99.99% of all QuickBooks Issues can be traced back to two root causes:
How many advertisements have you seen by Intuit, the maker of QuickBooks that makes it appear like accounting is so simple a five year old can do it. The truth is Intuit is a sales and marketing firm that sells and markets software. And QuickBooks is one of the big winners for them because it has removed a lot of the pain associated with accounting; but it is still accounting and certain principles still apply. For example "Debits" are on the left and when they are not we give them "Credit".
When you write a check in QuickBooks you can impact up to 27 different tables and hundreds of reports which means in the end there are thousands of things that can go wrong. Even those of us with a deep background in accounting have known for years there are several things QuickBooks allows users to do which can lead them down harmful paths. One of the worst ideas ever in the history of QuickBooks is putting your bank and credit card account numbers inside QuickBooks. I suspect this was done in response to users asking for it.
Don’t assume that QuickBooks will keep an uninformed bookkeeper or user for making mistakes and don't assume it will stop your from doing something that will cause financial harm to your construction company because it WON'T! Understand that QuickBooks is just a tool like a hammer is a tool and hammers do not know which nail to drive into which piece of wood.
The problem is that bookkeeper not trained in construction accounting don’t know which nails to drive where inside QuickBooks so they just start “hammering” and causing untold damage. What happens too often is they open the box, load the program, and start using it without help or guidance. This works fine for small phone apps, games and programs, like Publisher because if you make a mistake in Publisher the damage is limited to only one file. You can see and immediately correct your mistake and it doesn't impact your taxes, job costing reports, obtaining a loan, or running your construction company!
But if you or your contractors bookkeeper makes mistakes in your QuickBooks for Contractors file it might be months or years before anyone finds it and only then if they know what to look for in the financial and job costing reports to know if they are seriously wrong.
Did someone setup QuickBooks by trying to follow the built in in template inside QuickBooks and you figured out you cannot get any of the financial and job costing reports you need to operate and grow your construction company?
The Chart of Accounts Is The Foundation Of Your QuickBooks Setup - And if your QuickBooks setup was done by a QuickBooks Expert in construction accounting and maintained correctly you are riding high and living well! If not, we can fix just about any QuickBooks setup by performing a QuickBooks cleanup and importing all of the transactions into a fresh QuickBooks file that we have customized just for your construction company.
We Perform QuickBooks Setup - Since we are QuickBooks experts in construction accounting and we work specifically for contractors on whatever year and version of QuickBooks you own. We have worked with QuickBooks since it first arrived in the early 1990's in DOS.
Having used a number of accounting programs over the years we believe when your QuickBooks setup is done correctly is the best, hands down, no contest! For the construction trades the tiny amount of money difference between QuickBooks Pro and QuickBooks Premier Contractor Edition is worth the investment for the additional a Contractor Reports alone. Upgrading every year is a “no brainer” because of all the new features and if a contractor’s construction accounting staff only saves only 10 minutes a day the savings will more than pay for the program.
Starting in 1991 we invested ten years to develop several customized QuickBooks setup templates and there have been thousands of improvements since then. We have QuickBooks setup templates for all of Construction Contractors shown below and more...
| Brand New Construction Companies | Handyman Contractors |
| Cabinet Installers | Handywoman Contractors |
| Carpentry Construction Companies | HVAC Contractors |
| Carpet Installers | Insulation Contractors |
| Commercial Tenant Improvement Contractors | Interior Designers |
| Concrete Contractors | Land Development Contractors |
| Construction Companies | Landscape Contractors |
| Construction Managers | Masonry Contractors |
| Contracting Companies | Mold Remediation Companies |
| Contractors | Moss Removal Companies |
| Custom Deck Contractors | Painting Contractors |
| Custom Home Builders | Plumbing Contractors |
| Demolition Contractors | Pressure Washing Companies |
| Drywall Contractors | Remodel Contractors |
| Electrical Contractors | Renovation Contractors |
| Emerging Contractors | Restoration Contractors |
| Excavation Contractors | Roofing Contractors |
| Finish Millwork Contractors | Spec Home Builders |
| Flipper House Contractors | Specialty Contractors |
| Flooring Contractors | Subcontractors |
| Framing Contractors | Sub-Contractors |
| General Contractors | Trade Contractors |
| Glass Installation Contractors | Underground Contractors |
| Gutter Installation Contractors | Utility Contractors |
User Permissions and limits
Company Information Window with EIN and contact
Chart of Accounts Direct Construction Costs
Chart of Accounts Indirect Construction Costs
Chart of Accounts Work-In-Progress For Land Developers
Chart of Accounts Work-In-Progress For Land Development Into Lots
Chart of Accounts Work-In-Progress For Spec Builders
Chart of Accounts Work-In-Progress For Spec Home Into Rentals
Chart of Accounts Over Billings For Earned Value Reports
Chart of Accounts Under Billings For Earned Value Reports
Chart of Accounts Retention From Your Customers
Chart of Accounts Retention For Your Subcontractors
Chart of Accounts Job Deposits From Your Customers
Chart of Accounts Indirect Construction Costs
Chart of Accounts Prepaid Expenses
Chart of Accounts Job Deposits
Chart of Accounts Fixed Assets
Chart of Accounts Depreciation
Chart of Accounts Intercompany Transfers
Chart of Accounts Payroll
Chart of Accounts Payroll Taxes
Chart of Accounts Payroll Tax Liabilities
Chart of Accounts Customer Discounts
Chart of Accounts Bad Debts
Chart of Accounts Customer Checks Returned From Bank
Chart of Accounts Employee Loans And Repayments
Chart of Accounts Jobsite Costs
Chart of Accounts Warranty Work
Chart of Accounts Sales Tax Errors
Chart of Accounts Mobilization
Chart of Accounts De-Mobilization
Chart of Accounts Leases
Chart of Accounts Purchases
Chart of Accounts Marketing
Chart of Accounts Advertising
Chart of Accounts Owner Loans And Repayments
Chart of Accounts Special Accounts For Sole Proprietors
Chart of Accounts Special Accounts For LLC Corporations
Chart of Accounts Special Accounts For Sub-S Corporations
Chart of Accounts Special Accounts For Partnerships
Chart of Accounts Special Accounts For LLP Limited Partnerships
Chart of Accounts Special Accounts Flipper Houses
Chart of Accounts Credit Cards
Chart of Accounts Lines Of Credit
Chart of Accounts Short Term Loans
Chart of Accounts Long Term Loans
Chart of Accounts Spec House Construction Loans
Chart of Accounts Land Development Construction Loans
Chart of Accounts General And Administrative
Chart of Accounts Occupancy Costs
Chart of Accounts Triple Net Leasing Costs
Chart of Accounts Technology
Chart of Accounts Professional Fees
Chart of Accounts Taxes
Chart of Accounts Licenses
Chart of Accounts Insurance Builders Risk.
Chart of Accounts Insurance Vehicles
Chart of Accounts Insurance Liability
Chart of Accounts Insurance Health And Dental
Chart of Accounts Financing Costs
Chart of Accounts Interest Earned
Chart of Accounts Gain And Loss On Fixed Assets
Chart of Accounts Estimates
Chart of Accounts Sales Orders
Chart of Accounts Purchase Orders
Item List Direct Construction Costs
Item List Indirect Construction Costs
Item List Construction Job Deposit
Item List Construction Labor Costs
Item List Construction Material Costs
Item List Construction Other Costs
Item List Construction Subcontractors Costs
Item List CSI Codes For Commercial Construction
Item List Bid Bond Deposits
Item List Sales Tax For Cities (Updated When It Changes)
Item List Sales Tax For Counties (Updated When It Changes)
Item List Sales Tax For State (Updated When It Changes)
Item List Land Developers Direct Costs
Item List Land Developers Indirect Costs
Item List Spec Home Builders Direct Costs
Item List Spec Home Builders Indirect Costs
Item List Retention Held By Customers
Item List Retention Holding For Subcontractors
Item List Work-In-Progress Costs For Land Developers
Item List Work-In-Progress Transfer Costs For Land Developers
Item List HUD-1 Statement Transfer Costs For Land Developers
Item List Work-In-Progress Costs For Spec Home Builders
Item List Work-In-Progress Transfer Costs For Spec Home Builders
Item List HUD-1 Statement Transfer Costs For Spec Home Builders
Item List Work-In-Process Transfer Costs For Spec Home Builders
Retention Tracking For Your Customers And Trade / Subcontractors
Payroll For Your Employees
Payroll Sick Days
Payroll Vacation Days
Payroll Loans Setup And Tracking
Payroll Loan Repayment Setup And Tracking
Payroll Reimbursement Setup And Tracking
Payroll Garnishment Setup And Tracking
Payroll Child Support Setup And Tracking
Payroll Tax Table
Owners Time To Job For Job Costing Without Affecting Financial Report
Preferences In 23 Categories Each One With Multiple Decision Points
Price Level List
Billing Rate List
Sales Tax Code List
Other Names List
Customer Profile List
Vendor Profile List
Templates List
Memorized Transaction List
Memorized Reports List
QuickBooks Automatic Backup On Remote Server
All Expenses And Costs Recorded In Chart of Accounts, Not Items
All Work In Process Recorded in Chart of Accounts, Not Items
Retention Hold By Your Customers
Retention Hold For Subcontractors
Job Deposits From Customers
Employee Type Tracking - Field
Employee Type Tracking - Admin
Employee Type Tracking - Sales
Employee Type Tracking - Operations
Employee Type Tracking - Officers
Employee Loans - Field
Employee Loans - Admin
Employee Loans - Sales
Employee Loans - Operations
Employee Reimbursements - Field
Employee Reimbursements - Admin
Employee Reimbursements - Operations
Employee Reimbursements - Sales
Employee Reimbursements - Officers
Payroll Preparation - Field
Payroll Preparation - Admin
Payroll Preparation - Sales
Payroll Preparation - Operations
Payroll Preparation - Officers
Payroll Tax Reporting – 941
Payroll Tax Reporting - 940
Payroll Tax Reporting - 940
Payroll Tax Reporting - W-2
Payroll Tax Reporting - W-3
Insurance Audit Reporting
Insurance Audit Support (Business Consulting And Accounting Office)
Bank Reconciliations
Credit Card Reconciliations
Business And Occupation Tax Reporting - Monthly
Business And Occupation Tax Reporting - Quarterly
Business And Occupation Tax Reporting - Annually
Sales Tax Reporting - Monthly
Sales Tax Reporting - Quarterly
Sales Tax Reporting - Annually
Petty Cash Register
Fixed Asset Tracking
Monthly Depreciation Transactions
Intercompany Transfers
Security Deposits Tracking
Loan To Shareholders / LLC Members / Partners
Cost of Goods Sold - Direct Costs
Cost of Goods Sold - Indirect Costs
Your company Schedule of Values
Prevailing Wage Reports
Work-In-Process Reporting
Tool Lease Tracking
Vehicle Lease Tracking
Equipment Lease Tracking
Schedule of Values For Job Costing
QuickBooks Default Schedule of Values
Fixed List Of Your company Schedule of Values
Your company Schedule of Values For Each Project
Construction Specification Institute 16 Basic Cost Codes
Heavy Equipment Allocation
Occupancy Expense - Office
Occupancy Expense - Shop
Marketing Cost Tracking By Chart of Accounts
Vehicle Costs – Admin / Sales / Operations / Officer
Other Income Tracking
Other Expense Tracking
Investment Property Tracking
Upload Documents To Inbox
Read, Print And E-Mail Documents
24/7 Access To Web Based Online Financial Reports
Paperless Server Vault Options
Web Based Reports
Excel Based Payment Applications
Our QuickBooks setup process for a construction company like yours may require more or less than what I am showing here and for some of you this was too much information.
Our construction company clients offer a lot of feedback regarding what they would like their QuickBooks contractor to do and we listen to each and every request and look for ways to add those enhancements and more.
On average each QuickBooks setup template will have 50 enhancements a year. We test them on our server and when they are proven to work we manually update each and every client that has their QuickBooks contractor file on our server. And then we test each update on every client QuickBooks contractor file to make certain it will work.
Most of the time our clients do not even know when a template update happened, they just know it works a little bit better and something that was a problem no longer is a problem.
The one BIG PROBLEM we caution you about is be careful when you tell another contractor about all the reports and how Fast And Easy your QuickBooks contractor works because in most cases they will not believe you. It is the difference between QuickBooks setup the easy way and QuickBooks setup the hard way!
QuickBooks Setup - By a QuickBooks expert in construction accounting to work specifically for contractors on whatever year and version of QuickBooks you own because we have worked with QuickBooks since it first arrived in the early 1990's in DOS.
Which QuickBooks Edition - Is right for you? It depends on your annual sales volume and what QuickBooks Reports you want to have.
QuickBooks Pro - Works well for all contractors with less than $250,000 annual volume because yourQuickBooks Reporting needs are not great.
QuickBooks Premier Contractor - Is what we recommend for contractors with more than $250,000 annual volume currently or projected in the next 12 months. The difference in cost is very small compared to the potential value.
The Most Important - Part of QuickBooks Setup for contractors is having a QuickBooks expert with a deep background in construction accounting who understands what your particular construction company needs. Among other things you need a fast and easy way to monitor the financial health of your construction company. QuickBooks Premier Contractors Edition provides a running scorecard of Key Performance Reports and when used with Business Process Management Tools like what 10 minutes of waste costs their company.
New Construction Speculative - Land developers, home builders and light commercial builders. These are the contractors who build something in hopes a buyer will emerge during or shortly after the building is built and they need QuickBooks setup so that it will:
Your QuickBooks setup is put together so you can track all your construction and overhead costs and generate Bank Draws and Work-In-Progress (WIP) reports against budgeted estimates to monitor progress.
Your QuickBooks setup for your Chart of Accounts needs to be focused WIP Assets with a few Cost of Goods Sold Accounts (COGS) to allocate the sale of the building
Your QuickBooks expert can setup the Five Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the financial health of the business
You need between 200 and 6,000 Items setup to track all the costs of the construction process from the ground up through the roof and final cleanup
This is the most difficult QuickBooks Premier Contractor Edition to setup because there is a mix of Direct, Indirect, WIP and COGS accounts
The day to day input is also the most difficult and needs to be handled by accounting staff with specialized training in construction accounting
You will need a simple yet effective way to keep track of retention and your QuickBooks expert in construction accounting can set it up to meet your needs
Your income can be sporadic and extremely sensitive to the ups and downs of the new construction market which is why you need a strategy with an external focus on the global housing market.
In order for your Spec Builder Company to reach its full potential you will need an overall strategy including a Business Plan for Contractors
We believe a lot of speculative builders go bankrupt because they do not have accurate reports to base decisions on and that is as direct result of trying to save money with Cheap Bookkeeping
New Construction Custom - Builders of residential and light commercial buildings have special QuickBooks setup needs:
You use QuickBooks to track all the costs and generate Complex Payment Applications, Item Estimates vs. Actuals, Job Profitability Summary and Job Profitability Detail Reports to monitor progress
Your QuickBooks setup for the Chart of Accounts has a lot of Goods Sold Accounts (COGS) to allocate project costs
Your QuickBooks expert can setup the Five Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the financial health of the business
You will have between 500 to 2,500 Items setup to track all the costs of the construction process from the ground up through the roof and final cleanup
This is the second most difficult QuickBooks setup is Premier Contractor Edition because there is a mix of Direct, Indirect, COGS and only a few WIP accounts
The day to day accounting and bookkeeping input is the second most difficult and to be done properly requires accounting staff with specialized training in construction accounting
You will need a simple yet effective way to keep track of retention and your QuickBooks expert in construction accounting can set it up to meet your needs
Our experience has been your group generates a relatively unstable income and is somewhat sensitive to the ups and downs of the new construction custom built market
In order for your Custom Home Building Company to reach its full potential you need a Construction Business Strategy including a Business Plan for Contractors
We believe a lot of custom builders go bankrupt because they do not have accurate reports to base decisions on and that is as direct result of trying to save money with Cheap Bookkeeping
Remodel - Residential And Light Commercial Tenant Improvement Contractors QuickBooks Setup:
You use QuickBooks to track all the costs and generate Complex Payment Applications Item Estimates vs. Actuals, Job Profitability Summary and Job Profitability Detail Reports to monitor progress
Your Chart of Accounts is focused Goods Sold Accounts (COGS) to allocate project costs
You need the Five Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the financial health of the business
Your QuickBooks setup will need 1,000 to 5,000 Items setup to track all the costs of the construction process from beginning to end in order to get the reports you need
This is the third most difficult QuickBooks setup in Premier Contractor Edition because there is a mix of Direct, Indirect, COGS and only a few WIP accounts
The day to day input is also the second most difficult and to be done properly requires accounting staff with specialized training in construction accounting
You will need a simple yet effective way to keep track of retention and your QuickBooks expert in construction accounting can set it up to meet your needs
Our experience has been your group generates a stable income and is not as sensitive to the ups and downs of the new construction market
In order for you to reach their full potential of your business you will need an overall strategy including a Business Plan for Contractors
And of course Cheap Bookkeeping is the one area where short term savings is overwhelmed by making bad decisions based upon inaccurate QuickBooks reports
Trade contractors - QuickBooks Setup For Plumbers, Electricians, HVAC, Flooring, Sheetrock, Painters, Landscapers and others:
You use QuickBooks to track all the costs and generate Simple Invoices which can then be input into QuickBooks Premier Contractor Edition
Your QuickBooks setup for the Chart of Accounts is usually focused Goods Sold Accounts (COGS) to allocate project costs
You will need to pay close attention to the Five Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the financial health of the business because your sales cycle is so short
You will need 500 to 2,500 Items in your QuickBooks setup to track all the costs of the construction process from beginning to end
This is the fourth most difficult QuickBooks setup is the Premier Contractor Edition because there is a mix of Direct, Indirect, COGS accounts
You day to day input is also the third most difficult and to be done properly requires accounting staff with specialized training in construction accounting
You will need a simple yet effective way to keep track of retention and your QuickBooks expert in construction accounting can set it up to meet your needs
Our experience has been your group generates the most stable income and you are not as sensitive to the ups and downs of the new construction market
In order to reach their full potential of your Trade Construction Business you will need an overall strategy including a Business Plan for Contractors
And of course Cheap Bookkeeping is the one area where short term savings is overwhelmed by making bad decisions based upon inaccurate QuickBooks reports
Service and Repair - QuickBooks setup for companies like drain cleaners, emergency service electricians and others:
You use QuickBooks setup needs to be able to track all the costs and generate Simple Invoices which can then be input into QuickBooks Premier Contractor Edition
Your QuickBooks setup for the Chart of Accounts is usually focused Goods Sold Accounts (COGS) to allocate project costs
You will need to closely monitor the daily changes in the Five Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to understand the financial health of your business
Your QuickBooks setup will need between 500 to 2,500 Items setup to track all the costs of the construction process from beginning to end
This is the fourth most difficult QuickBooks setup for Premier Contractor Edition because there is a mix of Direct, Indirect, COGS accounts
The day to day input is also the third most difficult and to be done properly requires accounting staff with specialized training in construction accounting
You will need a simple yet effective way to keep track of retention and your QuickBooks expert in construction accounting can set it up to meet your needs
Our experience has been your generates a very stable income because you are not as sensitive to the ups and downs of the new construction market
In order to reach your full business potential you need an strategy including a Business Plan for Contractors
And of course Cheap Bookkeeping is the one area where short term savings is overwhelmed by making bad decisions based upon inaccurate QuickBooks reports
This Is Only The Tip - Of the Iceberg. Everything we publish in our blog posts, articles in other websites, and anything you can find on the web is nothing compared to what is available to you as our client. We show only the basic tools to open your mind to the possibilities that are available to you. The best finish carpentry tools in the hands of a golf professional without proper carpentry training will not produce anything near to what a skilled finish carpenter can. The same can be said about the best construction business consulting and accounting tools in the hands of a skilled finish carpenter. And I say that with respect and admiration for everyone in construction.
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.
This Is One More Example of how Fast Easy Accounting is helping construction company owners just like you 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 and me 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!
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.
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About The Author:
Our Co-Founder Randal DeHart - Is a Certified PMP (Project Management Professional) with several years of construction project management experience. His expertise is construction accounting systems engineering and process development. His exhaustive study of several leading experts including the work of Dr. W. Edward Deming, Michael Gerber, Walter A. Shewhart, James Lewis and dozens of others was the foundation upon which our Construction Bookkeeping System is based and continues to evolve and improve. Follow Randal on Google+