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QuickBooks for Contractors is a fabulous and inexpensive tool for managing your construction business and gaining control over your job costs, but in order to use it to its fullest potential you need to setup and use QuickBooks a little differently than you would for most other businesses.

First, and most importantly, you need to setup your Items correctly because they are the heart of QuickBooks for Contractors. You should setup an Item for each level of detail you want on your job costing reports. It can be as simple as Labor and Materials or as detailed as having hundreds of sub-categories for the services you provide. A good example of a middle-ground (enough detail to manage your job costs without become overwhelming) can be found in the sample contractor-based business file that comes with QuickBooks:

1 Plans & Permits .
01.1 Plans
01.2 Building Permits
01.3 City & Co. Lic’s & Fees
02 Site Work
02.10 Demo
03 Excavation
04 Concrete
05 Masonry
06 Floor Framing
07 Wall Framing
08 Roof Framing
09 Roof Flashing
10 Exterior Trim & Decks
11 Siding
12 Doors & Trim
13 Windows & Trim
14 Plumbing
15 HVAC
16 Electrical & Lighting
17 Insulation
18 Interior Walls
19 Ceilings & Cover
20 Millwork & Trim
21 Cabinets & Vanities
22 Specialty
23 Floor Coverings
24 Paint
25 Cleanup
26 Landscape & Paving
27 Contingent

Many contractors add sub-items for Labor and Materials to their Items which is useful if you want to track those costs separately. This also makes it easier to report only the Labor portion of a subcontractor’s invoice on their 1099.

After you determine which job costs you want to track, you’re ready to add your Items. Go to Lists – Item List, right-click on Item and select New. Job costs should always be setup as Service Items which, fortunately, it defaults to. If you are a contractor with short-term jobs make sure to set up all your Service Items as two-sided, with both an expense and an income account. This doesn’t occur automatically and unfortunately it isn’t very intuitive. You need to put a check next to “This service is used in assemblies or is performed by a subcontractor or partner” for the expense box to be added to the setup screen. Contractors often use a cost of goods sold account called something like “job related costs” for job-related expenses.

Builders, on the other hand, who have projects that span several months or more generally use a work in progress (WIP) or construction in progress (CIP) asset account because job related costs aren’t usually expensed until the project is completed. For this reason, their Service Items do not need to be double-sided. You should check with your tax advisor or CPA before deciding which one is right for your business.

Once your Items are setup, you need to start using them. Many of the job costing reports, such as Estimates vs. Actuals, require the use of Items on all your transactions including bills, checks, and credit card charges. Again, this is not very intuitive especially since all these transactions types default to an Expense tab, but look carefully and you’ll see an Item tab just to the right of the Expense tab. In order to get the most out of QuickBooks for Contractors, you must always use this tab. Forget that the Expense tab even exists. It’s also important to assign all your transactions to a Customer/Job, of course.

Lastly, if you want to get the most out of QuickBooks for Contractors always, always enter an Estimate with the level of detail you’re trying to track. You don’t need to send this out to your customers, though you might find that this is very useful. Many users think this adds an unnecessary extra step to their day-to-day accounting entries, but this is one of the beautiful things about QuickBooks for Contractors. Once you enter the estimate, you can turn it into an Invoice, a Sales Order and/or a Purchase Order with just the click of a button (all three are hiding under the “Create Invoice” button on the Estimate form). So, rather than adding an extra step you’ll often find that you’ll end up saving an enormous amount of data entry time in the future plus you’ll be getting much better, more detailed reports.

Are you thinking of investing in real estate? There is a lot of money involved in property investment so not only is there money to be made but if you’re not informed then you can lose a lot. Not only do you need access to money but there is hard work and research involved in making money in the real estate business. If you have the drive then you can find buying, renovating and reselling or renting property for a profit enjoyable and rewarding. Here are some tips to acquiring property for resale or renting.

Look for a property in the best location you can afford. The best rental and resale family homes should be close to public schools and shopping centers. There should also be access to freeways and public transportation, especially in urban areas. Contact the local police department or use tools online to find out the crime rate in the neighborhood.

Once you have done your market research and decided on possible properties, you’ll need to know as much as possible about each prospective property. While visiting the property look carefully for anything that will need to be replaced or repaired. Look for repairs that can be hidden and costly such as cracked hardwood floors, plumbing, mildew and electrical problems. Take notes and write these issues down so you can review them later.

Once you have done your own inspection and decided that a property looks like a possible investment, hire a professional inspector. Make sure to find a reputable and reliable inspector even if you have to spend more money. They will tell you what needs to be repaired, what should be repaired, and what work will need to be done in the future.

Don’t get too attached to a property. Remember, your goal is too make money on the home. Keeping that in mind will help put things in perspective and help you not to make any hasty decisions. No matter how nice you find the property, don’t be afraid to walk away from a sale.

Use professionals to help you before you decide to buy a property. An appraiser will help you determine the value of the real estate and how much it will be worth with renovations. You will also need to figure out how much renovations will cost to determine if a profit is possible.

Have your finances in order before making an offer. Financial aid is available and should be used especially if you don’t have enough capital to invest in something that will turn a profit. Be careful though; a long term loan (such as 30 years) may not pay off if you’ll be selling it in the short term. Use an accountant if you’re unsure of the number crunching.

After you’ve completed the buying and selling of your first property you will be on your way to making real estate investment a hobby and a business.

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What to look for in a new home builder Brooklyn. You want a home builder with lots of experience and glowing references from past happy customers. The reputation of the construction company is one of the best ways to find a good home builder. A quality will comprehend the design phase. This includes clear understanding of architectural designs. How best to do a floor layout or make changes if need be. As well as knowing the new home builder Brooklyn building codes.

A new home builder Brooklyn location needs to understand the domestic water system. They have to be familiar with what weather protection is needed for the house. With building a home it is important to correctly build the foundation, and do the frame construction. If none of that is correct the house is not any good. Poor construction means costly repairs in your future. Same with the retaining walls, they need to be correct. A new home inspection Brooklyn location is needed to insure that the actual building has been done correctly. The right products used in the external construction.

A new home inspection Brooklyn area is going to be required for the internal construction as well. You want a new home inspector to check out the quality of the flooring, walls, insulation and ceilings first. If they are not up to standard you need to know. Again you are trying to avoid having to repair things later on. A new home inspection Brooklyn location needs to also cover ventilation. If these are not done correctly you may have problems with air flow leading to poor air quality and possible mold.

The electrical wiring and any other wires such as telephone and cable also need to be inspected. This is about safety. No one wants a fire caused by faulty or incorrect wiring. Plumbing is a big deal as well. If it is not done correctly the first time then it may all have to be removed. Backups and leaks result from incorrect plumbing installation. It is important to have your home inspected as it is built. A home inspector looks for improper building practices, items that require extensive repairs, general maintenance issues, and fire and safety issues.

There are two main areas of a home that are most often renovated, the kitchen and the bathroom. These rooms can make a home. If you are looking for kitchen contractors Queens area there are a few things you can try. First ask people who did their kitchens. Find out what companies have excellent reputations. If no one has had any kitchen work done than check out the phone book or internet for kitchen contractors Queens. Once you have a few good candidates start getting some quotes for the job. The one thing a kitchen contractor must be willing to get is permits. The work that goes into a kitchen must be inspected.

A bathroom renovation Staten Island area will also require permits. There are a lot of people doing different work in a bathroom. It involves electrical and plumbing even in most small jobs. You may require walls and floors to be ripped up and replaced. A professional bathroom renovation Staten Island contractor is going to make sure everything passes inspection. These days a quality bathroom renovation Staten Island contractor is going to recommend going to mold resistant products. It may be a little more expensive but worth it in the long run. It is about providing the best bathroom within your budget and structural limits.

A general renovations contractor may be able to do an excellent job on a kitchen or bathroom. So you don’t have to limit yourself. Though keep in mind that a specialized kitchen contractors Queens area may go be able to do the work faster and at a lower cost than a general renovations contractor. Quality of workmanship is always important. A company that only works on bathrooms or kitchens will have experienced labours who know what they are doing. A general renovations contractor may have to find people to do the work or subcontract the work out. What contractor you go with will depend on their ability to get the job done within your budget. The lowest bidder may not always be the best choice. When it comes to you home cutting corners to save some money can leave you with very expensive repair bills.