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Get an accountant with experience in small
construction companies. Probably at first you will be keeping
your own books using Quicken or Quick Books, but your tax returns and
some tax filings need a professional touch. Just like you chose your
banker and attorney (see
step #17 and
step
#18), chose an accountant based on your own experience or
referrals by others. Chose an accountant who has other construction
clients like you. Negotiate the fees.
Consider accountants who are
members of your Association. Talk to other members about their
experience with them. Check with
www.calcpa.org
for some excellent tips on “How to Choose a CPA” including
interviewing tips.
Extremely
important: Before you ever start that first project, develop a simple
job cost tracking system and have your accountant look it over. You need
to know each week what your actual job costs are – per project – and how
actuals compare to your budget. You can do this in Quicken and Quick
Books, or even on an Excel Spreadsheet (but a database like Quicken is
much faster, simpler and more accurate). Knowing your job costs on a
weekly basis allows you to catch overruns and make corrections in time.
It also allows you to build historical data for future estimating and
bidding.
Many public sector projects require
payment of prevailing wages and filing
of certified payroll reports. Contractors should familiarize themselves
with the
California Labor Code Part 7,
Sections 1770 through 1780. For inquiries, contact the
Department
of Industrial Relations.
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