Bookkeeping for Contractors
Bookkeeping is important for all small businesses, but good bookkeeping is especially vital for contractors. Can you think of another industry where bookkeeping, even for a beginning contractor with just a few clients, has as many components? To make sure you have the best bookkeeping practices for your business, here are a couple of tips.
Master the Art of the Bid
The number one goal when bidding or giving an estimate, is to make it realistic (and land the job, of course). With competitors eager to knock you out of the running, in the case of a competitive bid process it can be tempting to nudge your own bid so low that you end up losing out on some of the profit you should have made, or even worse, taking a loss on the job.
To ensure that doesn’t happen, make sure the bid is as accurate as possible. Even if your contract is going to be a cost-plus-fee style versus competitive bidding, accurately calculating the cost of the project is essential. To do that, your price should thoroughly cover all of these components:
- Materials
- Transportation
- Equipment
- Labor
- General conditions (your project overhead costs)
- Insurance
Take Advantage of Good Bookkeeping Software
There are plenty of software options out there that will make your job as a contractor easier. Whatever size your business is currently, even if you’re a one-man show, you can find an application to help. Here are a few popular options.
- FreshBooks® makes it easy to track the time you’ve spent and to send invoices and estimates
- ProContractor by Viewpoint® was created for small to mid-sized contractors. ProContracor can help you manage payroll, handle direct deposit, and keep track of the budget with real-time cost tracking
- Knowify® can be used for tracking time, scheduling, job costing, invoicing, and even project management
Those are just a few of the most common bookkeeping solutions contractors use, but you’ll find plenty of other options.
With accurate bids and reliable, intuitive bookkeeping software, you’ll find that managing the books is easier than it used to be!
Finding the right companies and services to help along the way goes a long way toward growing your own business. If you’re looking for more business strategies for success, how about offering financing for your customers? Sounds complicated, but with HFS Financial as your partner, it’s not. We do all the work for YOU! Check out how your company can thrive with HFS Financial.
