Cash Flow Management

dirt diggler

Gotta make this quick and without longwinded tangents


Looking for a more systematic way of managing cash flow. My current "system" is one straight out of any "Business For Drooling Idiots" book: I draw out a table - listing all expenses, revenue. And then decide which date those payables & receivables will be made/earned

The first problem is that it is a very time consuming and labor-intensive system.

The second is that it is very time consuming, lol




Anyways, feel free to shoot out ideas.

Mike Finley

You might not like this system, but it's really simple.

Make more money then you spend, have a cash cushion, pay out your bills anytime you want. It's not the way just about anybody operates but it does work and allows you to focus on making money instead of managing it.

Wish I could give you help with a system to do what you want to do, but I kind of think any system that helps you do what you are currently doing will just trap you into doing what you are doing 10 years from now.

MVH

I have worked for too many GCs that live from draw to draw. It is a stressful existence. I have to agree with Mike Finley, put a little aside from each job to build a sufficient working capital fund.

Mike

POOLMANinCT

dirt you are poolguy, so I have the right to insult & tolerate insult from you.

that is the dumbest system I have ever heard . I realize you woke up a smelled the service $$$$$. you have to stay on top of those service payments. it literally 20x the work of keeping construction projects current. so I'm sure you're on the learning curve. payables are rather predictable. I subscibe to any payable "email" reminders I can.
are you keeping a diary? (dont lie, it easy to forget a service call "done on the way in one night."

I also know you dable in excel. Drop a couple bucks on a mobile device to keep a simple spreadsheet with you, make a diary ss, vendor, ss, etc & do recordings AT THE TRANSACTION.
these device don't run full excel features but easy to port. buy 1!!!!

YOU NEED MORE "GOEZINTOS than GOESOUTTAS"

btw excel calendar any1??

ray

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welovepainting

I have solution for you. If you contact Brian at www.yourcostcenter.com
they have an excelent cost management program that will save you time and money. We have saved thousands and managed very well with his advice and services.

Kevin75

Here's my fool-proof method:

1) Date a girl who works at a bank, has experience doing payroll for a company, has a math degree and like crunching numbers.

2) Marry her.

3) Let her do your books.


It's worked swimmingly for me!

Kevin

kpj5br

dirt - Dropping a few dollars on a reputable IT contractor can pay back many times over not only in saving you time with management activities, but also ensuring you're not missing receivables, etc.

Every business is different, a good IT contractor can customize a solution for you (meaning your exact needs) quickly and make sure a lot of things are taken care of that non-IT types don't often think about (proper backup and recovery procedures, security, etc.).

Food for thought.

Your friend, IT Man

dirt diggler

LOL - Thanks IT Man (you're right, that name is kinda stickin)

Eventually, like you say, I will want to incorporate more technology into what I do. Especially as I keep growing

hmm, old thread. I reread it ... I didn't do well at communicating what I was trying to say. Oh well. I've got a pretty decent system right now ... although I still need to "efficient-tize" more

if anyone's interested, I'll certainly re-write it and spark a convo ... I'm too tired to talk to myself

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POOLMANinCT

more tech dirt???????? gonna get a cell phone?

I use a nerd contractor to hook up smart systems...

ray

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......Less with the jaw & More with the paw.....

dirt diggler

lol ... i hate my cell phone.

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Thanks in advance!!!

SelfContract

Try these methods/software:


1. Microsoft Excel (spreadsheets) from MS Office suite. They have mathematical formulas and helps how to set up automatic data entry with tables & nice automatic columns layout, total/summary, bills printing, and graphic/nice/color charts showing expenses and revenues, money flow in & out, etc.

2. QuickBooks Software. It is accounting SW used to create customer order, customer bills, your personal/commercial bank account management, inventory management. Bills printing, invoice printing, tracking budget, online banking, tax, etc.

3. PeachTree Software. It is accounting SW used to create customer order, customer bills, your personal/commercial bank account management, inventory management. Bills printing, invoice printing, tracking budget, online banking, tax, etc.

dirt diggler

thanks Self


it's not so much software i was after ... it's more or less an "approach"


for instance, right now ... I take a 30 day period. On a table/spreadsheet, I list what expenses are coming up

and then there is another table for receivables.

It takes awhile to do ... and I feel like I'm going around my ass to get to my elbow. Need efficiency.

I don't like to "just have things in my head" ... I want it on paper.



BUT - maybe it IS software that I should be looking at

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Thanks in advance!!!

SelfContract

Welcome to the 21st information century, where convenient access is important. I know what you mean. I have seen company made custom accounting SW for them. They just click the buttons to open sw interface, then come many pop up the boxes to enter (so there is no need to mouse down the columns or to open/find the tables). The other FASTER way is they put the bills face down on scan machine, then just scan the bills onto the scanner machine, then the machine will automatically recoginize $$data scanned & feed the data into SW WITHOUT you have to click or touch anything! Imagine you have 100 invoices with hundreds lines/numbers to enter, it only took machine to enter in less than 5 seconds instead of you typing in more than half hour with many typing mistakes. Sounds very cool, eh?

Nowadays, I go to Bank of America, deposit the check (even with bad writings from people's hands) by feeding it into bank slot, the teller machine will automatically recognize the CORRECT $$ amounts no mater how hard to read, ask me to confirm $$ amount shown up, then enter into their database or accounting banking system. (Similar like a scanning software that recognize texts from letters, etc.) All big corporations now like do this so they can lay-off data entry people to cut accounting costs and be effective/competive too!

In order to do this, you have to learn computers more, and how to create custom program in computer languages like C++, Java, Basic, etc. But that is another adventure on its own, and lazy people loves to have something like that.

JamesNLA

Bank accounts.

I use multiple accounts, because I am a spender. The wife is the queen of waste. She can piss money away standing up....hmmm... anyhow, All business income goes into acct. A The money cannot be touched until I start buying materials (if from a place where I don't have an account) the labor - mats mark up - profit is not to be touched until we finish. All normal expences have to be from another account, I have learned mixing money, even when it's all profit is a road to broke ass times and a nightmare come tax time.

Excell, on jobs I bid the very first thing I do is crank out a spread sheet with everything on it, that takes a few minutes at most. I write the bid after that, but that's a different topic. This way I know where I stand on a job. I know the profit % I know how much I have in mats in case something comes up. All I do is simply take MY total labor charge less 10% and pay the wife. She pays all the personal bills - house payments - etc..etc.. I keep the 10% leftover and the profit and whatever is left from the mats money. THe company has constant growth because it keeps getting fed, just like a damn kid.

As for you, and I really, I bug ladies at my supply houses for my invoice totals. One thing I do have to do is go over all the prices. Make sure it's accurate, these are idiots filling in the prices so I have to always double check. I have paid double for items for too long. That part does take time.

As far as all this tech goes, I trust it about as much as I trust a laborer to not blast through a sprinkler line when trenching. I dunno, I was never impressed with QB or Peach Tree. MAybe things are different now but from what I remember, it always too SO much longer.

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fathersonfab

Do you have an accountant or book keeper?
If not, hire one. You should be meeting with an accountant more that just once a year at tax time anyway. Ask them to tell you how to do it, then do it the way they tell you. They will be able to set up a solid system for receivables and expenses...

It should be allot simpler than your current system and everything will be done right by tax time.

Brian

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woody74n

Quick books works for me, and my accountant can dial in and pull all the info she needs for tax time, but be carful you have to keep your pricing updated on materials, QB will also tell you how much of what materials you use the most of, this works great if you have the ability to buy in quanity an inventory material. quanity = cost savings = more profit.

a1propertyclean

Great idea, Kevin. But then she knows what you're worth when she divorces you. It's 3:45 pm. Do you know where your money is?

[Sorry, couldn't resist.]

Linda

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allreo.vendor.review@gmail.com [experienced vendors only - please list state and counties if you're looking for work]

dirt diggler

HA - fat chance

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Thanks in advance!!!