Subcontractor
Let’s face it, the construction industry may be rewarding but it’s also challenging. The prices of materials can go up rapidly. If you fail to predict economic events like this or make a sound forecast, you could just break even or even worse…lose money.
QuickBooks for businesses in the construction industry may help you resolve the issue of job costing and calculating the markup percentage. However, it needs to be set up properly to get accurate results. If you are not an expert in numbers, let alone know how to operate QuickBooks properly for construction business finances, your business will be at risk of losing money.
Our client, Joe, decided he needed some construction financial consulting services in Fort Collins because of poor financial management. Specifically, he was having issues with markup percentage. While QuickBooks seemed promising, Joe had trouble understanding his forecasting and seeing how much money he should be making. Here’s how Steven J Wick & Associates P.C. helped.
Arbitrarily Determining Your Mark-up Percentage is a BIG No-No
What is markup percentage? It’s the amount you need to add to the cost of materials to make a profit. This amount determines the price for the estimate of the job cost. Basically, we’re talking about sales minus job cost. This is where our client, Joe was having trouble.
As an electrical subcontractor, Joe wasn’t calculating the markup percentage for his projects properly. Joe was setting his markup price according to what he thought was best. Like many subcontractors, he thought about the cost of supplies and time for staff to complete. Despite making and winning bids, he wasn’t earning enough. Although he had been subcontracting for quite some time, he still hadn’t gotten the hang of markup prices, which was why he was not meeting his business goals.
Ideally, a subcontractor should be making a certain percentage after bidding. Joe knew what he needed to cover costs, but he didn’t really understand what he needed to be paid properly AND to grow.
Somehow, he was either taking on too many jobs and not making much money, or wouldn’t have enough jobs to cover costs.
The truth is, Joe was missing critical parts of the mark-up equation (like cost of employee mistakes, training to prevent mistakes, employee benefits, fluctuations in market prices, etc).
Hard Work Isn’t Enough
Joe has been diligently earning clients on the field. His determination to grow his business was evident. However, the accounting aspect of his business was suffering and this prevented his company from generating profits. Many subcontractors think that working hard translates to bigger income, but this is not always the case.
“Hard work alone can’t sustain your business without fully understanding how markup works, says Steve of SJ Wick & Associates, PC. Adjusting your markup percentage will help manage your cash flow when market prices are unpredictable. Among other things, understanding markup prices is a way of protecting your profits.
There are several ways to determine the markup prices correctly, such as using QuickBooks for subcontractors and/or getting construction financial consulting services Fort Collins accounting experts have to offer.
Construction Financial Consulting Services in Fort Collins Explain What Needed To Be Done
Normally, the markup price should have been shouldering the cost of the jobs that Joe was taking on. His bids must include labor, materials, employee management, and other factors that take time and money. It is not logical to take as much projects if most of it would compromise the company’s finances.
As an accounting firm offering financial consulting services in Fort Collins, SJ Wick & Associates suggested that it’s more reasonable to turn down some projects if it means making a bottom-line profit. We helped him understand the industry standard of markup percentage so that he would no longer fumble for numbers when bidding.
QuickBooks for construction industry is also a great tool in calculating estimates and job costs. Electricians like Joe may not have the skill to operate the software being more of the field than admin guy. But our expert accountants helped set it up correctly so it would return accurate results.
Contractors need to cover the cost and time. If it’s only as simple as cost + time, there’d be fewer issues to address. But some contractors fail to substantiate the general overhead per project. These include supplies, warehouse space, management, and mistakes made by employees (not to mention the time you spend fixing these mistakes), among many others. In many cases,
Many contractors also often take market fluctuations for granted in terms of contracts and bids, although they can greatly affect long-term, ongoing projects. Overlooking market fluctuations could lead to profit loss especially when you are in the construction industry working with other subcontractors on big-ticket infrastructure.
Joe needed an in-depth understanding of these critical matters to save his business. But we did not forget to mention the less obvious but impactful cost-cutting issues. Sometimes, the turnover you get from bad training, lazy employees, and needing to rehire and fix the job yourself accumulate costs that although inevitable can be prevented.
How to Spot Future Mistakes or Estimate Risks for your Subcontractor Business?
Each business has its weaknesses and issues, but there are common denominators. To help you identify the problems that could be dragging your company down, CPAs will ask you these critical questions:
What is your management style?
Contractors generally have specific skills or may excel in certain areas, except people management. It has nothing to do with charisma or presence but proper delegation and checking the employees’ performance. CPAs can quickly identify this when financial problems arise because the scope of consulting financial services in Fort Collins includes poor management style.
CPAs can help you tackle this issue to ensure you develop a fool-proof management style alternative that benefits both the employer and employees.
What are your systems processes?
Often, it’s not enough to hire employees based on their qualifications. That doesn’t make them instant experts in the type of jobs that you engage in. Ideally, you need to train them before they start their work. Providing them with training materials in the form of manuals, audios, visuals, and the like can help them understand their responsibilities and the business. The training materials may include processes, policies, and guidelines.
The core idea is to train your employees not just to understand their jobs and the industry but mostly to understand quality.
What is your QuickBooks set-up?
Initially, a subcontractor business startup begins with a one or two person QuickBooks set-up. This may work well in the beginning, and you may grow complacent. But when your business starts to grow, you may take correct job costing for granted. This is when things start to get messy. Suddenly, you can no longer keep up with the numbers and start losing profit.
QuickBooks for construction is a great tool but it won’t run itself alone. When it comes to job costing, your full attention is necessary, and if things get out of hand with your hand, seeking construction financial consulting services in Fort Collins is the one thing that can save your business.
The Benefits of Hiring a Local CPA to Help Grow Your Business
Whether you are an electrician, a plumber, or a general construction subcontractor who is always out on fieldwork, you need someone to take care of office work, especially your company’s finances. If you think QuickBooks is enough to handle the cash flow and other complicated funding issues, think again. With a handful of jobs and potential clients you want to go after, you won’t have the time to run and maintain it.
Your best go-to is a local CPA who offers construction financial consulting services in Fort Collins. This way, you can enjoy the following benefits:
You have more time to do your job and get more clients
Don’t let administrative tasks get in the way of doing what you do best. Hiring someone for office tasks will allow you to focus on your specialty and sign up more clients. This means more earnings for your company. Your skills are valuable and must be used where they should be. A local CPA can help you achieve what you want as you maximize your time.
A local CPA offers a more personal approach and can help you find solution quickly
If you’re hiring a CPA, choose a local. This way, you can work side-by-side on your finances and fix any issues more quickly. You won’t have a problem reaching them as well because you have questions that need immediate answers.
A local CPA understands the local market and the laws of the state
Market trends vary from one state or city to another. If you need an expert to understand the market in your area, the best person to consult is a local CPA. You can have more accurate market insights and reliable projections because your CPA has in-depth knowledge and exposure.
The best thing about local CPAs is that they know your state’s laws. You would be able to avoid legal issues related to taxes, contracts, and states policies with an expert backing you up.
Electricians May Not Be Accounting Experts But CPAs Are
When it comes to financial consulting services, Fort Collins accounting firms have a lot to offer so your subcontracting business can grow. You certainly need help from an accounting expert either to set up QuickBooks for construction or guide you with markup prices and job costing, like Joe.
If you are unsure of the decisions you make job-wise, SJ Wick & Associates offers financial consulting services that will help you make smart decisions. Our expert accountants will help you determine whether the jobs you take are fitting within the correct margins. We are dedicated to helping you take your business to where you want it to go.
As always, we provide the highest level of service. SJ Wick & Associates offers financial consulting services, payroll preparation, accounting, bookkeeping, and tax preparation solutions. Let us know how we can help! Call us today!
Subcontractor
Let’s face it, the construction industry may be rewarding but it’s also challenging. The prices of materials can go up rapidly. If you fail to predict economic events like this or make a sound forecast, you could just break even or even worse…lose money.
QuickBooks for businesses in the construction industry may help you resolve the issue of job costing and calculating the markup percentage. However, it needs to be set up properly to get accurate results. If you are not an expert in numbers, let alone know how to operate QuickBooks properly for construction business finances, your business will be at risk of losing money.
Our client, Joe, decided he needed some construction financial consulting services in Fort Collins because of poor financial management. Specifically, he was having issues with markup percentage. While QuickBooks seemed promising, Joe had trouble understanding his forecasting and seeing how much money he should be making. Here’s how Steven J Wick & Associates P.C. helped.
Arbitrarily Determining Your Mark-up Percentage is a BIG No-No
What is markup percentage? It’s the amount you need to add to the cost of materials to make a profit. This amount determines the price for the estimate of the job cost. Basically, we’re talking about sales minus job cost. This is where our client, Joe was having trouble.
As an electrical subcontractor, Joe wasn’t calculating the markup percentage for his projects properly. Joe was setting his markup price according to what he thought was best. Like many subcontractors, he thought about the cost of supplies and time for staff to complete. Despite making and winning bids, he wasn’t earning enough. Although he had been subcontracting for quite some time, he still hadn’t gotten the hang of markup prices, which was why he was not meeting his business goals.
Ideally, a subcontractor should be making a certain percentage after bidding. Joe knew what he needed to cover costs, but he didn’t really understand what he needed to be paid properly AND to grow.
Somehow, he was either taking on too many jobs and not making much money, or wouldn’t have enough jobs to cover costs.
The truth is, Joe was missing critical parts of the mark-up equation (like cost of employee mistakes, training to prevent mistakes, employee benefits, fluctuations in market prices, etc).
Hard Work Isn’t Enough
Joe has been diligently earning clients on the field. His determination to grow his business was evident. However, the accounting aspect of his business was suffering and this prevented his company from generating profits. Many subcontractors think that working hard translates to bigger income, but this is not always the case.
“Hard work alone can’t sustain your business without fully understanding how markup works, says Steve of SJ Wick & Associates, PC. Adjusting your markup percentage will help manage your cash flow when market prices are unpredictable. Among other things, understanding markup prices is a way of protecting your profits.
There are several ways to determine the markup prices correctly, such as using QuickBooks for subcontractors and/or getting construction financial consulting services Fort Collins accounting experts have to offer.
Construction Financial Consulting Services in Fort Collins Explain What Needed To Be Done
Normally, the markup price should have been shouldering the cost of the jobs that Joe was taking on. His bids must include labor, materials, employee management, and other factors that take time and money. It is not logical to take as much projects if most of it would compromise the company’s finances.
As an accounting firm offering financial consulting services in Fort Collins, SJ Wick & Associates suggested that it’s more reasonable to turn down some projects if it means making a bottom-line profit. We helped him understand the industry standard of markup percentage so that he would no longer fumble for numbers when bidding.
QuickBooks for construction industry is also a great tool in calculating estimates and job costs. Electricians like Joe may not have the skill to operate the software being more of the field than admin guy. But our expert accountants helped set it up correctly so it would return accurate results.
Contractors need to cover the cost and time. If it’s only as simple as cost + time, there’d be fewer issues to address. But some contractors fail to substantiate the general overhead per project. These include supplies, warehouse space, management, and mistakes made by employees (not to mention the time you spend fixing these mistakes), among many others. In many cases,
Many contractors also often take market fluctuations for granted in terms of contracts and bids, although they can greatly affect long-term, ongoing projects. Overlooking market fluctuations could lead to profit loss especially when you are in the construction industry working with other subcontractors on big-ticket infrastructure.
Joe needed an in-depth understanding of these critical matters to save his business. But we did not forget to mention the less obvious but impactful cost-cutting issues. Sometimes, the turnover you get from bad training, lazy employees, and needing to rehire and fix the job yourself accumulate costs that although inevitable can be prevented.
How to Spot Future Mistakes or Estimate Risks for your Subcontractor Business?
Each business has its weaknesses and issues, but there are common denominators. To help you identify the problems that could be dragging your company down, CPAs will ask you these critical questions:
What is your management style?
Contractors generally have specific skills or may excel in certain areas, except people management. It has nothing to do with charisma or presence but proper delegation and checking the employees’ performance. CPAs can quickly identify this when financial problems arise because the scope of consulting financial services in Fort Collins includes poor management style.
CPAs can help you tackle this issue to ensure you develop a fool-proof management style alternative that benefits both the employer and employees.
What are your systems processes?
Often, it’s not enough to hire employees based on their qualifications. That doesn’t make them instant experts in the type of jobs that you engage in. Ideally, you need to train them before they start their work. Providing them with training materials in the form of manuals, audios, visuals, and the like can help them understand their responsibilities and the business. The training materials may include processes, policies, and guidelines.
The core idea is to train your employees not just to understand their jobs and the industry but mostly to understand quality.
What is your QuickBooks set-up?
Initially, a subcontractor business startup begins with a one or two person QuickBooks set-up. This may work well in the beginning, and you may grow complacent. But when your business starts to grow, you may take correct job costing for granted. This is when things start to get messy. Suddenly, you can no longer keep up with the numbers and start losing profit.
QuickBooks for construction is a great tool but it won’t run itself alone. When it comes to job costing, your full attention is necessary, and if things get out of hand with your hand, seeking construction financial consulting services in Fort Collins is the one thing that can save your business.
The Benefits of Hiring a Local CPA to Help Grow Your Business
Whether you are an electrician, a plumber, or a general construction subcontractor who is always out on fieldwork, you need someone to take care of office work, especially your company’s finances. If you think QuickBooks is enough to handle the cash flow and other complicated funding issues, think again. With a handful of jobs and potential clients you want to go after, you won’t have the time to run and maintain it.
Your best go-to is a local CPA who offers construction financial consulting services in Fort Collins. This way, you can enjoy the following benefits:
You have more time to do your job and get more clients
Don’t let administrative tasks get in the way of doing what you do best. Hiring someone for office tasks will allow you to focus on your specialty and sign up more clients. This means more earnings for your company. Your skills are valuable and must be used where they should be. A local CPA can help you achieve what you want as you maximize your time.
A local CPA offers a more personal approach and can help you find solution quickly
If you’re hiring a CPA, choose a local. This way, you can work side-by-side on your finances and fix any issues more quickly. You won’t have a problem reaching them as well because you have questions that need immediate answers.
A local CPA understands the local market and the laws of the state
Market trends vary from one state or city to another. If you need an expert to understand the market in your area, the best person to consult is a local CPA. You can have more accurate market insights and reliable projections because your CPA has in-depth knowledge and exposure.
The best thing about local CPAs is that they know your state’s laws. You would be able to avoid legal issues related to taxes, contracts, and states policies with an expert backing you up.
Electricians May Not Be Accounting Experts But CPAs Are
When it comes to financial consulting services, Fort Collins accounting firms have a lot to offer so your subcontracting business can grow. You certainly need help from an accounting expert either to set up QuickBooks for construction or guide you with markup prices and job costing, like Joe.
If you are unsure of the decisions you make job-wise, SJ Wick & Associates offers financial consulting services that will help you make smart decisions. Our expert accountants will help you determine whether the jobs you take are fitting within the correct margins. We are dedicated to helping you take your business to where you want it to go.
As always, we provide the highest level of service. SJ Wick & Associates offers financial consulting services, payroll preparation, accounting, bookkeeping, and tax preparation solutions. Let us know how we can help! Call us today!
Subcontractor
Let’s face it, the construction industry may be rewarding but it’s also challenging. The prices of materials can go up rapidly. If you fail to predict economic events like this or make a sound forecast, you could just break even or even worse…lose money.
QuickBooks for businesses in the construction industry may help you resolve the issue of job costing and calculating the markup percentage. However, it needs to be set up properly to get accurate results. If you are not an expert in numbers, let alone know how to operate QuickBooks properly for construction business finances, your business will be at risk of losing money.
Our client, Joe, decided he needed some construction financial consulting services in Fort Collins because of poor financial management. Specifically, he was having issues with markup percentage. While QuickBooks seemed promising, Joe had trouble understanding his forecasting and seeing how much money he should be making. Here’s how Steven J Wick & Associates P.C. helped.
Arbitrarily Determining Your Mark-up Percentage is a BIG No-No
What is markup percentage? It’s the amount you need to add to the cost of materials to make a profit. This amount determines the price for the estimate of the job cost. Basically, we’re talking about sales minus job cost. This is where our client, Joe was having trouble.
As an electrical subcontractor, Joe wasn’t calculating the markup percentage for his projects properly. Joe was setting his markup price according to what he thought was best. Like many subcontractors, he thought about the cost of supplies and time for staff to complete. Despite making and winning bids, he wasn’t earning enough. Although he had been subcontracting for quite some time, he still hadn’t gotten the hang of markup prices, which was why he was not meeting his business goals.
Ideally, a subcontractor should be making a certain percentage after bidding. Joe knew what he needed to cover costs, but he didn’t really understand what he needed to be paid properly AND to grow.
Somehow, he was either taking on too many jobs and not making much money, or wouldn’t have enough jobs to cover costs.
The truth is, Joe was missing critical parts of the mark-up equation (like cost of employee mistakes, training to prevent mistakes, employee benefits, fluctuations in market prices, etc).
Hard Work Isn’t Enough
Joe has been diligently earning clients on the field. His determination to grow his business was evident. However, the accounting aspect of his business was suffering and this prevented his company from generating profits. Many subcontractors think that working hard translates to bigger income, but this is not always the case.
“Hard work alone can’t sustain your business without fully understanding how markup works, says Steve of SJ Wick & Associates, PC. Adjusting your markup percentage will help manage your cash flow when market prices are unpredictable. Among other things, understanding markup prices is a way of protecting your profits.
There are several ways to determine the markup prices correctly, such as using QuickBooks for subcontractors and/or getting construction financial consulting services Fort Collins accounting experts have to offer.
Construction Financial Consulting Services in Fort Collins Explain What Needed To Be Done
Normally, the markup price should have been shouldering the cost of the jobs that Joe was taking on. His bids must include labor, materials, employee management, and other factors that take time and money. It is not logical to take as much projects if most of it would compromise the company’s finances.
As an accounting firm offering financial consulting services in Fort Collins, SJ Wick & Associates suggested that it’s more reasonable to turn down some projects if it means making a bottom-line profit. We helped him understand the industry standard of markup percentage so that he would no longer fumble for numbers when bidding.
QuickBooks for construction industry is also a great tool in calculating estimates and job costs. Electricians like Joe may not have the skill to operate the software being more of the field than admin guy. But our expert accountants helped set it up correctly so it would return accurate results.
Contractors need to cover the cost and time. If it’s only as simple as cost + time, there’d be fewer issues to address. But some contractors fail to substantiate the general overhead per project. These include supplies, warehouse space, management, and mistakes made by employees (not to mention the time you spend fixing these mistakes), among many others. In many cases,
Many contractors also often take market fluctuations for granted in terms of contracts and bids, although they can greatly affect long-term, ongoing projects. Overlooking market fluctuations could lead to profit loss especially when you are in the construction industry working with other subcontractors on big-ticket infrastructure.
Joe needed an in-depth understanding of these critical matters to save his business. But we did not forget to mention the less obvious but impactful cost-cutting issues. Sometimes, the turnover you get from bad training, lazy employees, and needing to rehire and fix the job yourself accumulate costs that although inevitable can be prevented.
How to Spot Future Mistakes or Estimate Risks for your Subcontractor Business?
Each business has its weaknesses and issues, but there are common denominators. To help you identify the problems that could be dragging your company down, CPAs will ask you these critical questions:
What is your management style?
Contractors generally have specific skills or may excel in certain areas, except people management. It has nothing to do with charisma or presence but proper delegation and checking the employees’ performance. CPAs can quickly identify this when financial problems arise because the scope of consulting financial services in Fort Collins includes poor management style.
CPAs can help you tackle this issue to ensure you develop a fool-proof management style alternative that benefits both the employer and employees.
What are your systems processes?
Often, it’s not enough to hire employees based on their qualifications. That doesn’t make them instant experts in the type of jobs that you engage in. Ideally, you need to train them before they start their work. Providing them with training materials in the form of manuals, audios, visuals, and the like can help them understand their responsibilities and the business. The training materials may include processes, policies, and guidelines.
The core idea is to train your employees not just to understand their jobs and the industry but mostly to understand quality.
What is your QuickBooks set-up?
Initially, a subcontractor business startup begins with a one or two person QuickBooks set-up. This may work well in the beginning, and you may grow complacent. But when your business starts to grow, you may take correct job costing for granted. This is when things start to get messy. Suddenly, you can no longer keep up with the numbers and start losing profit.
QuickBooks for construction is a great tool but it won’t run itself alone. When it comes to job costing, your full attention is necessary, and if things get out of hand with your hand, seeking construction financial consulting services in Fort Collins is the one thing that can save your business.
The Benefits of Hiring a Local CPA to Help Grow Your Business
Whether you are an electrician, a plumber, or a general construction subcontractor who is always out on fieldwork, you need someone to take care of office work, especially your company’s finances. If you think QuickBooks is enough to handle the cash flow and other complicated funding issues, think again. With a handful of jobs and potential clients you want to go after, you won’t have the time to run and maintain it.
Your best go-to is a local CPA who offers construction financial consulting services in Fort Collins. This way, you can enjoy the following benefits:
You have more time to do your job and get more clients
Don’t let administrative tasks get in the way of doing what you do best. Hiring someone for office tasks will allow you to focus on your specialty and sign up more clients. This means more earnings for your company. Your skills are valuable and must be used where they should be. A local CPA can help you achieve what you want as you maximize your time.
A local CPA offers a more personal approach and can help you find solution quickly
If you’re hiring a CPA, choose a local. This way, you can work side-by-side on your finances and fix any issues more quickly. You won’t have a problem reaching them as well because you have questions that need immediate answers.
A local CPA understands the local market and the laws of the state
Market trends vary from one state or city to another. If you need an expert to understand the market in your area, the best person to consult is a local CPA. You can have more accurate market insights and reliable projections because your CPA has in-depth knowledge and exposure.
The best thing about local CPAs is that they know your state’s laws. You would be able to avoid legal issues related to taxes, contracts, and states policies with an expert backing you up.
Electricians May Not Be Accounting Experts But CPAs Are
When it comes to financial consulting services, Fort Collins accounting firms have a lot to offer so your subcontracting business can grow. You certainly need help from an accounting expert either to set up QuickBooks for construction or guide you with markup prices and job costing, like Joe.
If you are unsure of the decisions you make job-wise, SJ Wick & Associates offers financial consulting services that will help you make smart decisions. Our expert accountants will help you determine whether the jobs you take are fitting within the correct margins. We are dedicated to helping you take your business to where you want it to go.
As always, we provide the highest level of service. SJ Wick & Associates offers financial consulting services, payroll preparation, accounting, bookkeeping, and tax preparation solutions. Let us know how we can help! Call us today!
