Owners of small construction companies like you are the men and women who keep everything moving in the right direction. When the economy changes, you quickly adapt because you are a survivor, not a large giant behemoth dinosaur unable to respond promptly and dies in its tracks.

 

Most articles about Job Costing are for large contractors with dozens of employees, doing millions of dollars in sales every year. This article is not about them; it is about you!

 

Job Costing links the money you spent on a job against the money you received to do a particular job.

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Topics: Construction Bookkeeping, Processes, Contractor Challenges, Contractor, contractor bookeeping services, Contractor Tips

Cost is what you see; the profit potential is what you don't see.  High-profit construction company owner's focus on both and understand that "It Takes Money To Make Money."

 

Strategy comes from the office. Fieldwork is vital - labor, material, and subcontractors get things built, maintained, and repaired; however, efficient operations and fast workers who give 110% cannot overcome lousy strategy. Office and field are separate but equal. Each skill-set requires different working styles and different cultures. It is your profession as the business owner to help everyone come together and understand each other's job and how it fits in the grand scheme of things.

 

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Topics: Processes, Contractor Challenges, Contractor, Contractor Tips

As a construction company owner, you are getting paid, paying someone, or both. Contracting is all about money and taxes. With your job being not only physically demanding but also mentally draining, have you considered valuing your efforts? I understand how challenging it is for you to keep tabs on your employee's schedule, but make sure you also track yours.

 

The primary reason to track Owner's Time On Jobs is to have a more accurate Job Costing Reports. You need to know how much money each job is making or losing. As an employer, you need to adopt the use of a time tracking software to assure accountability and improve productivity in the workplace.

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Topics: Payroll Processing, Contractor Challenges, Contractor, Contractor Tips, finance, Contractor Operating Tips, Payroll For Construction Contractors

Contractors want money; banks want to lend money, what's the problem?

 

Think of all the times:

• You loaned money to a friend or relative
• Provided labor and material for somebody's home or business without a deposit check
• Did change order work that you never got paid for doing and never will
• Gave employees an advance on their paycheck that you never got paid back
  

Multiply that by 100,000, and you will begin to understand why banks seem so tight-fisted about loaning money.

 

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Topics: Contractor Challenges, Contractor, Contractor Tips, finance, Banking

Contractors have often told us that they're "one job away from making it big or losing everything". Our clients usually wonder why some of their competitors appear to be making a lot of money than they do when they seem to be doing similar work. 

 

Not everyone seems to realize that in construction, money is not made in the field by working and pushing boundaries of tactical efforts - working harder and faster. Money is made in the office developing and implementing strategy.

 

For example, a backhoe takes longer and more skill to mobilize and demobilize on and off a job site than a shovel. Tactics mean using a shovel for all earth-moving projects. Strategy means knowing when to use a backhoe and when to use a shovel.

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Topics: Key Performance Indicators, KPI, Contractor Challenges, Contractor, Contractor Tips, finance

Developing a comprehensive strategy for your construction business can be about as much fun as wrestling a pig in the mud because:

• It is slippery and hard to get control over it.
• It will wear you out and frustrate you to no end.
• You will swear it is a complete waste of time.
• Your contractor buddies who are barely making a living will think you're crazy.
• In the end, you will be thoroughly worn out, exhausted and mentally drained.

What separates wealthy contractors from poor contractors?

• It's not a lack of opportunities to bid jobs or get leads because getting leads is easy.
• It's not lack of ambition because every contractor I know is active and ready to get busy.
• It's not a lack of intelligence or the ability to develop a production method and follow it to the end.
• It's not lack of money because if you follow my process, you know how to overcome that using O.P.M. (Other People's Money)

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Topics: Contractor Challenges, Contractor, Contractor Tips, finance, SWOT Analysis

QuickBooks users are generally not stumped by the software; they are confused by the accounting information necessary to complete the transactions. Quick access to correct information is essential to maintain the accuracy of your financial records.

 

There are no limits to the number of items that can be entered into QuickBooks improperly. Messy files build transaction by transaction or merely put invoice by invoice, receipt by receipt can all be entered into QuickBooks incorrectly. No pop-up will say, "This Is WRONG" – Do It Over.

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Topics: QuickBooks Training Online, Contractor Challenges, Contractor, Contractor Tips, finance, Contractor Operating Tips, Construction Books

The business cycle operates like ocean waves that cause a lot of construction business to go out in a year or two. Some grew too fast without reliable financial reporting tools and proper guidance.

 

As you may know, there is an expansion and contraction Isoquant that occurs in all businesses. For construction companies, it is accelerated because of the enormous risks in project work. The changes in demand for Labor, Material, Other Costs, Subcontractors can occur almost overnight which often causes a financial death spiral, and the contractor does not know they are in trouble before it is too late.

 

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Topics: Contractor Challenges, Contractor, Contractor Tips, finance, Contractor Operating Tips

A wise business owner once said, "Happiness is positive cash flow." As a business owner, I'm sure you agree. Everything is better when your cash-in exceeds your cash-out.

A cash crisis can be emotionally devastating, and it can even kill your business. If you've ever had to beg, borrow, and steal to cover tomorrows payroll you know what I mean.

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Topics: Contractor Challenges, Contractor, Contractor Tips, finance, Contractor Operating Tips

When it comes to paying employees, laws and the IRS, have made the payroll function a time-consuming nightmare for the small business owner.

 

Small business owners spend an average of eight hours a month performing payroll functions. That's 12 full days a year that could be spent generating sales, prospecting new business opportunities, improving products or services, or servicing customers.

 

Getting time cards input into QuickBooks and processing payroll can be a big hassle for your construction company.

 

• Employee advances and loans that you forget to deduct can drain away your entire profit.
• Timecards come in late causing payroll to be under enormous pressure to meet direct deposit deadlines.
• Tracking employee bonuses, reimbursements and garnishments take time and money and can cost your company some serious fines, penalties, and lost productivity if not handled correctly.
  
  

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Topics: Payroll Processing, Contractor Challenges, Contractor, Contractor Tips, finance, Contractor Operating Tips, Payroll For Construction Contractors