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Tools and ideas for improving cost control and reducing waste while protecting profit margins.
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 …
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 …
Paying your QuickBooks Bills can be easier (even pain-free!) – when you use your software to its fullest capacity… QuickBooks Pay Bills with a Credit Card Company owners and bookkeepers often use credit cards to pay QuickBooks bills. Those who appreciate the convenience of purchasing items or paying bills using credit cards often ask how …
In this video, you will learn the power of cloud hosting for QuickBooks Desktop and see a demonstration of how easy and effective it is to manage QuickBooks using a cloud hosting service. Why this matters to you: If you are a QuickBooks Desktop user, cloud hosting is a powerful service that enables essential functions …
(opens in new tab) Calculating your true cost of labor seems straightforward: compensation plus benefits should equal how much you’re spending on labor, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, business owners don’t have it that easy. There’s more to determining whether an employee’s time is being used to achieve maximum benefits. It’s a hard fact, but without a …
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.
If you’re struggling to understand or measure your labor burden and its effect on profit, let BuildYourNumbers.com help you with our job cost and accounting tutorials. Labor Burden & Profits: Connect the Dots! Got employees? If so… What’s it cost to put them “into the field”? What should you be charging for their time? Should …
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.
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 …
These best practices for QuickBooks payments can improve your profitability as well as the speed and accuracy of your incoming and outgoing payments. In the case of best practices for QuickBooks payments, the rewards are clear. Pump up your cash flow. (More cash-on-hand means less-stressed owners + happier, more-responsive vendors.) Eliminate costly late fees and …
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 …
Consider how these labor burden hiring decisions increase (or decrease) profits… Labor Burden Tip #5: Before You Hire, Know the Real Cost of Another Employee Hiring can help your business grow. More people can mean more work completed, faster turnaround, better customer service, and less pressure on your existing team. But here’s the point: adding …
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.) …
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 …
(opens in new tab) Calculating your true cost of labor seems straightforward: compensation plus benefits should equal how much you’re spending on labor, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, business owners don’t have it that easy. There’s more to determining whether an employee’s time is being put to maximum benefits. It’s a hard fact, but without a current, …
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 …
Increase Your Profits On Every Job (Part 1) Why Use “Estimate vs. Actual” Reports? Many company owners wonder why they should bother with job costing. They think they can simply watch their checkbook and wait until tax time to see how they did LAST YEAR. Unfortunately, by then, it’s too late to fix the problems …
… Increase Your Profits On Every Job (Part 2) How do you locate and charge for lost or invisible costs? Use these tips to be sure you find (and charge for!) lost or invisible costs. If you DON’T do job costing, it’s easy to miss various Time and Materials (T&M) costs that accumulate on a job. …
… Increase Your Profits On Every Job (Part 3) Job costing helps you spot (and eliminate) your low-profit and loser jobs! Every low-profit and “loser” job is wiping out the profit you’re making on other jobs! When you replace projects that lose money (or only yield minimal profits) with jobs that achieve your gross profit …
… Increase Your Profits On Every Job (Part 4) Here’s how to add 10% (or more) of your gross sales to your bottom line! The biggest mistake so many roofers make is to think that they’ll make more money if they sell more. BUT if you don’t have a stable and substantial gross profit on …
Hierarchical View in QuickBooks Do you have QuickBooks lists structured to show in a Hierarchical View? (Think “outline” with headers and sub-elements.) For instance: In your Customer:Job list, do you have a “header” as a Customer and sub-elements as Jobs? (If not, you may want to do so…) Open your Item List. Do you have …
Ever wondered if you could receive more useful and meaningful reports from QuickBooks? Good financial information is not just a matter of convenience! Nick is finding out that what he DOESN’T know about his financial system could pose a major setback to his business… Nick’s “Unique” Profit & Loss Statement “Wow, this is about the longest …
… My Canadian friend and colleague, Bryan Kaplan of Construction Consulting, recently sent an email about an experience with Purchase Orders that was so insightful I asked if I could share it with you. This quick read will provide you with a handful of Quick Wins! The Saturday Text… It was 11 pm on a …
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. …
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, you will learn about an AI tool that will help companies reduce accounting costs and errors by automating the process of entering bills, approving invoices and making payments. Why this matters to you: In most companies, a large percentage of accounting efforts goes into the tedious and error-prone process of manually entering …
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 …
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 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 …
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.
Company owners sometimes ask me: “Should balance adjustments arising from account reconciliation problems cause me any concern?” Do QuickBooks Account Reconciliation Discrepancies Matter? Account reconciliation is crucial; here’s why… You want to be certain that you and your bank, credit card companies, and lenders agree on the amounts shown in your books. (If not, you …
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 …
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 – …
This post about QuickBooks’ Items is excerpted from our more extensive training video that’s included in our Construction Accounting & Management Program (CAMP). QuickBooks Items: Automating Job Costing for Construction Companies QuickBooks Items enable construction companies to automatically track and report on the financial detail underlying what’s REALLY going on within the financial side of …
Want your company to be more profitable? Almost all business owners are constantly working to make their company more profitable. And that’s a good thing, right? It probably is, as long as you achieve it morally and ethically. But is it worth it? Here Are 12 Benefits of Running a More Profitable Company These benefits …
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 …
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!) …
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 …
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. …
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 …
Yes, your initial QuickBooks payroll setup can take some time and requires attention to detail. BUT manual payroll processing requires even more work – and you have to do it over – and over – and over… Which sounds like the better choice? QuickBooks Payroll Ask any 10 small and mid-sized business (SMB) bookkeepers and …
What Does a Broken Month-End Close Do To Your Business? Messy financials aren’t just a nuisance — they’re a risk. Every month that ends with guesswork, missing reports, or last-minute scrambles leaves your company flying blind. Learn why getting your books right isn’t optional — and how it impacts your entire team. Let’s be real. …
Here’s our video with Corey Monson – Director of Partnerships at busybusy In this webinar, Corey and I help peel back the curtain on WHY “truth in timekeeping” is so crucial to increasing your company’s earnings! (Hint: It’s critical in finding your company’s accurate labor costs.) You’ll get some new perspectives, unique insights, and a …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …