Can you really affect your gross profit by setting up a job costing system? Is it worth the time, energy, and effort involved to measure and track your numbers? Let’s visit with the owners of four (hypothetical) companies; then decide for yourself which owner’s shoes you’d prefer to step into… As background to the story …
Tag: customizing quickbooks
Custom Fields in QuickBooks – 5 Ways to Tailor, Tag, & Track Specialized Information
Have you explored the many ways to use Custom Fields in QuickBooks? If not, you’ll likely be surprised at how this feature can vastly expand the “trackability” of specific data that’s unique (and often, vitally important) to your company. Would it be helpful to be able to see that unique information when you view Customer:Jobs, Vendor, …
How to Set (& Keep!) Your Hierarchical View in QuickBooks Lists
Do you have QuickBooks lists structured to show 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 multiple “layers” of Items arranged …
QuickBooks Items: The Secret to Job-Costing with QuickBooks
This post about QuickBooks’ Items is based on our more extensive training video of the same title that’s included in our Construction Accounting & Management Program (CAMP). Why are QuickBooks’ Items Especially Important for Construction Companies? QuickBooks’ Items let you track, and report on, the financial detail underlying what’s REALLY going on within the financial …
11 Ways to Take the Pain & Suffering Out of Tax Time
It’s that time of year again – TAX TIME! And guess what? I’ve been working with clients who have been turning in their numbers to their tax accountants starting the middle of January! If you’re someone who dreads January, February, March – and beyond – because those months seem to turn into “Franken-tax” time, you …
9 Ways to Take the Pain & Suffering Out of Tax Time
It’s That Time of Year Again – TAX TIME! And guess what? I’ve been working with clients who have been turning their numbers over to their tax accountants starting the middle of January! Do you dread January, February, March – and beyond – because those months seem to turn into “Franken-tax” time? Are you asking …
The Worst Training You Can Buy (And Waste Your Time On)
You Found the Perfect Seminar… It’s the training resource you’ve been looking for to make the changes you want in your company. The main problem – your QuickBooks company file was set up wrong from day one. You’ve been making do, but haven’t been getting the job-costing information you need. Now you’ve found the solution …
How to ‘Carve Out’ the Results You Need For Your Business
Improving your QuickBooks accounting system to get job costing, and more useful management reports can be very similar to pulling off a family pumpkin-carving experience. You need planning and preparation, the right tools, and possibly a support system to help get the job done.
Types of Accountants
This article by Dan Rooks describes the various kinds of accountants and their roles. Info Plus President, Diane Gilson, contributed some thoughts and background information. Dan is co-founder and CEO of Decisive Systems, Inc., a software company that measures the operating cost of heavy equipment. Besides creating “Tools to make smart machine owners smarter”, DSI also …
Labor Profit Tip #3: Your Gross Profit numbers may be misleading
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 …
Account Reconciliation – Discrepancies
Company owners sometimes ask me: “Should balance adjustments arising from account reconciliation problems cause me any concern?” In my experience and opinion, accounts should reconcile – right down to the penny – almost all of the time! Account reconciliation is paramount, here’s why… The account reconciliation process is just a large matching game between what …