This Podcast Is Episode Number 0210 And It Will Be About Contractor Bookkeeping Basics Explained Contractor Bookkeeping Basics and Why Today’s technology says “Do Everything On Your Phone” Use an app to create an estimate, or better yet just send the estimate in the body of the email. That works when the customer’s reply is “Do It”. Great you start the job, finish the job, never send the customer an invoice; Why – They Don’t Need One – they know how much to pay from your original email. and you Included short explanatory paragraphs about each item of work you did. You move on to the next job. Weeks go by. If the customer is expecting a “formal invoice” and do not plan to pay until they receive one. More time passes; you are waiting to “GET PAID” and the customer is waiting “To Pay You”. Some customers will take the extra effort to call, leave a message, text, or email you asking for the invoice so they can pay.  MANY customers will say nothing until The Contractor sends the invoice they are NOT Paying and NOT doing any follow up. Months go by, and still, no check arrives.   Many contractors think they have someone who hasn’t paid but are unsure of who the customer was. Often times the contractor feels too much time has passed and doesn’t try to go back and bill old customers. What came in the mail was all of the supplier invoices for the job. All of the subcontractor invoices, and YES, the payroll for the job has been paid. The person who did NOT get paid was The Contractor. Get The Money, Collect Ongoing Payments, Get Job Deposits – Use Customers Funds for Material. DO NOT BE THE BANKER FOR YOUR CUSTOMER! Contractors are not bankers! First Step No matter what app you use. Make sure it has a “mini” invoice program for emailing customer an invoice. You can then go back and have a paper trail that you asked the customer for money. Second Step Track your time Use T-Sheets to keep track of the jobs you were on. (This is good for Contractors who do not have employees) What If you have to lien the job? One of the questions are when was the last day on the job? The answer could be the difference between having any lien rights and collecting the money or getting nothing but attorney or lien service fees. Use a Lien Service for Notice to the Owners on larger jobs. Double check with your supplier. Does the supplier send out Notice to the Owner? Even if your Lien Rights are gone – Maybe your Supplier’s Lien is Valid and Collectable.   Third Step Accept Credit Cards. More customers have room on their credit card than “Cash In The Bank.” Getting Money Now offsets the fees charged by your Merchant Service Provider. Many services that offer invoice programs (Estimating Software, Dispatch Software, Invoice Software) have an add-on feature for Merchant Services. Customer follows the link, puts in their credit card number or bank routing and account number for easy payment.  Again, worth the fees to GET PAID NOW! Behind the scenes, every Contractor should do additional Bookkeeping. Some invoice programs will track the payments received, but that is the extent of the bookkeeping. The Contractor’s Bookkeeping needs go beyond sending an email to the customer with the price of the job and taking the check to the bank. Customer Invoice Tracking knows Who Owes You Money AND How Much A proper Construction Contractor Bookkeeping System is setup to create a Customer Invoice. Receives Payment. Seeing the balance if anything is owed. Accounts Receivable Aging Report is one of the reports banks look at before giving you a business loan. Bankers want to know What is your volume (sales) What have you collected (customer payments) and How Much Do Customers Still Owe You and finally How Long Does It Take You To Collect. In some industries 30-60 days is common.   I have heard stories about larger retail stores who paid promptly after the first 6 months. It was...