12Jan 2012 by Nancy Smyth

Top 10 Thursday – News From Around the Web 1/12/12

News You Can Use
Top 10 Thursday features 10 of the most interesting articles that I found the previous week.  There is so much news and information available on the web - it's difficult to read everything and stay up to date.  As I read articles on the web - I'll share some that I feel are important. General Business: 6 Secrets to Overcoming Burnout Bookkeeping, Accounting, Payroll & Taxes: Misclassifying Workers as Independent Contractors Carries a Steep Price New Tax Provisions for 2012 Where Do Payroll Taxes Go? Tax Relief and Health Care Acts Shape 2011 Returns Construction: Defense Bill Includes at $400M for Colorado Allowances in Construction Contracts - Avoiding Misunderstandings and Disputes Marketing & Social Media: The Power of Permission in Using Email Marketing Using Social Bookmarking to Improve Your SEO…
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11Nov 2010 by Nancy Smyth

QuickBooks Contractor Tip – Handling Negative Change Orders

Customers & Accounts Receivable
Change Orders are a fact of life that a contractor must deal with on just about every construction project that they are involved with. Construction contracts start with an original bid amount for specific cost codes, phases of work, or line items.  However, most construction contracts change as work proceeds; resulting in both increases and decreases or positive and negative change orders - which affect the original bid amount. There are many ways in which people will handle Change Orders when using QuickBooks, such as just going to the original Estimate and changing the dollar amounts of the affected items.  This is a "quick and easy fix"; however, it doesn't leave a good documentation trail for what occurred on the project and can cause a lot of confusion. Handling change…
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01Jun 2010 by Nancy Smyth

QuickBooks Tip 10 Plus Methods of Accounting for Construction Contracts

Be A Better Bookkeeper, QuickBooks Setup & Cleanup
Every contractor, regardless of their business structure (sole proprietor, partnership, corporation) has to choose an overall method of accounting; before the first federal tax return is filed.  Accounting methods include: the cash method the accrual method the accrual method which excludes retentions, and (possibly) a hybrid method(s) Depending on the type, size, and length of the construction contract, there are various methods of accounting for long-term construction projects that are allowed - each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. A contractor will need to select a specific long-term contract accounting methods - possibly with different methods for it's exempt and non-exempt contracts - and also selects sub-treatments for the classification of contracts and the allocation of indirect costs. In a nutshell, accounting for long-term contracts relates to the treatment…
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12Jan 2009 by Nancy Smyth

Army Announces plans for $4B in storm-protection contracts

Construction News
From the AGC SmartBrief Newsletter dated 1/12/09. Contracts worth $4 billion for levee and drainage projects in New Orleans will be offered by the Army Corps of Engineers. "The 113 contracts for the hurricane and storm-damage risk-reduction system will be the largest number we award in any given year," said Col. Gregory Gunter, operations officer for Task Force Hope. "It's going to be a huge year." Projects involve bringing structures up to 100-year flood levels, improving drainage and adding a new pumping station. The Web site, https://www.FedBizOps.gov, will advertise the contracts. Read the full article
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