This Podcast Is Episode Number 0090
And It Will Be About Does
QuickBooks Frustrate Your Construction
Company?
Does QuickBooks Frustrate You? If You Answered "Yes" You Are Not
Alone!
99.99% of all QuickBooks Issues can be traced back to two root
causes:
1. How QuickBooks setup was done originally
2. How transactions are put into
QuickBooks
QuickBooks Makes Construction
Accounting
Look Simple As Microwaving Popcorn
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?
Proper QuickBooks Setup Is Your
Treasure Map
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
Our QuickBooks Setup For
Construction Company Contractors Includes:
· 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.
Five Types Of Construction Firms Need QuickBooks Setup On Premier
Contractor Edition:
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:
1. 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.
2. 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
3. Your QuickBooks expert can setup the Five Key
Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the financial health of the
business
4. 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
5. This is the most difficult QuickBooks Premier
Contractor Edition to setup because there is a mix of Direct,
Indirect, WIP and COGS accounts
6. The day to day input is also the most
difficult and needs to be handled by accounting staff with
specialized training in construction accounting
7. 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
8. 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.
9. In order for your Spec Builder Company to
reach its full potential you will need an overall strategy
including a Business Plan for Contractors
10. 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:
1. 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
2. Your QuickBooks setup for the Chart of
Accounts has a lot of Goods Sold Accounts (COGS) to allocate
project costs
3. Your QuickBooks expert can setup the Five Key
Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the financial health of the
business
4. 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
5. 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
6. 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
7. 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
8. 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
9. 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
10. 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:
1. 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
2. Your Chart of Accounts is focused Goods Sold
Accounts (COGS) to allocate project costs
3. You need the Five Key Performance Indicators
(KPI) to monitor the financial health of the business
4. 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
5. 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
6. 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
7. 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
8. 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
9. In order for you to reach their full potential
of your business you will need an overall strategy including a
Business Plan for Contractors
10. 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:
1. You use QuickBooks to track all the costs and
generate Simple Invoices which can then be input into QuickBooks
Premier Contractor Edition
2. Your QuickBooks setup for the Chart of
Accounts is usually focused Goods Sold Accounts (COGS) to allocate
project costs
3. 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
4. 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
5. This is the fourth most difficult QuickBooks
setup is the Premier Contractor Edition because there is a mix of
Direct, Indirect, COGS accounts
6. 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
7. 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
8. 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
9. In order to reach their full potential of your
Trade Construction Business you will need an overall strategy
including a Business Plan for Contractors
10. 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:
1. 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
2. Your QuickBooks setup for the Chart of
Accounts is usually focused Goods Sold Accounts (COGS) to allocate
project costs
3. You will need to closely monitor the daily
changes in the Five Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to understand
the financial health of your business
4. 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
5. This is the fourth most difficult QuickBooks
setup for Premier Contractor Edition because there is a mix of
Direct, Indirect, COGS accounts
6. 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
7. 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
8. 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
9. In order to reach your full business potential
you need an strategy including a Business Plan for Contractors
10. And of course Cheap Bookkeeping is the one
area where short term savings is overwhelmed by making bad
decisions based upon inaccurate QuickBooks reports
I hope this podcast helps you understand that outsourcing your
contractors bookkeeping services to us is about more than just
“doing the bookkeeping”; it is about taking holistic approach to
your entire construction company and helping support you as a
contractor and as a person.
We understand the good, bad and the ugly about owning and
operating construction companies because we have had several of
them and we sincerely care about you and your construction
company!
That is all I have for now and if you have listened this far
please do me the honor of commenting and rating
podcast www.FastEasyAccounting.com/podcast Tell me what
you liked, did not like, tell it as you see it because your
feedback is crucial and I thank you in advance.
We Remove Contractor's Unique Paperwork
Frustrations
For Construction Company Owners who do not need the full power
of QuickBooks for contractors and want 24/7 online access we offer
Xero Accounting Online and we have custom setup for construction
companies.
I hope this podcast helps you understand that outsourcing your
contractors bookkeeping services to us is about more than just
“doing the bookkeeping”; it is about taking holistic approach to
your entire construction company and helping support you as a
contractor and as a person.
We understand the good, bad and the ugly about owning and
operating construction companies because we have had several of
them and we sincerely care about you and your construction
company!
That is all I have for now and if you have listened this far
please do me the honor of commenting and rating podcast
www.FastEasyAccounting.com/podcast Tell me what you liked, did not
like, tell it as you see it because your feedback is crucial and I
thank you in advance.
You Deserve To Be Wealthy, Because You Bring
Value To Other People's Lives!
I trust this will be of value to you
and your feedback is always welcome at www.FastEasyAccounting.com/podcast
This is one more example of how Fast Easy
Accounting is helping construction company owners 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 construction contractors like you so stop missing out
and call Sharie 206-361-3950 or email sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com
Thinking
About Outsourcing Your Contractors Bookkeeping
Services?
Click On
The Link Below:
www.FastEasyAccounting.com/hs
Need Help Now?
Call Sharie
206-361-3950
sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com
In closing, I want to caution you that
we may or may not be a good fit for your contracting company. This
guide will help you learn what to look for in outsourced
construction accounting.
Thank you very much and I hope you understand we really do care
about you and all contractors regardless of whether or not you ever
hire our services.
Bye for now until our next episode here on the Contractors Success
MAP Podcast.
Warm Regards,
Randal DeHart | Contractors
Accountant