This Podcast Is Episode Number 0205 And It Will Be About How Contractors Want Better Results Without Changing Anything Contractors Are Torn Between Over Or Under Managing Their Bookkeeping Contractors want to maintain control without making any changes. “Keep doing the same thing but expecting a different result.”   Throwing the receipts in a shoebox (behind or under the seat in the truck) is the favorite way to deal with paperwork. This is “Under Managing” and frustrates everyone around them who is playing “Where’s Waldo.” Job costing is nonexistent; bills are usually paid late, customers are unbilled, lost and forgotten. Micromanaging Every Detail Is An Over-Reaction From Years Of Doing As Little Bookkeeping As Possible To Get The Tax Return Prepared Just Don't Let Not Knowing What To Do Stop You From Making A Mess Of It Frustrated Contractors Call Me Every Day And Say: ·    I can’t get any reports ·    I don’t like the reports I am getting ·    My tax accountant is not answering all of my questions ·    How can I improve my business? Frustrated In House Bookkeepers Call Me and say they have inherited the “CRAP” from everyone who worked in QuickBooks before they arrived and are expected to produce good reports. Bookkeepers are expected to use: o    Old Equipment o    One Or Two Tiny Monitors o    Dot Matrix Printer (or equal – the noise an old printer makes when printing is unforgettable) Do you how long it takes to print on old equipment? Will it print a picture, jpg, pdf? It is a false saving to not buy new equipment. (What are 10 minutes costing you) Are you practicing “Seagull Management?” Fly in, make snap decisions without any facts, details or understanding of the paperwork after it leaves your hand and Flies out? Contractors Expect Good Reports, “You Know One When You See It” But No Clue What Is Needed To Get It There  Frustrated Spouses Call Me because spouses usually get “Seagull Management” from the contractor. The in-house Bookkeeper gets that and “Zap Management.” That is when people learn what to do by doing something wrong and getting "Zapped" by the contractor in the form of an insult or nasty comment and doesn't do much of anything at all. Under both styles, the core problem does not lie with whoever is doing the contractor bookkeeping the source is the Contractor and how the Contractor thinks about their business. How the Contractor reacts at the moment to a crisis? Making dozens or hundreds of decisions (moment by moment activity) every day is part of what being a Contractor is all about. In a way that non-contractors or even their employees do not understand. Embrace it and decisions will come easier.    Is Accounting A Valuable Component Of Your Contracting Company Or Is It An Expense? M.A.P. Vs. P.A.M. M.A.P. = Marketing Accounting Production “Success In Construction Is A Simple Discipline Practiced Every day” - Randalism This Is The Least Popular - and yet the most profitable way to operate a construction company. Contractors are thinking and acting like a business person. P.A.M. = Production Accounting Marketing “Failure In Construction Is A Few Simple Errors Repeated Every Day” - Randalism This Is The Most Popular - and yet the hardest and least profitable way to operate a construction company. Contractors are thinking and doing what they did while working for somebody else instead of thinking and doing what a business person does. Is Construction Accounting a necessary expense for Taxes Only and no value otherwise (many contractors think only in the “cost” as an “expense” and anybody can do the bookkeeping in 10 minutes a day or less? Are good Goods Tools important? ·    Computer, Monitor, Printer, Fax Machine, Scanner? ·    Desk, Chair, Good Lighting, File Cabinet?...