Feb 10, 2017
Marketing Headline is Contractor needs Accountant.
The Answer is Yes – Every Contractor needs a Construction
Accountant.
The Question is Why Does the Contractor need an Accountant?
Definition of Free One Hour Consulting from the contractor side is:
If you have any data that you can include relating to your list, include that in your introduction, too.
I received a call from a prospect a couple of years ago. She asked questions similar to the ones above.
When I started to ask questions about her business her immediate response was:
Unfortunately dealing with
an accountant is a lot like going to the
Doctor.
We are unable to fix yesterday (clean up existing or previous
bookkeeping) without knowing a little history. We are unable to
determine the proper course going forward without knowing the
following:
Each of these answers leads to more questions:
We are in Washington State. It is fairly easy to become a
Licensed General Contractor, Specialty Trade Contractor or Home
Builder.
It starts with determining what type of Business Entity do you want
to be and register with the Secretary of State.
The Trick Is Do Everything In The Right Order Knowing It Is “Hurry Up and Wait.”
Once your name is registered with the Secretary of State you can get your Federal Tax ID Number from the IRS. Move on to applying for your Master Business License. Then finally the Contractor’s License with State of Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries.
Each state is a little different in it’s licensing rules. Some make it easier to become a Handyman and much harder to become a General Contractor. Your state may require State Exams.
Each state is a little different in how it deals with sales tax. Some states do not have any sales tax.
Others state charge tax on the material (which is paid to the supplier at the time of purchase).
Washington State is a sales tax driven state. Every contractor must charge sales tax on all customer invoices unless they have a resales certificate from a General Contractor that the project is wholesale.
Builder / Developer who is doing Spec Homes is the owners of the property. As the owner, the Builder / Developer must pay sales tax for all material, labor and to their contractors as they go.
Handyman is licensed as General Contractors as they do a little bit of everything. From installing closet rods to the full-scale kitchen and bath remodel or whole house remodels.
An additional twist is that Washington State Sales Tax is destination based. We need to keep track of where the sale is located. Every city has their own sales tax code (and individual local rate in addition to the state sales tax based).
Luckily, we are able to file a combined return directly to the State for both State and Local sales tax. Depending on the company, the report and payment may be due Monthly, Quarterly, or Annually.
Payroll Is A Big Deal As Our Worker’s Comp Is Run By The State Of Washington.
My Questions Help Me Understand Your Contracting Company.
We know “What To Do” without additional supervision. Based on what you have “Told Us” we are able to do ongoing Bookkeeping. The issue happens with lack of paperwork, specialty projects where suddenly unseen Partners are involved; it appears to be a Custom Home but instead is a Spec Home or a variety of other factors where the “Bookkeeping Department” is the Last To Know.
I have heard stories from owners who are unhappy with their existing In-House bookkeepers. In many cases, the In-House Bookkeeper has tried to do a good job with too little information which did not arrive in a timely fashion.
It is impossible to enter into QuickBooks Desktop receipts they do not have and to keep up the checking account without information about customer payments and deposits.
Basics For All Accounting Is:
The “In House Bookkeepers” are expected to know which job or which the phase of a project (code to an item or Schedule of Values) without any guidance from the Project Managers. A Load of lumber from the Lumber Supplier is material to the Bookkeeper.
It is unreasonable to expect an In-House Bookkeeper or us to
know by looking at lumber receipts the material was used for
Framing, Rough-In, Decking, or Trim for the House, Garage, Shed,
Barn, Cabana, Gazebo, or Children’s Playhouse.
QuickBooks Job Costing
Reports
These Reports - Can only be found in the Premier Contractors and
Accountants editions of QuickBooks. Some of them are also available
in the Professional Services edition.
We offer Job Costing Report Service click here to
learn more
Costs to Complete by Job Summary - Once you enter an estimate for
how far along each of your jobs are, this report will summarize the
cost to complete each one of them that have active estimates. It
also shows you how much you are over or under your estimate.
Costs to Complete by Job Detail - Report drills down to the
detailed estimated cost by phase for whatever customer or job you
select, and it shows you how you are doing in relation to your
estimate.
Job Costs by Vendor and Job Summary - Report lists the job costs
you have incurred for each job or project and it is subtotaled by
vendor.
Job Costs by Vendor and Detail - Report shows a detailed list of
all the job-related costs that you have incurred for each vendor,
subtotaled by job.
Job Costs Job and Vendor Summary - Report lists the job-related
costs you have incurred for each vendor, subtotaled by job.
Job Costs Job and Vendor Detail - Report shows a detailed list of
the job-related costs you have incurred for each vendor, subtotaled
by job.
Job Costs Detail - Report lists all the costs you have for each
job. This report is useful if you need to separate all material
supplier purchases, subcontractors bills, and labor costs for each
job.
Unpaid Bills by Job - Report lists the bills you have not yet paid,
separated by customers and jobs. It lists only bills with a
customer or job associated with it. This report is useful if you
wait to pay vendor bills for a specific job until you receive a
payment from the customer; Pay-as-Paid.
Unpaid Job Bills by Vendor - Report shows all bills you have not
yet paid, sorted by vendor or subcontractor, and lists customer or
jobs associated with each line item on the bill.
Expenses Not Assigned to Jobs - Report lists costs that have not
been assigned to a customer or job, totaled by vendor. This report
helps you find costs that may not have been passed along to your
customers.
Job Status - Report lists information for each active customer and
job.
Call me old fashioned – if you chose your spouse as your “Life Partner” they should be your business partner. It gets down to a really basic fact. There is too much to do for One Person to do.
If your spouse is your business partner (even a tiny percentage) they are a real person in the company and can collect the money, write checks and talk to the government, banks, etc.
If something happens to You, The Contractor, the house payment still needs to be made, the shop rent or mortgage payment still needs to be made, the truck or van payment needs to be made. Payroll still happens. Then, your spouse still has the asset you built and can decide to keep, run the business on their own or sell it. In the meantime, your spouse has the authority to do what needs to be done.
Most spouses do not want to be active in the business they want to do their part for a better life.
We use QuickBooks Desktop Version in a Cloud environment with Commercial Host approved by Intuit
1. The Key Reports You Need:
2. Cash Report anytime YOU want it!
3. Receivables report anytime YOU want it!
4. Payables report anytime YOU want it!
5. Profit & Loss statement anytime YOU want it!
6. Balance Sheet report anytime YOU want it!
7. Job Costing report anytime YOU want it!
8. Estimates Vs. Actuals report anytime YOU want it!
9. Frequently Asked Questions And Answers Click Here
The Screenshots Below Were Taken In Our Lynnwood Washington
Office
QuickBooks Is 1,000+ Miles Away Running On High-Speed
Servers
Tucked
Securely In A Building With Armed Guards
With Highly Skilled
Technicians Maintaining It
We Provide Your QuickBooks Maintenance And Support
We recommend everyone have on a Cloud with his or her accounting. All of our Outsourced clients are in the cloud. Their access to the QuickBooks Desktop file is optional depending on their needs.
Assisted Do-It-Yourself Accounting
We recommend Our Customized Setup of QuickBooks File it is not a requirement to be on the server.
We are there if you need us; other than maintenance to your QuickBooks file we are not reviewing your QuickBooks data. You must request additional services for us to review your data.
Please visit our Fast Easy Accounting Store to for additional Self Service Solutions.
The idea of digging a “Big Hole” in the backyard and filling it with everything in your contracting company that aggravates you up can be appealing. Not really a practical solution to cleaning and organizing your truck or shop.
Equally throwing all you paperwork away isn’t really a practical solution either. Any missed deduction equals more taxes on your Local, State, Federal tax return. We try to make life easier for our clients, working together – It Works!
Thinking Happy Thoughts for 2017
Looking forward to chatting
Sharie DeHart
206-361-3950
sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com
I trust this podcast helps you understand that outsourcing your contractor's bookkeeping services to us is about more than just “doing the bookkeeping”; it is about taking a 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 to 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.
I trust this will be of value to you and your feedback is always welcome at www.FastEasyAccounting.com/podcast
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:
This guide will help you learn what to look for in outsourced construction accounting.
Need Help Now?
Call Sharie 206-361-3950
Thank you very much, and I hope you understand we 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 | The Contractors Accountant
#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
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