Over the past several years, the construction industry has been going strong with plentiful amounts of work available. But with this growth comes the routine challenges of personnel, infrastructure, cash flow, etc. While all of these challenges are items you see and face everyday, another challenge may be arising that you need to be aware of as well: The day your deferred taxes are due! 

Construction Business Owner, May 2008

Editor's Note: Following is the fourth article in our ten-part series called, "Accounting Software Checkup: Ten Ailments That Can Hinder a Healthy Bottom Line," by Fred Ode, CEO, chairman and founder of Foundation Software. Each "ailment" will be discussed in detail to help you determine if your seemingly healthy business has an underlying problem.

Construction Business Owner, May 2008

Editor's Note: This is the fifth in our 2008 series of "Get Your Business to Work," written by our regular columnist George Hedley. In last month's article, George Hedley offered his first ten of twenty tips to boost your bottom line. Tips eleven through fifteen follow.

Ever been accused of being a sandbagger? Golfers who pad their handicap are often called sandbaggers. They keep their handicap artificially high so they get a few extra strokes from their opponents when playing match play. The term "sandbagger" comes from the concept of filling your golf bag with some sand so it's heavier than normal, causing you to get tired and not play up to your potential. In order to keep their handicaps comfortably higher than they should be, sandbaggers do little things like missing short putts on purpose when they don't need to sink them to win a hole.

Construction Business Owner, April 2008

Q:

What else can I do to get my cash flow back?  My husband and I have a small welding business with five employees. We offer to take credit cards, and we have a credit line to help. I don't pay bills until they are due, but I am struggling every month.

I have to be very diligent about my collections. I have some general contractors (we are the sub) who will pay, but I have to call first. What do I tell my vendors?  I have told them that I will send a payment as soon as I get mine, but that just isn't acceptable. So, I borrow and borrow and borrow to keep everyone happy. When I do get money in, it is so late, that I usually need it to pay something else. And I can't get anything paid back on my credit line. I haven't used my credit line for the past three months. I have held people off until the last minute and have threatened collections to get contractors to pay.