This Podcast Is Episode Number 0280, And It Will Be About Unique Contractor Bookkeeping Problems With Receivables Challenges Of Keeping Accounts Receivable Simple And Up To Date Creating an invoice for the entire project seems like it is the simple way to track payments and have the current balance. The harsh reality is that if all of the work is NOT done Accounts receivable is reflecting a balance due that is NOT REAL. With Change Orders to the projects (up or down), the original contract is usually not the end number. Accounts receivable is a reflection of money you expect to collect NOW. More extensive projects (especially new construction) the billing and payment schedule typically is a bill on the 25th of the month and hope to be paid on or before the 10th of the following month. Anything not paid is going to age on the Accounts Receivable (A/R) Aging Summary. Job Deposits, Retention, Notes Receivable (long-term payment plans) are not part of Accounts Receivable. Credits from suppliers, repayment of Loans to Owners, Employees, Friends, and Family do not belong in Accounts Receivable. Follow up as necessary for payment but Accounts Receivable is for expected Income from Customers and clients for work performed. Accounts Receivable (A/R) Aging Summary Is Like The Tachometer On Your Vehicle Do you have numbers in Current, 1-30, 31-60, 61-90, >90? What is your Total? Reminder you have already paid your Labor, Material, Other Costs, Subcontractor, Taxes on all this money. Every dollar sitting there is a big deal. Your contractor (as a sub) may be pay as paid and you might have that same agreement with your subcontractors, but your supplier has been paid or will expect to be NOW! Reminder – You should be collecting Job Deposits Do Not Borrow Money On Your Credit Card At 18% And Lend It At 0% You Are Not A Bank - Never use your high interest credit cards and supplier accounts to provide financing to your customers in the form of providing a lot of labor, material, subcontractors and rental equipment hoping to get paid later on down the road. McDonald's Restaurants Earns - Massive profits and part of the reason is cash flow. I love their business model; customers order first, pay second and get food last. No invoicing, no waiting for the check to arrive and hoping it will clear the bank. They say just Show Me The Money! You Can Offer Financing - Accept credit cards! Get setup at a bank and/or credit union that will offer to loan your construction client's money for small projects under $25,000. They sign paperwork with the lender; you do the work and get paid. Accepting Credit And Debit Cards - is like having an "Electronic Armored Car" on standby 24 hours a day, seven days a week ready to take your money to your bank automatically. If your QuickBooks is setup properly an invoice can be emailed to your customer or clients and when they open it there is an option for them to pay by credit card immediately. For Example - You finished a construction project at 01:00PM, went to your office at 05:00PM, opened QuickBooks, put together an invoice and emailed it to your customer at 06:00PM. They arrive at home at 07:00PM. After dinner they check their email at 09:00PM. They open your email review your invoice and pay the bill at 10:00PM. Don't Ever Finance - Your customer or client's project by providing substantial amounts of labor, material, subcontractors and rental equipment hoping to get paid later down the road.  Having Owned And Operated - Several construction businesses I know how important cash flow is to the success or failure of any business and especially construction companies like yours! We Have Clients - Who took a while to understand why I was hard on them and kept saying "Get The Money". Once they realized what real peace of mind was, paying all the bills on time and having money left over for vacations, toys and to support their favorite charities it became crystal clear. Get Enough Job...