AI Workshops, Coaching, and Support for QBO: Change is in the air at Info Plus! After 30 years of helping businesses succeed with QuickBooks Desktop and job-costing solutions, we’re proud to announce our new name: Info Plus Consulting, Inc. That’s because we’re adding AI Workshops, Coaching, and Support for QBO to our lineup! This isn’t …
Cybersecurity Best Practices: Protect Your Construction Business from Bad (Digital) Actors Why this matters to you: Although this webinar has a holiday-themed title, every season is “The Season for CyberSecurity” because cybersecurity threats persist year-round. Protecting your financial and operational data isn’t just a technical issue – it’s critical for maintaining trust with your clients and …
Labor Profit Tip #1: For More Accurate Job Estimates, Include Fully Burdened Labor Costs for Each Employee What Will The Labor on That Job REALLY Cost? When You Don’t Include Fully Burdened Labor Cost Info, You May Be In For A Surprise… If you’re not using fully burdened labor costs for every employee’s work included …
Manufacturing Overhead Costs To calculate Manufacturing Overhead by Job, be sure to include both manufacturing direct labor costs and manufacturing overhead labor costs. How To Calculate Labor Cost One key in calculating the labor cost portion of your manufacturing overhead is understanding the difference between manufacturing direct labor costs and manufacturing overhead labor. Which of …
Labor Burden Information Tip #3: To See Accurate Job-Cost Reports, Assign Labor Burden Costs to Each Job. If you’re looking for ways to make your company more profitable, getting a handle on your fully burdened labor costs is a critical place to start because it can show you how to: Estimate labor costs more accurately, Price jobs to …
Labor Burden: If you’re struggling to understand and measure your Labor Burden and its effect on profit, these articles by Diane Gilson will teach you how to do it. We’ll start with some quick definitions of labor burden and how to calculate it, followed by a real-life example so you can see how it’s done. …
Targeting Gross Profits: How Estimators and Project Managers Focus on Goals & Job Costs at Paul’s Perfect Projects If you haven’t already read them, you’ll probably want to visit Part I, Part II, and Part III of this “Tale of 4 Companies: A Job Cost & Gross Profit Drama” before beginning the following “Part IV”. As we …
Jake Reeves (Cloud Productivity Expert – Summit Hosting) joins Diane Gilson to illustrate innovative ways to use “anytime/anywhere” cloud access services. Why this matters to you: You’ll see how “elastic scalability” and “resources-on-demand” can help you collaborate between team members, securely share data and company information, and grow your business. Watch this seminar to see …
3 Innovative Options to Conquer Construction Chaos Whether you’re a trade contractor in the electrical, plumbing, or HVAC specialties, a remodeler or custom builder, or in charge of dispatching technicians, this session is designed with your needs in mind. Discover how to Conquer Construction Chaos using three cutting-edge software solutions (ECI BuildTools, Bolt, and Thermogrid.) …
This webinar reveals proven strategies and practical tips about pre-construction contracts and agreements – so you can jump-start the success of your construction projects before you commit to taking on a job. Watch this “Pre-Construction Contracts and Agreements” video with Michael (Discover why these contracts and agreements give you a jump-start on upcoming jobs!) …
Bulletproof Accounting for Long Term Business Survival Diane and host of The Best Business Podcast, Daryl Urbanski, reveal proven “success habits” that small and medium-sized business owners can use to leapfrog the competition and thrive. Why this matters to you: In this podcast, Diane delivers some simple (and high-value) startup and accounting system tips that …
Your QuickBooks Chart of Accounts is the foundation for your critical company reports. What unfortunate events can occur when it isn’t set up in the best possible way? Your QuickBooks Chart Of Accounts How you set up your Chart of Accounts in QuickBooks is one of the most important decisions you can make. It determines whether …
How Much Are You Losing by NOT Performing Underbilling Calculations for Employee Time? This Free Calculator Helps You Estimate! Underbilling for Employee Labor? Here’s what that’s costing you! Free Calculator that illustrates underbilling calculations… Here’s a free calculator to help you do the math. If you are underbilling for employee labor, use it to discover …
How Percentage of Completion Entries Fix Revenue Fluctuations for ‘In-Process’ Contracts The Problem with ‘In-Process Contracts’ Custom builders and project-based firms often invoice per contract stages over extended periods, from several months to over a year. As a result, income is nearly always booked either: Before costs are entered into your accounting system and/or After …
Calculating overhead can be tricky, but QuickBooks can help you calculate and monitor your business overhead expenses more efficiently and effectively. Business Overhead Expenses: What They Are and How To Calculate Them Have you ever wondered exactly WHAT business overhead expenses really ARE? Do you know what YOUR business overhead expenses are? Or how to …
Job Costing In QuickBooks QuickBooks is designed to help you plan, measure, and monitor company and job results. You can even use QuickBooks Job Costing Features to Achieve Your Gross Profit Goals! Use its management reporting tools to immediately SEE operating and financial results. Proactively correct problems – before they spin out of control – …
Why You Need A QuickBooks ProAdvisor Based on 20+ years of being a QuickBooks ProAdvisor, here are the top 7 reasons businesses contact me for assistance. See if any of these scenarios sound like what you may be facing in your company… As a business owner, you learn through trial and error what makes your …
Labor Costs Are a Risky Part of Your Business. Make an Immediate Impact on Your Bottom Line by Heading off Costly Labor Over-runs Before They Get Out of Hand. 7 Ways to Reduce Labor Costs Know and use your true, fully burdened labor costs when estimating. Increase estimating accuracy by using costs based on specific employees (or averages …
Example calculations illustrate that, even when employees are paid the same amount, different fully-burdened labor rates combined with different gross profit targets can make a large difference in hourly billing rates and annual profits.
Job Costing – The Difference Between Profitable Construction Companies and Those Who Struggle Unfortunately, in my 25+ years of experience working with construction business owners, one thing has become painfully clear to me. There are two types of construction business owners: Those who are using job costing reports and using them well and Those who …
In this article, I’ll explain gross profit percentage and markup, AND I’ll give you 2 free “Quick Conversion Charts” to print and carry with you to quickly calculate markup and gross profit percentage. To succeed in business, it’s important to understand two key concepts: gross profit (margin) and markup. Let’s start with some definitions. What …
Knowing how to calculate and interpret your Gross Profit percentage (margin) helps keep your profits high and your costs low. Learn how today… What is Gross Profit Percentage? Gross Profit percentage is a measure of profitability that shows your percentage of earnings AFTER you subtract the cost of “producing” those products or services. However, that …
Most small and medium-sized businesses don’t know their exact employee labor cost – or how much they should charge for their employees’ time. Cost of Labor: Why Do You Need Accurate Employee Labor Cost Calculations? I’m going to be bold and state that if you don’t have accurate labor cost calculations for every employee in …
What is Job Costing? Job costing, also known by some as job order costing, is an accounting method used to track the costs associated with a specific job or project. This method is typically used in industries where goods or services are produced based on a specific customer order, and each order or job has …
Every business owner needs to know how to calculate their gross profit margin (%) and net profit margin (%). After all, it’s what shows you how much profit you’re making! As a business owner or bookkeeper, the most important numbers you’ll ever need to know may very well be your profit margins. There are two …
No one wants to find out that they lost money on the job (or only made a gross profit of 1.5%!) – two or three months after a job is completed.
Key Points QuickBooks Online Payroll provides three plans with different features to suit various business requirements. Payroll setup is easy with automatic tax calculations and simple employee data entry. Users can run payroll as often as desired and enjoy features like same-day direct deposit and tax filing. Complying with federal and state laws is made …
How Bookkeeping Supports Job-Cost & Gross Profit Measurement at Paul’s Perfect Projects, LLC If you haven’t already read them, you’ll probably want to visit Part I and Part II of this “Tale of 4 Companies: A Job-Cost & Gross Profit Drama” before starting the following “Part III.” In Part III, Paul & Dave have just …
In this video, Diane Gilson is asked a series of questions about job costing, its importance for construction companies, and how to implement it. Why this is important: Job costing is the foundation of effective construction projects and company management. Without effective job costing systems that provide accurate and detailed job costing information, companies will …
Diane and Bracken Anderson (from busybusy) recently had a great interview-style meeting where we explored why job costing is critical for construction companies. Why this matters to you: When you understand what job costing is and how to get started with it, you can then focus on your winning jobs. And that means more profits for …
In this revealing transcript of the “Above vs. Below the Line Markups” video, Diane Gilson demonstrates two scenarios for determining your markup percentage based on where you account for production overhead costs on your P&L. While neither method is wrong, the second one builds more costs directly into the bid price, resulting in a more …
Diane Gilson’s insightful video, “Above vs. Below the Line Markups,” featured on our QuickBooks Mystery Theater, delves into the critical decision of where to place production overhead costs in financial reports and its impact on pricing strategies. She poses the fundamental question: Should these costs be above or below the Gross Profit line? The video …
From our Better Numbers – Better Business™ management series… Diane and Ken Horst demonstrate real-life examples of how you can spot common (fixable!) profit leaks so your business can become more effective, more efficient, and more profitable. Why this matters to you: You’ll discover an inexpensive, easy-to-use tool that can help you run the same …
QuickBooks Project Management Apps – Pros, Cons & Insights Managing construction projects can be complex, and finding the right tools is key to your success. Have you ever wondered if a project management app (plug-in) might be right for you? (You may have already heard of apps such as JobTread, CoConstruct, BuilderTrend, BuildTools, and ECI’s …
In this interview, Diane and Dave Sullivan (host of The Roofer Show podcast) dive into what Diane calls the “Gross Profit Rollercoaster.” They explore why ‘highs and lows’ happen in a business (when the numbers aren’t lining up), and how to avoid those ups and downs. Why this matters to you: As Dave says, “You …
In this interview, Diane and Dave Sullivan (host of The Roofer Show podcast) dive into what Diane calls the “Gross Profit Rollercoaster.” They explore why ‘highs and lows’ happen in a business (when the numbers aren’t lining up) and how to avoid those ups and downs. Why this matters to you: As Dave says, “You …
New to QuickBooks? Feel like you’re all alone? Well, you’re not! Every new user could use tips to get them started in QuickBooks… You’ve started your new business from scratch and know you need to really get a handle on your numbers. Maybe you’ve been recruited by a family member – or hired by a business owner …
Labor Burden Information Tip #5: Make Better Hiring Decisions by Thoroughly Understanding Potential Additional Costs Bad hiring decisions can have a devastating effect on your bottom line, so you want as much objective data at your fingertips as possible before you hire. You can use labor burden calculation information as a starting point when it’s …
QuickBooks Desktop Assisted Payroll is our payroll service of choice at Info Plus Consulting. Because we ‘eat our own (QuickBooks) dogfood,’ we know the quality of this product. And we nearly always recommend Assisted Payroll to our clients. Why do we typically recommend this product to our clients? Here are my top seven reasons: 1. …
Paul (of Paul’s Perfect Projects, LLC) tackles the gross profit problem by showing Dave his Estimate vs. Actual variance reports. (If you haven’t already read it, you’ll want to visit Part 1 of this “Tale of 4 Companies: A Job Cost & Gross Profit Drama” before jumping into the following “Part II”…) Paul’s Approach to …
Construction accounting is a unique type of accounting that requires specific financial management tools. Here’s what you need to know. Construction Accounting… As the owner of a remodeling or custom building company, you likely bring a huge list of abilities and talents to your daily work life! From the tangible job skills to the energy …
Learn how job cost accounting can help small-business owners take control over each job and their profits through cost and profit analysis. As a small-business owner, one of the best ways you can track the real progress of your business is through job cost accounting. In other words, if you keep track of your income …
Learn how to implement a management accounting system – so you can make informed business decisions each day! Did you know there are different types of accountants and accounting viewpoints? Many business owners don’t. There are a handful of different kinds of accounting systems, but the two main kinds are management accounting and financial accounting. …
Finding clients and providing products and services – that’s just the beginning! Here’s how to be more profitable with QuickBooks… Successfully managing your own company means that you need to get profitable – and stay that way. Unfortunately, many business owners don’t realize how their day-to-day financial info impacts their profits. To achieve consistent profitability, …
As a small or mid-sized business you only need one cost-effective, integrated accounting system to effectively manage your financial operations… Have you made the jump to manage your own accounting? If so, have you found yourself lost in a sea of financial software? In fact, you really don’t need those five or six manual systems …
Job cost reporting can reveal the true costs and profits for each job as they happen, allowing you to fix issues before they cost you. Are you keeping a close eye on your materials costs, ‘shopping’ for the best deals on equipment, and managing employees so that they are making more money than they actually …
Income minus expenses equals gross profit. Your gross profit is the amount you use to run your company and create profits. Job-costing is how you can track the income and the costs you incur to perform each of your jobs. It’s how you get to see the gross profit you earn on each of your projects. Your perception of what you want to see from a job-costing system may be very different than another business owner’s concepts. Why? Because there is no single prescription that fits everyone’s needs.
If you haven’t already read them, you’ll probably want to visit Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV of this “Tale of 4 Companies: A Job Cost & Gross Profit Drama” before beginning the following “Part V.” We’re joining Paul (owner of Paul’s Perfect Projects LLC), Walt (Production Supervisor at Paul’s), Jenn (Estimator …
“Why aren’t we making more money? We’re busier than ever, I’m working harder than ever, but things just aren’t coming together like they should!” If this story sounds or feels familiar, you may want to sit in on this meeting to pick up some ideas on how to create Estimate vs. Actual Reports… It Just …
January to December… Our calendar encourages us to divide our personal and business lives into those 12-month chunks of time. But what could happen if we decided to break out of that traditional mind-set – especially when it comes to business planning? My “15-Month-Year” Business Planning & Coaching Session I recently sat in …