This Podcast Is Episode Number 0203 And It Will Be About Contractors Accounting Chaos Solutions Marketing Headline is Contractor needs Accountant. The Answer is Yes – Every Contractor needs a Construction Accountant. The Question is Why Does the Contractor need an Accountant? Does the Contractor have an Accountant? Does the Contractor have Bookkeeper? Sometimes the Answer Is Yes. No Charge One-Hour Consultation Definition of Free One Hour Consulting from the contractor side is: I am a General Contractor My life and accounting is in Chaos What does it cost to fix it? Will you invoice my clients? Will you pay all my bills? Will you pay all my taxes? Will you pay employees? If you have any data that you can include relating to your list, include that in your introduction, too. I received a call from a prospect a couple of years ago. She asked questions similar to the ones above. When I started to ask questions about her business her immediate response was: “I am asking the Questions – Not answering any of yours! “Information About My Business Is None Of Your %&*#^ Business!” My response was that I could not be of assistance and Hung Up. Unfortunately dealing with an accountant is a lot like going to the Doctor. We are unable to fix yesterday (clean up existing or previous bookkeeping) without knowing a little history. We are unable to determine the proper course going forward without knowing the following:  What do you do? Handyman, General Contractor, Commercial TI Contractor, Remodel Contractor, Specialty Trade Contractor, Home Builder. Each of these answers leads to more questions: Do you do Remodels or New Construction As a Builder is It High-End Remodels, Customs, Spec Building Do you have multiple companies you are running in a single QuickBooks file? Were you formerly a Large Contractor or worked for a Large Contractor used to all of the detail of a High-End Specialty Software and wanted a $300 program to provide the same results? How are currently handling your payroll if you have employees? If no, employees do you plan to have some in the near future? We are in Washington State. It is fairly easy to become a Licensed General Contractor, Specialty Trade Contractor or Home Builder. It starts with determining what type of Business Entity do you want to be and register with the Secretary of State. Sole Prop Partnership LLC S-Corp. The Trick Is Do Everything In The Right Order Knowing It Is “Hurry Up and Wait.” Once your name is registered with the Secretary of State you can get your Federal Tax ID Number from the IRS. Move on to applying for your Master Business License. Then finally the Contractor’s License with State of Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries. Each state is a little different in it’s licensing rules. Some make it easier to become a Handyman and much harder to become a General Contractor. Your state may require State Exams. Each state is a little different in how it deals with sales tax. Some states do not have any sales tax. Others state charge tax on the material (which is paid to the supplier at the time of purchase). Washington State is a sales tax driven state. Every contractor must charge sales tax on all customer invoices unless they have a resales certificate from a General Contractor that the project is wholesale. Builder / Developer who is doing Spec Homes is the owners of the property. As the owner, the Builder / Developer must pay sales tax for all material, labor and to their contractors as they go. Handyman is licensed as General Contractors as they do a little bit of everything. From installing closet rods to the full-scale kitchen and bath remodel or whole house remodels. An additional twist is that Washington State Sales Tax is destination based. We need to keep track of where the sale is located. Every city has their own sales tax code (and individual local rate in addition to the state sales tax based). Luckily, we are able to file a...