Construction Blogs

Construction Fraud

Construction fraud: if something on the job smells funny, it probably stinks: six ways to freshen the air 

“Fraud is alive and well within the construction industry and permeates virtually all levels of construction activity for both domestic and international projects.”

The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners didn’t mince words when this was published in 2012. That’s not what you call good news if you’re a construction company owner or the person financially at risk on a construction project. In the past four years, nothing has changed.

Read full post  |  Posted by on 06.02.16

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How Employee Expenses Are Deducted

Questions on how to claim deductions for expenses you incur in connection with your employment? The expense include those for local transportation (other than commuting), business meals and entertainment (at 50% of cost), travel away from home, supplies, educations, etc.

Read full post  |  Posted by on 05.26.16

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Qualified Retirement Plan

Did you know there are opportunities available to builders to acquire real estate within a self-direct qualified retirement plan?

Builders and developers throughout the country are taking advantage of an opportunity that is uniquely available to them. Builders and developers, by the very nature of the service they provide, have frequent opportunities to purchase land and buildings and realize significant income on the subsequent sale. As builders and developers, these gains are taxed, in most cases, as ordinary income. By using a qualified plan, the tax on these gains can be deferred until retirement or by using a Roth 401(k), the tax may be completely eliminated.

Read full post  |  Posted by on 05.12.16

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Margin versus Markup

Understanding the difference between markup and margin, as used in estimating, is essential to the success of your construction company.  Understanding margin allows you to easily make financial decisions and gauge their impact on your bottom line.  Bankers and accountants commonly speak of margin, not markup.

Read full post  |  Posted by on 05.12.16

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Hiring an Employee vs. an Independent Contractor

If you are a small business owner, whether you hire people as independent contractors or as employees will impact how much taxes you pay and the amount of taxes you withhold from their paychecks. Additionally, it will affect how much additional cost your business must bear, what documents and information they must provide to you, and what tax documents you must give to them.

Here are the top ten things every business owner should know about hiring people as independent contractors versus hiring them as employees.

Read full post  |  Posted by on 05.04.16

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Subcontractor vs. Employee

It’s critical for an enterprise periodically to review the status of its workers and see if they are properly classified. An enterprise must withhold federal income tax, social security taxes, and federal unemployment taxes on wages it pays workers who are employees. It also may have to provide them with the same fringe benefits and retirement plan coverage available to its other employees. There may be state tax obligations as well. By contrast, these responsibilities don’t apply for workers who are independent contractors. The business simply cuts them a check for their services and sends them a form 1099-misc.

Read full post  |  Posted by on 04.20.16

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Are you creating an opportunity for fraud?

As business owners, business consultants and certified public accountants for over 35 years, we have witnessed fraud firsthand and have seen fraud in approximately 20%-30% of businesses. Many of these fraud cases were committed by a trusted employee.

Read full post  |  Posted by on 04.20.16

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Millennial Buyers Expect Energy Savings

MILLENNIAL BUYERS EXPECT ENERGY SAVINGS

A three-pronged approach can help meet young buyers’ demands for high-performance homes with proven results.

Read full post  |  Posted by on 04.13.16

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Domestic Production Deduction

Builders have available to them a little known deduction called the Domestic Manufacturing Deduction or called by its code section “The 199 Deduction”. The deduction is available to builders who have profits and payroll.

The 199 deduction is allowed to all taxpayers—individuals (shown on Form 1040 line 35), and C corporations (shown on Form 1120 line 25). The 199 deduction for partnerships and S corporations (reported on Form K-1 in box 13) flows through to the owner’s individual tax return.

Read full post  |  Posted by on 04.13.16

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