Masonry Chart Of Accounts

Brick Mason

Hi, My wife has been trying to learn how to do the books for our company and since she is not an accountant, she has been struggling. I don't like to see her frustrated, and I'm not able to answer most of her questions.

She is trying to re-create our chart of accounts and is confused by where to put accounts. Would anyone be able to help her with this issue by sending us a copy of your Masonry chart of accouts (only the accounts themselves, of course, and not any figures)?

One of the (many) things she is confused about, for example, is regarding fuel. Is it an 'expense' or is it a 'cost of goods sold'?

Thanks a lot,
Brick Mason

artisanstone

My wife does our books too, and the best thing I can tell you is to hire an expert. We use quickbooks, and we brought this lady in for one afternoon. She straightened everything out quick! It only cost us $150. You don't want to screw anything up.

Btw. I hate it that we have to jump through so many hoops just to do our work.

__________________
Bill Baddorf
Bill@artisanstoneworks.net
www.artisanstoneworks.net
www.stonefoundation.org

concretemasonry

The important thing to remember about a chart of accounts is that it should fit your business AND where you think you may be heading (growth, etc.). No two businesses are alike and most sytems will allow you to create the ones you will need.

Your example of fuel is a prime example. If you have two units using fuel, you may want to throw the fuel cost for one into the accounts for doing the work (work truck) and put the other into the expense/overhead category since it is used for supervision, selling and other overhead type things. As you grow, you can just adjust as your volumes increase. This way you can get a better idea of your costs. The wrong "slots" can mislead you when you go to look at the pure cost to build things.

The most important thing is to recognize what goes into each account, so you can make intellegent decisions based on real costs.

__________________
Dick

Engineer, designer and consultant recently active domestically and internationally on construction and design in about 35 countries.

kc4mqm

Quickbooks is great once you've set it up correctly. They say it's user friendly but I recomend having someone set it up as well. Once you get things in their proper places it does the work for you, tax time is a cinch. Good luck with it, I hate paperwork more than anything.

Double-A

Fuel for what?

On-road or off-road?

On-road is expense. Off-road, unless you're driving an ATV to work would be COGS. You don't run off-road in any 'overhead' equipment, so its COGS.

You do run on-road in the work truck, which is a business expense, shared among all work related activities, so its overhead, i.e., expense.

Simple test, if you can charge it directly to a job, all of it, then its COGS, (or goes in a WIP account, which requires a degree in Advanced Legume Enumeration to even start to discuss).

__________________
"My clients’ wishes are the center of my attention." -- David Guido, a contractor in Woodstock, N.Y.
New York Times, July 20, 2006

Brick Mason

I will take the advice and look for a professional. We had our accountant come in to try and help her. He charged $550.00 for 2 hours on how to enter a check, basically. Nothing else. His rate varies every time we talk or meet with him. He gets paid more than our lawyer does. This is the biggest reason we want to do the books ourselves and the fact that he's made some huge mistakes with our books a few times now and we've gotten penalized for it Big Time. Thanks for all the advice.

Brick Mason

I mean, we'll look for a DIFFERENT professional.

Double-A

One of the interview qustions should be, "Do you work for other contractors and what do you charge for setting up a Chart of Accounts."

Nothing is worse than trying to explain how our industry works to someone whose frame of reference is working in an office. Let someone else pay them to learn how to service your account.

If you're going to use a software program, like QuickBooks, then finding an accountant or book keeper with QuickBooks experience is a must.

__________________
"My clients’ wishes are the center of my attention." -- David Guido, a contractor in Woodstock, N.Y.
New York Times, July 20, 2006

POOLMANinCT

excel.... easy to tailor, I use it for everything but invoices. I took a comm college class a few seasons ago & the teacher was kind enough to make my needs a class assignment.

ray

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

natural1

I also use quickbooks pro. It is very easy once you get everything set up. Takes a little time to learn but comes with a thorough book to help out. Has a lot of tools to use but I don't use half of them. Like KC4 said, it really helps to get it set up correctly because it can be a pain to go back and fix things. Can be done (which is a benefit) but still a pain.
You can also do invoices and estimates with it.

Vinny

I give this advice free of charge and that may be what its worth but dont, do not, allow your accountant to set up your chart of accounts unless he or she has owned a small contracting buisness. They usually use some one size fits all chart of accounts thats worthless and after using it for a few years you'll have a pile of useless managment info.

Feel free to e mail me and I'll send you mine, then you can customize it to your buisness needs.

Also seek out a quick books pro advisor in your area. Thier generally lees expensive than your accountant and will serve you better in the end.

__________________
Roccies Asphalt Paving
The Right Way Driveway Company
If you say you cant, your a loser. If you say you wont, your a quiter. Which one do you want to be?

Brick Mason

Hi everyone. This is Brick Mason's wife. I want to thank everyone for their advice. It's always good to know that someone is willing to help the strugglers. We appreciate any and all thoughts and suggestions. I have so much to learn about the masonry trade. It helps, though, that I am able to help out in the field now and then. Working as a laborer for a few weeks in a row last year really helped me understand more about the work. I have more understanding and a better appreciation of all the work that is involved.

Brick Mason

Hi Vinny, How do I get your email address and send you mine without showing all of the ContractorTalk members the same information?

Vinny

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, I didnt see your reply until now.

Feel fre to email me at vinnyengongoro@rocciesasphalt.com

__________________
Roccies Asphalt Paving
The Right Way Driveway Company
If you say you cant, your a loser. If you say you wont, your a quiter. Which one do you want to be?