15Dec 2008 by Nancy Smyth

Making the Move to Public Works Construction

Business Productivity Tips & Training
The current economic situation has dealt a serious blow to both homebuilders and commercial contractors.  Like all downturns to the economy, this too shall pass; but, experts predict that it will take quite awhile for everything to stabilize. However, all is not lost..... Public Works construction could thrive.  If you listen to the news and read construction trade newsletters you hear that part of President-Elect Obama’s economic stimulus plan includes investing in our country’s infrastructure; which means public works construction projects. Making the move to public works construction will require planning and quite possibly a lot of changes in the way you currently run your existing construction business. This article will provide you with some tips to help you get started; but, be aware that we cannot possibly provide you…
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05Nov 2008 by Nancy Smyth

Embezzlement, It CAN Happen To You

Business Productivity Tips & Training
As a busy business owner it is quite easy to fall into the habit of simply turning over your business's accounting to someone else; because your time is best spent in the field and not in the office doing paperwork. Not only is this a bad habit, it can also become a dangerous situation. While it is fair to say, most people don't steal, embezzlement does happen; we hear about it or read about it in the newspapers all of the time. This article contains some simple ideas that you can implement in order to reduce your chances of becoming a potential victim. This article provides 9 tips for protecting your business from embezzlement as well as 8 general QuickBooks controls and procedures to help keep your business safe, request…
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05Nov 2008 by Nancy Smyth

Choosing QuickBooks and QuickBooks Add-On Software for Your Construction Business

Business Productivity Tips & Training
Whether you currently use QuickBooks or are thinking of using QuickBooks for your construction accounting package you need to be aware that QuickBooks, while a great software program, is a "generic" accounting program and will not do everything that you may need it to for your business by itself, unlike more expensive construction specific software. If you are like most contractors, you probably do not think of yourself as a "computer hardware/software expert' and turn this type of project over to someone else.  This unfortunately, is one of the major reasons that this type of project fails. We hear about numerous IT type projects failing in talking with both customers and potential customers and we’ve identified, what we feel to be the most common reasons for failure below; first, we’ll…
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05Nov 2008 by Nancy Smyth

Protecting Yourself, Your Business, and Your Employees from Identity Theft

Business Productivity Tips & Training
Identity theft occurs when a thief uses your personal information without your permission to commit crime or fraud. They may find and use your credit card number on a bill you have thrown out or a stray receipt. They may use a device to capture your credit card number when you use it. And they may even fill out a change of address card and divert your statements. Hundreds of thousands of people are affected by identity theft in the U.S. each year. Some victims have spent a lot of time and money repairing their credit rating and financial status. Other victims are unable to purchase cars, houses, or other items when they need them because of their "new" and unwelcome credit rating. This article contains tips that you can…
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03Mar 2008 by Nancy Smyth

Hiring Computer and/or IT Consultants

Business Productivity Tips & Training
With computer technology becoming more complex and sophisticated, many business owners are hiring independent computer/IT consultants to update their existing computer systems and ensure that their business has the tools and training needed to run smoothly and efficiently. The question is, as a business owner who is confused about more complex and sophisticated computer hardware and software -- HOW do you find a GOOD computer/IT consultant? We deal with “computer/IT consultants” every day – and believe me when I say – it seems like most of them know absolutely nothing about Microsoft best practices when it comes to Windows Vista, 7 or 8 and why creating a Standard User Account in these versions is a recommended…because they call us for free “support” (which is really training) while they are charging…
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16Jan 2008 by Nancy Smyth

New Year’s Resolutions

Business Productivity Tips & Training
Making New Year’s resolutions should not be limited to just those for our personal life; we should include our professional life as well – after all our professional life does take a great deal of our time. The end of the year is a good time to stop and take a look at the events of the current year and evaluate what went on and plan for the upcoming year. This is true whether you are a business owner or an employee. From a business owner’s perspective now would be a good time to take a look at overall business operations and look for ways to improve them in the upcoming year. You will need to involve every key employee in this process in order to gather their input and…
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01Jun 2007 by Nancy Smyth

Spreadsheet Dependency – Are You Addicted to Excel?

Business Productivity Tips & Training
When you run a business, there are always some tasks that simply scream “INEFFICIENT!” and most business owners will generally not waste any time seeking a solution to those tasks; however, spreadsheet dependency just sort of sneaks up on you at one point or another. Being lured into spreadsheet dependency is an easy and almost transparent event.  For many small contractors just starting out, spreadsheets are the first and seemingly only solution they need to get their company up and running.....quickly. On almost a daily basis, we talk with contractors or their bookkeepers about our AIA Billing program and when we tell them that it is designed to work off the Estimating and Progress Invoicing features in QuickBooks they tell us --- "oh, but we don't do our Estimating in…
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03May 2007 by Nancy Smyth

Hiring a Bookkeeper or CPA

Business Productivity Tips & Training
So you are ready to hire a bookkeeper or CPA to help you with your business and your books. Congratulations! We all know what a struggle it is to "try to do everything" yourself, and it almost goes without saying that as a busy contractor, we also know that time is best spent on the job and not in the office handling paperwork. Before you hire someone to handle your books or your taxes, check their skills and lay the ground rules to make sure that you are getting the right person for your business and never make the big mistake of just "turning" it all over to someone (no matter how enticing that idea may be). Always keep an eye on what is going on. This article will provide…
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12Sep 2006 by Nancy Smyth

Who Are Employees?

Business Productivity Tips & Training
Before you can know how to treat payments you make for services rendered to you, you must first know the business relationship that exists between you and the person performing those services. The person performing the services may be: An independent contractor A common-law employee A statutory employee A statutory non-employee An employer must generally withhold income taxes, withhold and pay social security and Medicare taxes, and pay unemployment taxes on wages paid to an employee. An employer does not generally have to withhold or pay any taxes on payment to independent contractors. Learn about 20 factors that the IRS has identified, that are used as guidelines to determine whether sufficient control is present to establish an employer-employee relationship. Request your copy of this article today, by clicking the button…
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11Sep 2006 by Nancy Smyth

Are You Paying Prevailing Wage Fringe Benefits in Cash?

Business Productivity Tips & Training
Are you a contractor working on prevailing wage projects and paying the fringe benefit portion of the prevailing wage in cash to your employee's? What if told you that you could reduce your payroll tax contributions by at least*$14,784.00 a year and receive additional savings on your general liability insurance (if you live in a state where liability insurance is based on gross payroll instead of sales)? Would that kind of savings help you lower your bids and still make money? Impossible you say! What would you say if I also told you that your employees would also be happy? Request your copy of this article today, by clicking the button below. Note:  While this is a free article, we do request that you enter your email address so that…
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