Feature Definitions
Financial Reporting (Item 1)
Under all three of our service plans, we offer financial reporting. However, there are key differences between the service plans.
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Pro Growth
Click here to view the sample report. Clients on the Pro Growth plan can expect a weekly reporting template that will showcase the job software budgets on a job-by-job basis. This weekly template has some features that can be customized so you can track specific targets related to your own yearly goals.
Furthermore, we will prepare a monthly reporting package on our reporting deadline in the following month on the 10th. Our ability to deliver this package on-time is dependent on the information and documents you submit to us on a timely basis. Please reply to our client portal requests within 48 hours and whenever possible, please grant us view-only access to your bank account(s) so we can pull statements without bothering you. Delays of more than 48 hours will result in equal or greater delays in delivering your reporting package. Given that this report is totally customizable, here are some common reports that can be included. Click here for more reading/video.
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Commentary
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Profit & Loss YTD with Prior Year Compare
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Profit & Loss MTD with Prior Year Compare
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Budget vs. Actuals YTD
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Balance Sheet with Prior Year Compare
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Statement of Cash Flows
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AP & AR Aging Summary
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P&L by Job/Client
Accelerator
Click here to view the sample report. At the end of every month, we will prepare a reporting package on our reporting deadline in the following month on the 15th. The standard reporting package includes the items below. Given our capacity, the ability to customize this package is limited. Our ability to deliver this package on-time is dependent on the information and documents you submit to us on a timely basis. Please reply to our client portal requests within 48 hours and whenever possible, please grant us view-only access to your bank account(s) so we can pull statements without bothering you. Delays of more than 48 hours will result in equal or greater delays in delivering your reporting package. Click here for more reading/video.
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Profit & Loss YTD with Prior Year Compare
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Balance Sheet with Prior Year Compare
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Statement of Cash Flows
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A/P & A/R Aging Summary
Starter
Click here to view the sample report. At the end of every month, we will prepare a reporting package on our reporting deadline in the following month on the 21st. The standard reporting package includes the items below. Given our capacity, the ability to customize this package is limited. Our ability to deliver this package on-time is dependent on the information and documents you submit to us on a timely basis. Please reply to our client portal requests within 48 hours and whenever possible, please grant us view-only access to your bank account(s) so we can pull statements without bothering you. Delays of more than 48 hours will result in equal or greater delays in delivering your reporting package. Click here for more reading/video.
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Profit & Loss YTD with Prior Year Compare
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Balance Sheet with Prior Year Compare
Video Results Presentation (Item 2)
For the Pro Growth, Accelerator, and Starter plans, video results presentation is available upon request in place of virtual meetings. This includes a pre-recorded summary of your monthly results. This is great so you can watch at your convenience, change playback speed, and refer back to something if you forget. The videos run for less than five minutes and focus on what is most important so you do not experience data overload. If we have unanswered bookkeeping questions, we may also use the video to prompt these questions. You can reply to us with an email.
Virtual Meetings (Item 3)
Click here for more reading/video about virtual meetings. Virtual meetings are available in 45 minute time slots. Ideally, meetings will be scheduled at a set time (i.e. weekly on Tuesday) for a year at a time. This is to ensure your time is built into our tight schedule. Rescheduling is available, but subject to availability. For any meeting in which you are more than 10 minutes late, We will be forced to move on to other tasks. We can attempt to reschedule you for a later time, subject to schedule availability. These meetings can be replaced by the video presentation, if you choose.
For the Pro Growth service plan, virtual meetings are available weekly. For the Accelerator service plan, meetings are available twice per month. For the Starter plan, meetings are available once per month.
Click here to read standard operating procedures about meetings in our Operations Manual.
Transaction Entry (Item 4)
Click here for more reading/video about transaction entry. Based on your service plan with us, we will enter your transactions in QBO and your job software at set frequencies as follows:
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Pro Growth plan transactions will be entered weekly
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Accelerator plan transactions will be entered monthly
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Starter plan transactions will be entered monthly
In order to facilitate the best possible experience for you, please submit all documents as soon as possible. This will include bills, invoices, receipts, checks, and more. We find it best to utilize the following avenues to submit documents:
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Receipt capture (Dext, BT Cost Inbox, QBO, or similar): receipts, which include everything that is already paid. We would prefer that paid documents are submitted here so they don't get confused in your AP and AR listings.
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Client portal: bank statements, tax letters, informational documents.
Business Tax Return (Item 5)
Click here for more reading/video about business tax returns. Business tax preparation can be included in all three service plans, but the delivery speed and complexity varies based on the plan you choose. Available business tax forms include 1120, 1120-S, 1065. We reserve the right to extend your tax return depending upon our current capacity and comfort level processing the information supplied by you. Returns we deem too complex will be referred out to a partner firm for specialized preparation, which will be billable under a separate engagement with our affiliate firm. Please be advised, an extension to file is not an extension to pay. This means if there is any tax liability due on your return, it will need to be paid by the extension date in order to avoid interest and penalties. If you do not want to incur interest and penalties, we suggest making an estimated payment with your extension filing.
Pro Growth
This plan upgrades standard tax preparation to allow for faster turnaround speed and enhanced audit responses. In the event of an IRS examination (audit), we will draft a response to one letter per year from the tax agency and gather necessary documents to support such a letter. We can reply to additional letters under a separate working engagement.
Accelerator
This plan includes a tax prep turnaround of approximately two weeks from the time we receive the last required documents from you. Responses to tax letters are available under a separate engagement.
Starter
This plan includes a tax prep turnaround of approximately three weeks from the time we receive the last required documents from you. Responses to tax letters are available under a separate engagement.
Personal Tax Return (Item 6)
Click here for more reading/video about personal tax returns. Personal 1040 tax preparation for business owners can be included in all three service plans, but the delivery speed and complexity varies based on the plan you choose. Each plan includes one personal tax return, so additional owners will be billed separately. We reserve the right to extend your tax return depending upon our current capacity and comfort level processing the information supplied by you. Returns we deem too complex will be referred out to a partner firm for specialized preparation, which will be billable under a separate engagement with our partner firm. This could include returns with activity we are not familiar with, such as those with expatriates, holding corporations, and trusts. These specialized returns will be referred out and our tax prep partner firm will have a separate engagement and billing. Please be advised, an extension to file is not an extension to pay. This means if there is any tax liability due on your return, it will need to be paid by the extension date in order to avoid interest and penalties. If you do not want to incur interest and penalties, we suggest making an estimated payment with your extension filing. Please note, multiple personal tax returns (i.e. two spouses filing separately or multiple business owners) will result in a price per 1040 prepared.
Pro Growth
This plan upgrades standard tax preparation to allow for faster turnaround speed and enhanced audit responses. In the event of an IRS examination (audit), we will draft a response to one letter per year from the tax agency and gather necessary documents to support such a letter. We can reply to additional letters under a separate working engagement.
Accelerator
This plan includes a tax prep turnaround of approximately two weeks from the time we receive the last required documents from you. Responses to tax letters are available under a separate engagement.
Starter
This plan includes a tax prep turnaround of approximately three weeks from the time we receive the last required documents from you. Responses to tax letters are available under a separate engagement.
1099 Prep at Year-End (Item 7)
Click here for more reading/video about 1099 preparation. We are pleased to offer 1099 preparation at calendar year-end across all three of our plans. Knowing when a 1099 needs to be prepared can be complicated, so it is important that you assist us throughout the year by collecting all necessary W-9s from your vendors. When in doubt, please collect a W-9 from your vendor before you issue payment to them. Once a vendor receives their payment, they are not nearly as likely to comply with your request.
Most commonly, 1099s need to be issued to vendors and subcontractors to whom you pay $600 or more during the calendar year for services, not goods. For payments you made via credit card, you need not worry because the credit card processor becomes responsible for issuing those 1099s, but this is not the case for ACH payments.
There are different types of 1099s that can be issued. In most cases, we will use the 1099-NEC (Non Employee Compensation) but the 1099-MISC will be used when necessary (usually landlords). Our standard operating procedure is to enter taxpayer IDs in QBO and attach the W-9 there. At year-end, we aim to generate all 1099s from QBO due to efficiencies with tracking payments there. The 1099s are due to the recipient by the last business day of January every year. Therefore, you need to supply all W-9s to us or have them up-to-date in QBO no later than the last business day of December. This is to allow for proper review time before the January deadline. Excessive amounts of 1099 preparation may mandate additional billings or upgrading your service plan.
Tax Planning with Estimated Taxes (Item 8)
Click here for more reading/video about Quarterly Estimated Income Tax Payments. In addition to tax preparation, we are happy to offer tax planning services. In most cases, this includes calculation of estimated tax payments but sometimes it can expand to optimizing tax code such as education credits and filling out your W-4 for payroll withholdings. For any payments to tax agencies, we always recommend using online electronic methods that offer immediate confirmation so you don't have to worry about your check getting lost/stolen in the mail. These tax planning services are available as follows:
Pro Growth
For this plan, we will calculate your estimated tax payments when we prepare your annual tax return and update our projection quarterly, in case you want to make changes to your quarterly payments. We will also offer to schedule your estimated tax payments electronically directly from our tax software, but please note that we cannot change ACH routing/account numbers once your return is filed under this method. We will not be able to help you schedule payments directly from the website of tax agencies. We would be happy to consult you on filling out your W-4 for payroll withholdings once per year. For new clients, we might not know what your estimated tax payments need to be until we prepare your first return as a client.
Accelerator
For this plan, we will calculate your estimated tax payments when we prepare your annual tax return. We will also offer to schedule your estimated tax payments electronically directly from our tax software, but please note that we cannot change ACH routing/account numbers once your return is filed under this method. We will not be able to help you schedule payments directly from the website of tax agencies. If your income situation changes during the year, you will need to recalculate remaining estimated tax payments. We would be happy to consult you on filling out your W-4 for payroll withholdings once per year. For new clients, we might not know what your estimated tax payments need to be until we prepare your first return as a client.
Starter
For this plan, we will calculate your estimated tax payments when we prepare your annual tax return. We will not be able to help you schedule payments for the estimated tax payments, but you can do that on your own. If your income situation changes during the year, you will need to recalculate remaining estimated tax payments. We would be happy to consult you on filling out your W-4 for payroll withholdings once per year. For new clients, we might not know what your estimated tax payments need to be until we prepare your first return as a client.
​Email Questions (Item 9)
Click here to watch a video about email at MyBuilderCPA. All of our clients are eligible to receive some level of email support, which varies significantly based on the plan chosen. Email is the best way to communicate so we can thoroughly research your question(s) before responding. We much prefer providing email support as opposed to unexpected phone support, which is almost never available due to the schedule getting booked so far in advance. Remote CPA does not employ anyone who can answer phone calls on an immediate basis. Email response time is, by far, the most sought-after service feature among Remote CPA clients. Given the limited amount of bandwidth in a day, it is impossible to respond to the multitude of emails received daily. The inbox is sorted by service package, so Pro Growth clients are responded to first followed by the other service packages. Remote CPA strives to serve all clients in accordance with the accounting package they have paid for. The speed at which Remote CPA can respond to your email inquiry is directly governed by your service package. If you find yourself compiling numerous questions, we would be happy to discuss them all at once on your next virtual call. Repeated phone calls, especially those within the calendar month but before your scheduled monthly meeting, may result in additional fees.
The Pro Growth plan includes unlimited email support throughout the month with an average response time of less than two business days. The Accelerator plan includes email support approximately twice per month. The Starter plan includes email support approximately once per month.
Uncat Entry (Item 10)
Click here to read and watch more about Uncategorized Transactions. We will also keep up with your uncategorized transactions. How does it work?
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We watch your bank feed on the same frequency as your transaction entry and we might come across items that are unfamiliar, even if we have a receipt from you.
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We book these items to Uncategorized Income or Expense (depending whether they are debits or credits).
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You get notified once per week and login to Uncat with a magic link (no password needed).
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Add a simple description, all we need to know is what was purchased and for which job, if any.
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We see your notes and get the transaction recorded to the proper spot.
Receipt Capture (Item 11)
Click here to read and watch more about Receipt Capture at MyBuilderCPA. We will also keep up with your receipts. How does it work?
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Every time you buy something, whether in-person or online, use the receipt capture app (BT Cost Inbox, QBO, Dext, or something similar) to submit a copy of the receipt or forward the email receipt, respectively.
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Be sure to write on the receipt what job it's for and what was purchased because sometimes line item descriptions are unclear, even when we Google it.
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Bonus points if you write the cost code you want it booked to.
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Write a big letter G and circle it, if the transaction is for "General" and not related to a job.
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Reach out to us if you'd like a demo video.
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We publish the transactions directly from the receipt capture to QBO and they will sync into your job software, at the same frequency as your transaction entry.
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An image of the receipt lives in QBO forever and the paper copy can fade away… into the trash.
Payroll Processing (Item 12)
Click here to read and watch more about payroll at MyBuilderCPA. We do not process payroll in-house for any clients because of the tedious nature of this service. Instead, we work with a payroll service provider to get your company and employees set up and your payroll service provider will bill you directly based on the plan you choose with them. We recommend only switching payroll providers at the beginning of the year to minimize confusion. We will enter hours, salaries, and pay types for each of your employees in your payroll service. We recommend processing payroll twice per month instead of weekly or biweekly. Not only does this cut down on the amount of time investment, but it also makes your cash flow more predictable because you won't have any months that have an irregular number of payrolls. We recommend having hourly workers track their time in your job software so we can easily pull hours from there when it's time to run payroll. If we have to email employees to ask for their hours and get your approval, we risk missing the processing deadline.
Workers Comp Insurance Reports (Item 13)
Click here to read and watch more about workers comp insurance reports. Annual workers comp audits can be a headache just running the reports because books have to be currently up-to-date and the audit period usually corresponds with your insurance policy period, not your year end. This is a huge advantage of being a client on any level, because you can expect up-to-date financials on a monthly basis. Most clients are not prepared to run financials at a non year-end period. Throughout the year, we would be happy to maintain these files in your job software if you ask us to. Assistance with workers comp insurance reports is available upon request, at least a week before they are due.
Job Software Cost Code Standardization (Item 14)
Click here to read and watch more about cost code standardization. We will review the cost codes between your job software and QBO on a regular basis when we perform your transaction entry. This means we will check to see if you have added any new cost codes in your job software that you may have forgotten to tell us about. If you have, they will likely feed over to QBO in uncategorized transactions or something similar, such as BuilderTrend Misc. When left too long, these can turn into a difficult issue to fix, which is why it's important to monitor these. For clients on the Pro Growth plan, we will monitor these weekly and for clients on the Accelerator plan, we will monitor these monthly.
Job Software Budget Entry (Item 15)
Click here to read and watch more about job software budget entry. We will work with you to enter your job software budgets and estimates. While we are not certified estimators, we can go over estimates and bids with you to offer our professional judgment on items you may have missed or under-budgeted. Once we are all aligned on the overall budget for each of these new jobs, we will manually enter or upload it to your job software for you. We will generate a budget vs actuals reporting package for your review so you can see where you stand on a job-by-job basis and take immediate corrective action for jobs trending over budget. Our shared file will allow us both to enter comments and explanations to better track budget variances and bills roll in throughout the job.
When you are building your estimate and budget, please start by using a cost code template from your job software. If you don't have one, we can pull all the available cost codes from your job software for you. If you need more cost codes (i.e. you are adding a specialty feature on a house), just email us and we would be happy to create one for you and add it to your template. This feature is available upon request, at least a week before it’s due.
Pro Growth
We will make every effort to turn this around for you within a week, but if costs start rolling in before the budget is finalized, it's possible the job will show actual expenses without a budget. In that case, we will do our best to book bills and expenses to cost codes that make the most sense to us. We can try to change these after the budget is finalized, but our ability to do so could be constrained by our schedule and the volume of transactions that have rolled in before the budget was finalized.
Accelerator
We will make every effort to turn this around for you within a month, but if costs start rolling in before the budget is finalized, it's possible the job will show actual expenses without a budget. In that case, we will do our best to book bills and expenses to cost codes that make the most sense to us. We can try to change these after the budget is finalized, but our ability to do so could be constrained by our schedule and the volume of transactions that have rolled in before the budget was finalized.
Job Software Allowance Reconciliation (Item 16)
Click here to read and watch more about Allowance Reconciliations. We will reconcile the homeowner allowances at your direction when the job is nearing completion. This huge time saving feature will allow you to present a professional reconciliation and final invoice to your client. We will not be able to meet directly with any of your homeowners, but we will support you to do so every step of the way.
Job Software Online Payment Entry (Item 17)
Click here to read and watch more about Online Payment Entry. We will enter your electronic income transactions for homeowners who have paid through online methods in your job software. These electronic payments can be tricky because multiple transactions are sometimes deposited together, less a fee. Usually, your job software records these in Undeposited Funds, but most clients don't understand that feature and end up mistakenly duplicating these from the Bank Feed. For clients who subscribe to a service plan that includes Online Payment Entry, we will complete these tasks at the same frequency as outlined in your transaction entry.
Job Software Accounts Payable (Item 18)
Click here to read and watch more about Accounts Payable here at MyBuilderCPA. Under this service, we will prepare a weekly reporting template for you, including AP Aging. The template includes the most common data, such as profitability by job and overall company performance. If you choose, we can also include custom Key Performance Indicators ("KPIs") as long as the data is readily available to us. The weekly template will be prepared in Google Sheets and shared with you in draft-version via a link when it's ready. We invite you to leave specific comments/questions on a cell-by-cell basis.
We will prepare a weekly AP presentation for you, which is a beast of a service. We will accumulate all of the incoming bills on a weekly basis and upload them on a day of the week you choose. We find that doing Accounts Payable more than once per week is a constant distraction for you, while any less of a frequency results in overdue bills.
Please note the limited service plans that include this feature and the features to follow.
Job Software Lien Waivers (Item 19)
Click here to read and watch more about Accounts Payable here at MyBuilderCPA. If you ask us to process payments on your behalf, we will analyze which subs we should obtain lien waivers from. We will obtain a signed lien waiver before sending payment and store it in your job software. We can set a custom policy to obtain lien waivers based upon a certain amount threshold.
Job Software Master Subcontractor Agreement (Item 20)
Click here to read and watch more about Accounts Payable here at MyBuilderCPA. We will be on the look-out for new subcontractors you hire. Based on your preferred process, we will either contact you or the subcontractor directly to obtain a master subcontractor agreement signed. This will lay out expectations for the sub as far as working conditions and payment terms. We highly recommend using a master subcontractor agreement with all subcontractors you hire.
Job Software W-9 and COI collection (Item 21)
Click here to read and watch more about Accounts Payable here at MyBuilderCPA. We will identify new/expiring documents and use your job software to prompt subcontractors to upload new documents. W-9s should be stored in both your job software and QBO because QBO is the system we use to send 1099s at year-end. Certificates of Insurance (“COI”) should be stored in your job software with the proper expiration date so the vendor receives a reminder email when it’s about to expire.
Dedicated Bookkeeper (Item 22)
Click here to read and watch more about Accounts Payable here at MyBuilderCPA. We are proud to offer our clients access to highly trained, dedicated offshore bookkeepers based in the Philippines. Our offshore bookkeeping team is an integral part of our commitment to providing comprehensive, efficient, and cost-effective accounting solutions tailored to the needs of home builders.
Key Features:
Qualified Professionals: Each member of our offshore bookkeeping team holds an accounting degree and has undergone rigorous training specific to construction accounting and bookkeeping practices. Their expertise ensures accuracy, reliability, and consistency in managing your financial records.
In-Person, Secure Environment: Our offshore bookkeepers work from a state-of-the-art facility designed to ensure the highest levels of data security and confidentiality. Within this environment, mobile phones and other personal electronic devices are not permitted on the production floor, minimizing the risk of unauthorized data access or leakage.
Seamless Integration with Your Team: Though they are based offshore, our bookkeepers integrate seamlessly with your onshore team. Utilizing advanced communication and project management tools, they are always within reach during their working hours to ensure continuous collaboration and alignment with your business goals.
Dedicated Support: When you choose to work with us, you're assigned a dedicated offshore bookkeeper who becomes intimately familiar with your business, systems, and processes. This personalized approach ensures that your bookkeeping is not only accurate but also aligned with your unique operational needs.
Cost-Effective: Leveraging our offshore bookkeeping services allows you to enjoy the benefits of skilled accounting support at a fraction of the cost of hiring an equivalent in-house team in the U.S. This cost efficiency does not come at the expense of quality or security, providing you with the best of both worlds all while providing great working conditions and health care benefits for your Bookkeeper.
Benefit to Your Business:
Choosing our Dedicated Offshore Bookkeeper service means more than just outsourcing your bookkeeping. It means partnering with a team that's as committed to your business success as you are. With our offshore bookkeepers, you can expect to receive detailed, accurate financial records that empower you to make informed decisions, all while reducing your operational costs and allowing you to focus on growing your business.
Our commitment to security, combined with our dedication to your success, makes our offshore bookkeeping service the perfect solution for home builders looking to streamline their financial operations without compromising on quality or security.
Customized Work In Progress (“WIP”) Reporting (Item 23)
Click here to watch more about WIP Reporting. We understand that effective management of Work In Progress (WIP) is vital for home builders. Our Customized WIP Reporting service is designed to provide comprehensive insights into your ongoing projects, enabling precise financial tracking and improved project management.
Recognizing that no two construction projects are the same, we tailor our WIP reports to meet the specific needs of your business. Whether it's tracking labor hours, material costs, or subcontractor expenses, our reports are designed to highlight the information most critical to your decision-making process. Identify at-risk projects early with our customized reports. By monitoring project progress and financial performance, you can take proactive steps to mitigate risks and avoid cost overruns.
Embracing our Customized WIP Reporting service empowers your business with the tools and insights necessary to manage projects more efficiently, optimize profitability, and enhance operational transparency. Let us help you keep your projects on track and under budget, with real-time reporting that supports your strategic decision-making.
Sending Payments Weekly (Item 24)
Click here to read and watch more about Accounts Payable here at MyBuilderCPA. Once you provide written approval of what should be paid, we will use up to one system to send payments on your behalf. We suggest a system that can send both paper checks and electronic ACH payments. It's even better if it's a system such as BILL (formerly Bill.com) where your approval can be documented within the system. Currently, we offer support for BILL, Melio, Deluxe checks, and BuilderTrend. Unfortunately, we cannot use Venmo, Zelle, PayPal, Cash App, or any others that are not designed for business use.
We will submit payments for you up to once per week. Our biggest fear is over paying or double paying things. If you find that your bills are not getting paid on time, it's probably because we don't yet feel comfortable with your approval process. Let's work together to create a great approval communication system so things get paid once and only once.
Invoicing to Clients Weekly (Item 25)
Click here to watch more about Invoicing. We will generate invoices to your homeowner clients at your direction. Unless otherwise specified, these invoices will come directly from your job software. This is great for homeowners who are financing their own project, but we might need your help for homeowners with new construction on a bank mortgage. This is because these usually require draw schedule forms to be completed and they might include data we don't have (i.e. current percent completed). Whether we use your job software, QBO, or bank draws to perform the invoicing, we will be happy to assist you with this on the Pro Growth plan.
We will do this once per week, but we would be happy to show you how to send invoices just in case you need to get one out immediately. We will support you every step of the way, but we will not be able to meet directly with your homeowner clients.
Annual Budget in Q4 (Item 26)
Click here to watch more about budgeting and forecasting at MyBuilderCPA. We will work with you to develop a fixed expense budget over the course of two drafts. Then, when we determine the total fixed expenses for the coming year, we will help you determine how many jobs you must complete in order to cover these fixed expenses and earn your target profit as the business owner. This is to be completed with your input between October 1 and December 31 for the coming year, but we will likely need to get started sooner rather than later.
Cash Flow Forecasting Weekly (Item 27)
Click here to watch more about budgeting and forecasting at MyBuilderCPA. We will prepare a weekly cash forecast for you when we present your Accounts Payable to you within your weekly reporting template. In this presentation, we will include the bills we recommend you pay based on the due date and then we will leverage the QBO account register to forecast your cash position exactly one week from today, based on fixed expenses and AP outgoing payments.
15 Year Living Projection (Item 29)
Click here to watch more about budgeting and forecasting at MyBuilderCPA. We will work with you to develop a 15 year living projection over the course of two drafts in Q4. This can be used to help you plan for the sustainability of your business along with potential retirement options. Although the accuracy of these long term plans is questionable, they are fun to create. This can provide a lot of peace of mind or the inspiration to make some changes.
Shared Email Inbox Monitoring Weekly (Item 30)
Click here to read and watch more about Accounts Payable here at MyBuilderCPA. We will monitor weekly the inbox you have set up for all of your accounting needs. This can range from payables to general accounting questions in your company.
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