Mid-January is a time of reflection for many contractors.  They’re starting a fresh new year, and wrapping up their year-end which is a task in itself:

• Preparing W2s & 1099s
• Creating year-end financial reports
• Closing your general ledger
• Rushing to get that last payroll out in December because you are unable to work between two fiscal years
• Looking at Over/Under Billing and posting the adjustment to the year-end financials
• Preparing Sales & Use tax reports for sales tax authorities
• Querying different type of jobs in job costing to look at profitability by type

If you have had trouble with any of these items in past year-ends, ask yourself, “Am I willing to go through that again next year?”

If the answer is no, then now may be the time to start looking into new tools and software programs that can make your job—and your life—easier.  There are plenty of construction-specific accounting packages that work the way construction does and can efficiently prepare W2s and 1099s and year-end financial reports.  Some systems are even date-sensitive and allow you process payroll over different periods, and even years, so you don’t have to rush to get that last payroll done.

What I’m getting at is this—year-end doesn’t have to be this painful.  Do some research and check out some of the resources, tools, and software programs available to you.  It can make your next year-end, your job, and your life easier.