QuickBooks Tips – Contractor Needs – Part 3

Be A Better Bookkeeper, QuickBooks Setup & Cleanup
General Contractors using QuickBooks will have by far the most complex job costing needs.  Tracking the cost of specialized equipment, subcontracts, multiple prevailing wage rates, and retainage in addition to overhead costs, employees, materials and labor charges. Estimating and Job Costing needs will vary depending on the type of contractor you will be dealing with, so if anyone dares to suggest that one “Chart of Accounts or bookkeeping method” will work for all contractors – well you just shouldn’t listen to them Meet Gerry the General Contractor: "Gerry's" usually have the same basic philosophy as Sam the Subcontractor; however, because they have more employees, subcontractors, and bigger “operations” they realize that they need to consider more things when they go out to bid on a job; but they do not…
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QuickBooks Tips – Contractor Needs Part 2

Be A Better Bookkeeper, QuickBooks Setup & Cleanup, The "Sunburst" Website
Sam Subcontractor already uses QuickBooks, he has more complex job costing needs due to certified payroll reporting requirements, payments of prevailing wage fringe benefits and AIA billing.  High overhead costs,  specialized equipment, materials, labor charges are other things that must be taken into consideration. QuickBooks Estimating, Job Costing, and payroll  needs will vary depending on the type of contractor you will be dealing with, so if anyone dares to suggest that one “Chart of Accounts or bookkeeping method” will work for all contractors – well you just shouldn’t listen to them, and here’s why: Meet Sam Subcontractor: I have worked for a lot of “Sam’s” they are great people too.  They usually have the same basic philosophy as Harry the Handyman; however, because they have employees and bigger “operations” they…
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QuickBooks Tip – Working With Contractors – Part 1

Be A Better Bookkeeper, QuickBooks Setup & Cleanup
An infusion of federal infrastructure funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) have had and will continue to put more contractors and their employees back to work.  Federal investment in Public Works projects will create jobs throughout the country and not just construction jobs. While additional public infrastructure projects will allow the construction industry to maintain their current workforce and will even necessitate hiring more workers.  You will also see contractors who have previously worked on other types of construction projects (residential and/or commercial) begin bidding on newly created Public Works projects. This will also encourage contractors to purchase equipment, thus preserving and creating manufacturing jobs. As a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor or Accounting Professional who is working with construction clients - you are entering into a very challenging…
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Contractors Using QuickBooks Have Special Bookkeeping Needs

Be A Better Bookkeeper, QuickBooks Add-Ons, QuickBooks Setup & Cleanup
As we all know, having an accounting system is a vital piece of any successful business.  An accounting system provides an automated and easy way to track how much money is being made vs. how much money is being spent. Creating proper accounts in an accounting system to track business Assets, Liabilities, Equity, Income, Cost of Goods Sold, and Expenses will allow your construction client to see an overall picture of their company's worth or value from a financial standpoint - not only for themselves, but also when they apply for a loan, or have to be bonded. A construction company, like any other company, has numerous responsibilities - to their employees, customers, vendors, subcontractors, investors, and even the government. Contractor Business Needs: The construction industry has some very specific…
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New York Certified Payroll Update Available

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, Construction News, The "Sunburst" Website
The City of New York, Office of the Comptroller, Bureau of Labor Law has revised their certified payroll reporting form; new reporting mandates no longer require contractors to display the full social security number of employees on the reports - social security numbers are now to be displayed as XXX-XX-1234.For complete details, click here.
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U. S. Department of Labor Revises Certified Payroll Reporting Requirements for Form WH-347

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, Construction News, The "Sunburst" Website
Effective January 18, 2009 Prime/General contractors and subcontractors who perform work on federally funded construction projects are no longer required to display the home address and social security numbers of employees on the certified payroll report form WH-347 that they submit; instead you are now required to display the employees full name and the last 4-digits of his/her social security number as follows XXX-XX-1234.  This revision was established to better protect worker privacy and identity theft. Given the new reporting requirements it would not be in violation of 29 CFR 5.5 (a)(3)(i) for a prime/general contractor to require a subcontractor to proved employee addresses and social security numbers for the prime/general contractors own records, without including this information in weekly submissions. The U.S. Department of Labor - Wage and Hour…
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Construction Workers on “stimulus” projects will receive prevailing wages

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, Construction News
And contractors will be required to complete and submit certified payroll reports. {From an article in the Washington Independent written by Jefferson Morley on 3/31/09} Though stymied on the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for workers to form unions, organized labor is about to claim a big consolation prize: the massive application of a law guaranteeing "prevailing wages" for hundreds of thousands of construction workers hired under President Obama's economic stimulus program. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is now preparing guidelines that will expand the scope of the 1931 Davis-Bacon Act, according to a department spokesperson. "In some cases, the Davis-Bacon prevailing wage provisions will apply to federal construction contracts in the same manner as they currently apply," said spokesperson Dolline Hatchett in an email. "In…
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Government stimulus projects include prevailing wage requirements

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, Construction News
{from an Associated Press article} A note from Sunburst Software Solutions, Inc. - Prevailing Wage requirements also require the submission of "certified payroll reports" on a weekly basis. Gov't stimulus projects include wage requirements By SCOTT BAUER - 23 hours ago MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Welders, bricklayers and other construction workers under the U.S. government's $787 billion stimulus law would earn significantly higher wages in some areas than crews on private, non-stimulus projects. Wage rules in the law are a potential bonus to workers' wallets but they're upsetting contractors who say it will increase their costs and reduce the numbers of projects that can be funded. Tucked within the 407-page law is a requirement that laborers and mechanics employed on government stimulus projects be paid "prevailing wages," which is defined…
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Economic Recovery Resource Center

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, Construction News
(from Public Works Online) Almost 20% of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be spent on improving the nation's infrastructure, this means that their will be more and more "public works" construction projects that require certified payroll. Will you be ready?  Will you be in compliance?  Do you know what a certified payroll report is or how to fill one out?  Check out our Free (upon request) Certified Payroll Training Guide https://www.sunburstsoftwaresolutions.com/component/option,com_performs/formid,5/ Interested in finding out how this money will be spent?  Check out Public Works Online Economic Recovery Resource Center at https://www.pwmag.com/industry-news.asp?sectionID=0&articleID=878887
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3 Key Steps for Shifting to Public Works Projects

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage
From Construction Business Owner.com - written by Russ Roy - February 2oo9 edition Note from Nancy Smyth:  Monte TenEyek, the consultant noted in this article, obviously didn't do his homework regarding QuickBooks.  QuickBooks Pro/Premier has the ability to handle 25 active payroll wage items per employee and the Enterprise Solutions version can handle 100 per employee.  If you add QuickBooks Enhanced Payroll you can track worker's compensation. Read our own article on "Making the Move to Public Works Construction" from our December 2008 QuickBooks for Contractors Newsletter, by clicking here. With the burst housing bubble and tighter private financing guidelines, more and more contractors are considering public works projects as a new source of revenue. On the surface, this seems like a great idea. Talks of a possible federal stimulus…
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New & Updated “Certified Payroll Solution” Audio/Video Training

The "Sunburst" Website
With all of the enhancements (new features, forms, functionality) that we've made to Certified Payroll Solution in the last 1/2 years - not to mention the release of the new Federal WH-347 Certified payroll report and reporting requirements.....I decided it was time to get off my duff and update some of our training videos. After nearly 4 days of screen capture, audio recording, and editing I'm happy to announce that two of the video's (totally a little over 1 hour of viewing time) are now available in the Certified Payroll Solution Training, Support & Resource Center - in the Free Training Category. The video's that have been updated are the "Certified Payroll Solution Initial Setup Video" and the "Running Certified Payroll Solution Video". Updated videos are available in their original…
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Press Release

Construction News, The "Sunburst" Website
PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release Contact Nancy Smyth Sunburst Software Solutions, Inc. (888) 348-2877 phone (866) 684-5157 fax sales@sunburstsoftwaresolutions.com https://www.sunburstsoftwaresolutions.com SUNBURST SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS, INC. RELEASES FEDERAL WH-347 COMPLIANCE UPDATE FOR "CERTIFIED PAYROLL SOLUTION" AND CONTRACTORS USING QUICKBOOKS. "Certified Payroll Solution" Integrates with QuickBooks to Help Contractors Working on Government Funded Construction Projects Comply With Certified Payroll Reporting Requirements, Saving Them Time And Money. West Charleston, VT - January 16, 2009 Sunburst Software Solutions, Inc., an Intuit Gold Developer, is pleased to announce the release of a compliance update, on January 14, 2009, for their flagship QuickBooks integrated application "Certified Payroll Solution."  This compliance update meets new Federal WH-347 certified payroll reporting requirements which become effective January 18, 2009, as mandated by the U.S. Department of Labor on December 18, 2008.…
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New Federal WH-347 Reporting Mandates Effective 1/18/09

Construction News, The "Sunburst" Website
IMPORTANT Revisions to U.S. Department of Labor/Federal WH-347 Reporting Mandates Regarding Protecting the Privacy of Workers. January 9, 2009 Affected Audience: All prime/general contractors and subcontractors required to file the Federal WH-347 Certified Payroll form on prevailing wage projects. Background: On October 20, 2008 the U.S. Department of Labor published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register (73 FR 62229) which invited comments until November 19, 2008, on proposed revisions to update current regulatory standards in order to better protect worker privacy for contracts covering federally financed and federally-assisted construction contracts.  Specifically the proposed revisions affect the reporting of employee addresses and social security numbers on the Federal WH-347 certified payroll reports. Effective Date: According to recent information released in the Federal Register (73 FR 77504) published on…
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