Nov 21, 2014
This Podcast Is Episode Number 0086 And Will Be About The Twelve Warning Signs You Hired The Wrong Contractor Bookkeeping Service
My Previous Accountant Never Could Understand My Business!
If you are a contractor, you know what to look for when you need to hire skilled construction workers. The longer you have been in construction the more experience you have including a sixth sense about who is likely to be a good fit for your team and who is not.
You can spot wanna-bees, clowns, and firebrands in an instant, and you know that if you are thinking about firing someone; you are already fifteen minutes too late!
99.99% of Construction is "Tangible" which means you can judge it using your five senses. You can See, Hear, Touch, Smell and Taste it and you know when it is good or bad.
99.99% of construction accounting is "Not-Tangible" including financing, taxes, payroll processing, payment applications, financial statements, cash management which means you may have to rely on your gut-feeling to know when someone perhaps is not a good fit.
I have a deep background both in construction, having owned and
operated successful construction companies andconstruction
accounting.
Just so we are clear, if you suspect I want the opportunity to work
with you, you are 100% right! But, I know what you need is proof
that I know what I am doing so let me condense several decades of
experience into these twelve warning signs you hired the wrong
contractor bookkeeping service.
If none of these twelve warning signs applies, you do not need me; however, I trust you will still find value in our website, other publications that host my articles, YouTube videos, Linked In, Google+ and dozens of other social media sites.
Warning Sign
#01
Your contractors bookkeeping services is not a contractors
bookkeeping services firm.
They are general bookkeepers who accept all types of businesses and cannot do right by any of them because nobody can keep track of all the subtle differences and nuances of multiple industries let alone the specialties within a given industry.
In the construction industry, they are known as a "Jack of all Trades and Master of None". Chances are they are very cheap, just like buying "cheap tools". Every successful contractor knows "cheap tools" are the most expensive ones in the short-run and worse in the long run.
Cheap tools and cheap bookkeepers appear to be a real bargain, until you use them for a short while and discover how expensive they really are. That is when the costs start adding up and you suddenly realize you need to replace them with someone who understands construction, knows what they are doing, has a contractors accounting and bookkeeping system, software, hardware, infrastructure and staff that are trained in construction accounting so they know how to provide the contractors accounting and bookkeeping services you need.
Warning Sign
#02
Your contractors bookkeeping services firm is defensive or
argumentative when you ask for a flat-rate cost for all your
contractor bookkeeping services needs.
There are situations when a contractor is better served with a
flexible rate schedule including pre-determined hourly rates
depending on the skill level required, but only if there are
complex construction accounting needs or if the construction
company owner and/or managers want direct command and control of
the contractor bookkeeping services.
We can serve 99.99% of construction and contracting companies in the USA including Alaska and Hawaii with annual sales volume from $0 start up to $5,000,000 with a flat rate weekly or monthly fee that does not change unless your needs change.
Our construction accounting services system takes the guesswork out of contractors bookkeeping services and leaves good solid, repeatable bookkeeping processes that workday in and day out.
Warning Sign
#03
Your contractors bookkeeping services firm talks down to you, uses
"accounting speak" and makes you feel stupid when you ask
questions. Yes construction accounting is complex; however, you
don't want to know how it is done or sausage is made for that
matter; you just how to read the financial and job costing reports
to help you operate and grow your construction company.
The true professional in any field makes everything they do look easy I invite you to look at The Five Key Performance Indicators For Contractors. Then you decide if what I say it true or not, you are the judge.
Warning Sign
#04
Your contractors bookkeeping services firm is always late getting
the work done, rushed, and misses deadlines without any explanation
or apology. Bless their little pea-picking hearts! There is no
profit in operating a chaotic bookkeeping service or any other
company for that matter.
Contractor bookkeeping services is among the most predictable, foreseeable, boring, tedious, mundane, repetitive, monotonous, dull businesses in the world and people either love it or hate it and thank Heaven we here at Fast Easy Accounting love it, eat it, sleep it, dream about it and are generally fascinated with it!
The reason we love it so much is our contractors bookkeeping system reverses the typical 95% / 5% ratio. In most bookkeeping services, 95% of the time they don't know what to do most of the paperwork they encounter so they try to remember what we did with the last one just like it and they hope the financial and job costing reports don't get screwed up. And only 5% of the transactions are simple and easy.
Even something as simple as knowing where to classify fuel or food can be a nightmare for the bookkeeping services staff without at least 10,000 hours in construction accounting.
Fuel Costs Could Go
Into A Dozen Accounts For Example:
1. Construction vehicles for use on streets and
roads
2. Construction vehicles for off road use
3. Generators
4. Cut-off saws
5. Air compressors
6. Other power tools
7. Admin vehicle company owned
8. Field employee vehicle as reimbursement
9. Admin employee vehicle as reimbursement
10. Sales employee vehicle as reimbursement
11. Operations employee vehicle as
reimbursement
12. Officer or Owner vehicle as reimbursement
Food Costs Could Go
Into A Half-Dozen Accounts For Example:
1. Field employee meals (different tax deduction
than straight meals)
2. Meals for office employees
3. Entertainment
4. Office meetings
5. Charitable donations
6. Gifts for clients
If a transaction is put into the wrong account the financial statements will present a vastly different picture to the contractor regarding which jobs are profitable and which ones are not. In the end, it could mean the difference between success and failure because if you rely on Profit And Loss By Job Reports to know which jobs to bid on and which ones to ignore.
Year over year and regardless of the economy one thing never changes; 20% of the contractors earn and keep 80% of the profits because they have a Business Process Management Strategy like our Contractors Success M.A.P. that tells them how, what, when, where and why to focus their limited resources on M.A.P. = Marketing / Accounting / Production.
The 80/20 Rule Combined With Business Process Management
Can Improve Your Life In Ways You Never Dreamed Possible!
Warning Sign
#05
Your contractors bookkeeping services firm works out of their home.
Home based businesses are great for many people and they make a lot
of sense; except when it comes to dealing with your construction
company's sensitive financial data.
The last thing you want is for your contracting company records to be sitting on someone's kitchen table open and inviting for anyone and everyone to see, touch, read and spy on you construction company. It happens more than you could imagine or could believe unless it has happened to you or someone you know and trust.
Just as bad is when your cheap bookkeeper has little
kids with sticky fingers and they get peanut butter and jelly on
your construction company receipts.
By far, the most scary cheap bookkeeping services are the ones run
by the wife, girlfriend or office worker of your competitor who
likes to share your client list, estimates and financial
records...OUCH! That happens more than you could possibly imagine
or believe.
Warning Sign
#06
Your contractors bookkeeping services firm internet presence
appears sloppy or disheveled or their website has fewer than 50
pages. Even worse, they do not have a website or any other presence
on the internet.
A website is no longer a luxury and at minimum to be taken seriously your contractors bookkeeping services should be found in at least 20 different social media sites including a presence on LinkedIn, Facebook, twitter and Google+ to name a few.
The best way to know if your contractors bookkeeping services firm has an internet presence is simply do a google search on them. Google FastEasyAccounting.com and you will find over 9,000 results as of 10-17-14. Google our Co-Founder Randal DeHart and you will find over 58,000 results as of 10-17-14.
Warning Sign
#07
Your contractors bookkeeping services firm uses high pressure or
scare tactics to get you to buy. Bad bookkeeping service! We do not
close sales; we open relationships. Hiring a Contractors
Bookkeeping service is something we take rather slowly and
deliberately.
We are a small privately held contractors bookkeeping services firm with a process to invite new contractors like you into our family of clients.
It starts with a No Charge Consultation and mutual interview to determine if there is a basis to build a mutually beneficial relationship.
Next, we review your QuickBooks file to determine how and if we can meet your construction accounting needs.
Lastly, Sharie contacts you to present one of more custom solutions that we put together to fit your construction company's individual needs because no two contractors are the same. Sharie reviews it with you and you decide to engage our services when you are ready.
Sharie will not attempt to close you because as I said before, "we do not close sales; we open relationships" so if we are not a good fit simply say so and we will leave you alone. In the future if you change your mind, you are always welcome to contact us again.
Warning Sign
#08
Your contractors bookkeeping services firm doesn't explain your
bookkeeping options; it's basically their way or the highway.
We can serve 99.99% of construction and contracting companies in the USA including Alaska and Hawaii with annual sales volume from $0 start up to $5,000,000 with a flat rate weekly or monthly fee that does not change unless your needs change.
Our construction accounting services system takes the guesswork out of contractors bookkeeping services and leaves good solid, repeatable bookkeeping processes that workday in and day out.
However, some contractors want control over their construction accounting services including what, when, where and how their Contractor Bookkeeping and Accounting services are being done. If this describes you then rest assured we have you covered.
You can have access to the same secure, Intuit Approved Cloud
Based Hosting Service, which includes the same QuickBooks desktop,
MS Word and Excel as all of our contractor clients and instead of
our construction accounting services system.
In these cases we can design a reasonable hourly contractor
accounting service package to fit your needs and allow you
reasonable command and control on how QuickBooks is setup and
maintained.
Warning Sign
#09
Your contractors bookkeeping services firm doesn't follow up
regularly to make sure you are very satisfied with the services you
are receiving. We have a simple answer, we keep in contact with you
as much or as little as you desire and more importantly we earn
your business every month. No long-term contracts, you vote with
your dollars to keep us or let us go.
That my friend is what keeps our feet to the fire. We do everything we can, within reason, to keep you, improve our services, innovate and add value every day.
Don't take my word for it see what our clients say Click Here.
Warning Sign
#10
Your contractors bookkeeping services firm has no QuickBooks
ProAdvisors on staff. This is only one of the very basic
certifications they need to have to even be considered a viable
bookkeeping services for small business firm.
Yes, it costs money, $549 per year and the ProAdvisor has to take a test and re-certify on the new QuickBooks edition every year.
Warning Sign
#11
Your contractors bookkeeping services firm never takes a proactive
approach to supporting your construction company needs outside of
simply providing the bookkeeping services and doesn't offer
recommendations to help you get more from their services, save
money, or improve your construction company profit and
productivity.
We have entire sections of our website devoted to helping your construction company become more profitable, streamline your operations and become more productive. For example, check out the strategy and construction psychology sections.
Warning Sign
#12
Your contractors bookkeeping services firm doesn't offer you a way
to access your QuickBooks desktop version 24/7/365 from any
web enabled device. That is just wrong! Does it cost them
money? Yes, many thousands of dollars annually! And it is so
worthwhile!
Want to learn how to hire an honest, competent, and reliable contractors bookkeeping services firm? Download our FREE Business Advisory Guide at Contractors-bookkeeping-services-guide-for-construction-accounting-and-bookkeeping/
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:
Need Help Now?
Call Sharie 206-361-3950
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