construction Worker Costs You $5.94

Every Ten Minutes A Day Of Unproductive Construction Worker Labor:

For Employee #01 Could Cost The Company $1,544.42 Each Year

At 10% Profit You Need $15,544.20 More Sales To Maintain Profit Margin

For Example - Your best construction worker asks for a tool:

It costs $1,200.00
It will save ten minutes a day in labor
It will last 3 years
The standard response is the company can't afford it!

Highly Profitable - Construction company owner's will ask their construction accountant to calculate the projected the Return on Investment (ROI) is and then consult their Strategic Business Plan to make an informed decision.

In This Example - It may make sense to finance the purchase even if it means using a credit card at 12% interest because the net return is $3,289.36 which is 245% ROI. See below:

Example For Investing $1200.00 ROI 245%

Two Contractors Doing Similar Work - For similar customers with the similar direct and indirect construction costs will have massively different KPI Reports including the Profit and Loss Statements. Size matters when it comes to piles of money and bigger profits!

Construction Success is a few simple disciplines practiced everyday

Construction Failure is a few errors in judgment repeated everyday

Fill out the form for your no charge strategy review session!

Need A Mentor? - Someone who has been were you want to go and can guide you. We would like to be that person for you. Fill out the form on the right or call Sharie 206-361-3950 or email sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com and schedule your no charge one-hour consultation

We Support QuickBooks Desktop Version In The Cloud. Sometimes people get confused about our services of using QuickBooks Desktop in the cloud and QuickBooks Online. The two versions are not the same software.

FAQ about QuickBooks Desktop Hosting (Cloud Computing)

Isn’t there a remote access feature already built into QuickBooks?

Yes, In QuickBooks Premier Only - It has remote access feature as part of the software; however, only one user at a time may take control over one remote computer. A user must be physically present at each computer to set up a session. This is O.K. for training demos or financial presentations when speed is not important due to the lag time between pressing a key on the keyboard and waiting for the result to appear on the remote computer. Finally, it is very expensive in labor cost to use it for remote bookkeeping.

QuickBooks Online does not have all the full features of QuickBooks desktop, but can't we install some web plug-ins?

Some Missing QuickBooks Desktop Features - Are available through plug-ins if you have the time, skill and desire to maintain and update them; however many of them are not available.

What is the difference between your hosting service and using QuickBooks on my desktop or notebook?

None, No Difference - Because QuickBooks is hosted on a secure server, you will be using the same version of QuickBooks no matter where you log in. And in some cases, since you may see an increase in performance in your local computer since all the "heavy lifting" of QuickBooks is being done on a powerful server. Learn More...

Can I Use My Mac Computer To Access Windows Based QuickBooks?

Yes! You can absolutely use your Mac Computer! There is a simple download, and we have technical support available to assist you with getting it setup if you need help

What about printing and emailing from QuickBooks?

You can print and email from QuickBooks just like you are doing now. The remote server will detect whatever printer you are using on your computer now, local or network printer, and it will print to it. You can change printers inside QuickBooks remote just like you are doing now and the remote server will print there. Everything is Fast and Easy!

With your QuickBooks hosting provider, can I still get a physical copy of my files?

Yes! You can download your company file anytime to create a backup copy on your local computer. QuickBooks Online does not offer this service.

How does QuickBooks Hosting simplify my desktop computer and notebook computer maintenance?

With QuickBooks Hosting - You do not need to install or run QuickBooks on your desktop or notebook. QuickBooks, Word, Excel 2010 are all running in a web-browser, and the hosting company manages all software maintenance and upgrades, automatically.

What about backing up my QuickBooks file?

The Hosting Company - Backs up the servers every night and that includes all your QuickBooks files and any Word, Excel, PDF documents you are storing in your account

Which Hosting Company does Fast Easy Accounting use?

We Use Whichever Company Best Fits Our Client's Needs:

QuickBooks Hosting Company Must Haves:

QuickBooks backup daily
Fast, reliable network equipment
Provides English speaking tech support
Provides results not reasons or excuses
Provides superior service and tech support
Technical support issues are addressed promptly
On approved list of Authorized Commercial Host providers

Paperless Hosting Company Must Haves:

Paperless documents backup
Fast, reliable network equipment
Provides English speaking tech support
Provides results not reasons or excuses
Provides superior service and tech support
Technical support issues are addressed promptly

We use QuickBooks Desktop in the cloud which makes the QuickBooks file accessible to our clients (optional) from anywhere using both MAC and PC products. (It’s like going to the bank and logging in)

This system removes the need to move the QuickBooks file back and forth between the Contractor and the Accounting Office. All transactions are in the “Live” QuickBooks Data File where everyone has access to the information.

We move QuickBooks Online data file to QuickBooks Desktop. Once QuickBooks Online Data File (QBO) is moved into a current copy of QuickBooks Desktop, we can evaluate, update and cleanup the data file.

We Do “A Little or A Lot” depending on your needs.
Let us help you. By following the system and providing documents to us, you are helping us help you:

Setup QuickBooks Desktop File
CleanUp existing transactions,
Enter in missing transactions
Provide ongoing bookkeeping services
Leave QuickBooks file on server
Return QuickBooks file
Train, Consult, Mentor as needed.

In a rush? Want to do your own QuickBooks File Setup (US Version) Chart of Accounts or add Item Lists to your existing QuickBooks Desktop File (US Version) – Visit FastEasyAccountingStore.com.

PS: For The Do-It-Yourself Construction Bookkeeper Our Store Has Chock-Full Of QuickBooks Setup Templates, QuickBooks Chart of Accounts And More.

Most Contractors Setup QuickBooks Desktop Version In One Of Three Ways:

#1 EZ Step Interview inside QuickBooks Setup
#2 Asked Their Tax Accountant To Setup QuickBooks
#3 They Attended A How To Setup QuickBooks Class Or Seminar

And QuickBooks Does Not Work The Way They Want It Too!

The Answer:

#1 Click Here To Buy An Entire QuickBooks Setup For Your Specific Contracting Company

#2 Click Here To Buy Just The Chart Of Accounts For Your Specific Contracting Company

Products that are “IIF file” work with other QuickBooks Desktop Versions. All products are ready to use.
QuickBooks Files, Chart of Accounts and Item Lists are Instant Downloads after your order is received.
Support available if needed to install on your computer or merge into your existing QuickBooks File.

Every day being a Contractor is stressful trying to get everything done that needs to be done.

Here Is Wishing You And Yours A Happy And Safe July 4th Celebration!

Sharie

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/ 206-361-3950 or sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com

When You Become A Client - Then we can tap into our resources of knowledge and strategy banks. We use the reports hidden in your QuickBooks in order to diagnose and understand your construction business and develop plans and help you implement a path to success for you and you alone because every contractor has unique Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (S.W.O.T. Analysis) that when understood can lead to a Strategic Roadmap which cannot help but make a lot of money.

We Remove Contractor's Unique Paperwork Frustrations

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For Construction Company Owners who do not need the full power of a QuickBooks for contractors and want 24/7 online access we offer Xero Accounting Online, and we have a custom setup for construction companies. Click Here For More.

This Is One More Example of how Fast Easy Accounting is helping construction company owners all across the USA including Alaska and Hawaii put more money in the bank to operate and grow your construction company. Construction accounting is not rocket science; it is a lot harder than that, and a lot more valuable to people like you so stop missing out! Call Sharie 206-361-3950 or sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com and schedule your no charge one-hour consultation.

Profitable Contractors and Construction Company owners have known about the value of outsourced bookkeeping services and contractor coaching services like ours for a long time, and now you know about it too!

Thank You For Reading This Far, And I Hope You Understand we really do care about you and all contractors regardless of whether or not you ever hire our services.

We Scan Your Receipts, And Invoices link the appropriate transactions to QuickBooks or Xero Accounting Online depending on the construction accounting service you are using and provide ongoing Cloud Based Contractors Bookkeeping Services by accountants who understand construction.

Our Contractor Bookkeeping Services System Is A System

Thinking About Outsourcing Your Contractors Bookkeeping Services To Save Time And Money?

Click On The Button Below To Download A Free Guide

Business Process Management (BPM) For Contractors

Need Help Now?

We Are Xero Accounting Experts Specializing In Construction Bookkeeping Services

About The Author:

PS: For The Do-It-Yourself Construction Bookkeeper Our Store Has Chock-Full Of QuickBooks Setup Templates, QuickBooks Chart of Accounts And More.

Most Contractors Setup QuickBooks Desktop Version In One Of Three Ways:

#1 EZ Step Interview inside QuickBooks Setup
#2 Asked Their Tax Accountant To Setup QuickBooks
#3 They Attended A How To Setup QuickBooks Class Or Seminar