{"id":15936,"date":"2014-11-12T13:47:39","date_gmt":"2014-11-12T18:47:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2014\/11\/cpas-are-valuable-to-contractors.html"},"modified":"2014-11-12T13:47:39","modified_gmt":"2014-11-12T18:47:39","slug":"cpas-are-valuable-to-contractors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2014\/11\/cpas-are-valuable-to-contractors\/","title":{"rendered":"Business Report: CPAs Are Valuable To Contractors"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\"wdr\n<\/div>\n
Michael Harman is a CPA with Whittemore, Dowen & Ricciardelli LLP\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

BY MICHAEL M. HARMAN, CPA<\/p>\n

The look on the subcontractor’s face was priceless
\nas he was forced to reckon with the fact the
\nman sitting across from him not only knew the
\njob site, but also the contract and the business.<\/p>\n

Many of the trades were not prepared to have the
\naccountant turned superintendent running the
\njob site, but in the end we all managed to stay
\non schedule, on budget and deliver an award winning,
\ngreat product.<\/p>\n

It is seldom that your CPA has actually built
\na house, rehabbed a historical building in a
\nblighted area, developed acreage into a community
\nor known the struggles of shoveling snow
\nbefore starting construction for the day.
\nHow can a CPA help a contractor? Many ways.
\nWe are schooled in organization, budgets, controlling
\ncosts and business processes. Often times a
\nfew questions about your business can improve
\nthe bottom line.<\/p>\n

How can you make the project or process better?
\nWhat project did you complete which you are
\nmost proud of? I still think of the time I finished
\nmy first house and closed on it without creating
\na punch list. We had no items to correct from the
\ncustomer’s walk-through. It was not unusual for
\nthe customer to come through and pick apart
\nthe house and look for missing options, paint
\ntouch-ups and other cosmetic issues before the
\nhouse closed.<\/p>\n

However, we made a commitment on our job
\nsite to finish the home 100 percent and not have
\nany open items. This shaved three days to a week
\noff our construction time frame because it was
\ndifficult to get the customer to come back timely
\nand it also helped the house close on time. Each
\nhouse cost us roughly $300 a day to finance, so
\nthrough this process we were saving a minimum
\nof $900 just in financing costs of construction. I
\nwas very proud of the first house I completed in
\nthis manner and it eventually became our norm.<\/p>\n

What project is your most profitable? Sometimes
\nthe project you complete that you are
\nmost proud of is also the most profitable but not
\nalways. A contractor was selected for some larger
\ncommercial jobs about an hour and a half away
\nfrom their office. Normally their jobs were within
\n20 minutes of the office.<\/p>\n

They ended up not making very much money
\non the job. For one, they were subject to the
\ndrawn out payment schedule of the general contractor.
\nSecondly, the employees would leave the
\njob early to get home at a decent time, but still
\nrecord a full day’s work. Thirdly, the owner was
\nnot as present on the job because it was further
\naway. The jobs they made the most money on were
\nclose to home, with general contractors they were
\nused to working with and where he was on site
\nmost of the time managing the project.<\/p>\n

How big do you want to get? This is a question
\nfew truly ask. How big of a company can you lead
\nand manage? Fewer still ask this question and
\ngive an honest answer.<\/p>\n

The answer to both of these questions will
\nfuel your strategy, market, profit and business
\nlife. This is where a CPA can be invaluable. A
\nCPA builds relationships with bankers, insurance
\nagents, real estate agents, lawyers and many
\nother professionals and business owners through
\nnormal everyday activities that are a resource to
\nhelp you grow. Accounting is truly understanding
\nevery facet of business and finding a way to
\nquantify it.<\/p>\n

A CPA has the resources to help you grow and
\nthe insight to help you determine if bigger is really
\nbetter. When you are ready, the CPA can help you
\npass a successful business to the next generation.
\nHow? A CPA can show you how to control the
\nmoney that goes out to pay bills and help set up
\nsystems that protect you from theft and fraud.<\/p>\n

They can train you, your family and company
\nhow to look at your income statement, balance
\nsheet and statement of cash flows to understand
\nthe overall business.<\/p>\n

We can help setup job costing and per job profit
\nand loss statements. For the small contractor, the
\nCPA is your personal chief financial officer, guiding
\nyou through financing, helping to determine
\npay scales and plan for the future.<\/p>\n

Did you know, depending on the size of your
\nbusiness and structure you can create a retirement
\nplan for yourself and deduct it as a business
\nexpense? Have you evaluated the cost effectiveness
\nof using iPads or tablets in business as an
\naccounting, sales, estimating and time tracking
\ntool?<\/p>\n

There are so many daily challenges in building,
\nrepairing and installing in the construction
\nindustry. It can be difficult to take a step out
\nof the intense day and look at the items from a
\nbusiness perspective. Your CPA can help you do
\nthat and make more money. As we enter the fall
\nand winter season, now is the time to decide how
\nmuch money you want to make next year.<\/p>\n

Harman is a CPA with Whittemore, Dowen
\n& Ricciardelli LLP with offices in Queensbury
\nand Saratoga Springs.<\/p>\n

Photo Courtesy Whittemore, Dowen & Ricciardelli LLP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michael Harman is a CPA with Whittemore, Dowen & Ricciardelli LLP BY MICHAEL M. HARMAN, CPA The look on the subcontractor’s face was priceless as he was forced to reckon with the fact the man sitting across from him…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[67,74],"yoast_head":"\r\nBusiness Report: CPAs Are Valuable To Contractors - Glens Falls Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2014\/11\/cpas-are-valuable-to-contractors\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Business Report: CPAs Are Valuable To Contractors - Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Michael Harman is a CPA with Whittemore, Dowen & Ricciardelli LLP BY MICHAEL M. 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