Perhaps more.
An alarming number of construction company owners are being ripped-off and driven into bankruptcy. That sounds harsh, but it's true. Whenever we see a contractor heading towards a problem, an issue, or a big disaster, we immediately raise the alarm. We are cautious about doing it so when we say there is a potential problem, our clients know we are serious.
Contractors by nature are tenacious, resilient and have a tremendous amount of "Grit And Determination To Succeed" which means they are not easily disturbed or prone to react hastily or rashly at the first sign of trouble. This is just one of the many qualities I sincerely admire about these wonderful men and women.
Most of our contractor clients will listen carefully and thoughtfully when we offer advice and words of wisdom because they know, like and trust us and are aware that everyone on here at Fast Easy Accounting has many years of "Real World Construction Experience," not merely academic egg-heads. I say that with all due respect to egg heads since I am an egg-head with several degrees and certifications in Accounting, Construction Accounting and Project Management.
We have callouses on our hands having owned and operated construction companies, and some of us have served an apprenticeship in one of the construction trades. In other words, when it comes to owning, operating, and making a substantial amount of money with construction and contractor service companies, we know what we are talking about.
Bookkeeper embezzlement can destroy your construction company and your personal finances. Unfortunately, until a contractor has gotten to know us, they tend to think of us as just another contractors bookkeeping service. Which means some contractors think we are crazy to suggest that any trusted employee, especially an in-house bookkeeper, would steal money from their company, and so they ignore us until it was too late.
Construction Bookkeeper Embezzlers come in every race, creed, color, gender, age. There is no definitive profile, no absolute way to know which contractor bookkeeper is an embezzler until they have been caught and convicted and even then if you do not perform extensive background checks you may never know it until it is too late.
Just because you catch a bookkeeper embezzling funds don't think for one minute they will always be punished and made to pay you back. You must understand, for the most part, in the eyes of the public, employees are unfortunate innocent victims of brutal greedy business owners.
Fortunately for you, I've compiled these telltale signs of a lousy bookkeeper, so it's easy to spot and avoid one:
- Refuse to invest time and money in continuing education because they know everything. They never learn anything new unless the company pays for the training and it is on the clock.
- Is passive aggressive and will study you and your staff to learn how to manipulate everyone, gaining power over you, your team, and new employees and outside suppliers.
- Hate change and will fight tooth and nail to stop it, or they will destroy your company.
- Know you're responsible for taxes, fines, penalties, and interest; so this is where they get even since they know how to increase your quarterly tax return costs, click here to learn more.
- Understand that bookkeeping is 90% repetitive transactions and 10% complex transactions. But they don't know what to do with complex transactions, so they put them wherever they feel like.
- Have side jobs working for other companies or an entire bookkeeping business on the side.
- Quit when the tax return is being prepared because QuickBooks is a mess and they're caught, and when they do quit or get fired, expect to hear: "Chaos, panic and disorder...my work here is done."
- Keep you busy with lots of mindless crap to divert attention from why the books are a mess and let you think you are in control of the bookkeeping and the bookkeeper until it is too late.
- Let the work expand to fill whatever time you are willing to pay them to get it done and train you to leave them alone by getting upset or angry whenever you want anything.
- Become indispensable to take time off whenever they please and hold you hostage. Also, negotiate for additional perks, benefits, changes, and elimination of personal accountability.
Things to look out for when hiring/outsourcing a bookkeeper:
- Qualified construction accountant and construction bookkeeper with a passion for learning and expanding their skill set.
- Local based - if you're outsourcing and in the U.S., there are many off-shore and foreign services that may be cheaper but in most cases will cost your business more money in the long run.
- A professional office - not somebody's home where there are little or no controls on who has access to your contracting company records; including your competitors. You would be surprised if you knew how many contractor's spouses and significant others take on other contractors bookkeeping and the information about bids, estimates profit and loss find its way into your competitor's hands.
In conclusion:
What happens when the person in control of QuickBooks is unhappy with you? The same thing that happens when the person who cooks your food is unhappy with you. Hiring the wrong bookkeeper will leave you with unfiled and unpaid taxes, gasping, upset, with tear stained checks, standing in the middle of the highway of business success staring at the remains of your business, crashed, upside down, with no hope in sight.
I have seen bad bookkeepers ruin too many businesses, especially construction businesses. In most cases, it was Bookkeeper Incompetence or Bookkeeper Embezzlement, and in other cases, it appears to me there may have been some deliberate identity theft; however, I cannot be certain. All I know for sure is that I have witnessed business failures that have led to divorce, families destroyed, finances wiped out, and people living on the streets. Make sure you hire the right one for your construction company.
About The Author:
Randal DeHart, PMP, QPA is the co-founder of Business Consulting And Accounting in Lynnwood Washington. He is the leading expert in outsourced construction bookkeeping and accounting services for small construction companies across the USA. He is experienced as a Contractor, Project Management Professional, Construction Accountant, Intuit ProAdvisor, and QuickBooks For Contractors Expert. This combination of experience and skill sets provides a unique perspective which allows him to see the world through the eyes of a contractor, Project Manager, Accountant and Construction Accountant. This quadruple understanding is what sets him apart from other Intuit ProAdvisors and accountants to the benefit of all of the construction contractors he serves across the USA. Visit http://www.fasteasyaccounting.com/randal-dehart/ to learn more.
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. Check out our Contractor Success Map Podcast on iTunes.
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