Build it, Bill it, Book it, Bank it: Essential Year-End Tips for Contractors

And Stephen, how many of our listeners out there have told themselves 2026 was going to be their year, but as we start the fourth quarter, they're seeing yet another disappointment?

Yeah.

I tell you, Wade, it's frustrating, and we don't want any of our listeners to go through this, first off.

You know that expression spring cleaning.

Contractors cannot clean their house in the spring.

They're busy building.

Here it is winter, fourth quarter, say your year ended this December 31st.

This would be the fourth quarter of your year.

This would be the time you really start concentrating on the things you need to do so you can make that profit and you can plan how you're gonna use it, how you're gonna expand your business, what kind of jobs go after.

Because remember, the whole idea is not just, I'm gonna make a New Year's resolution to lose weight.

The whole idea is for you to say, I'm gonna make sure my vision going into next year is straight as far as what kind of projects I want to go after really to make it a great year, not just drudgery, okay?

Yeah.

What kind of projects do you have to go after, and how do I measure that and how do I monitor that? We talk about systems being in place too, Wade, and I think it's a great topic.

And this is something as a bond agent every year I'm constantly stressing to my customers.

What's your year-end gonna look like? It's time to talk to your CPA and your board of directors, which your financial board of directors, your bonding agent, your insurance agent, your lawyer, your banker, and your CPA.

Your construction-oriented CPA.

So if you're not working with all those parties, asking questions, telling them what problems you have that you wanna get fixed, they're there to help you get there.

If they're not helping you to get there, then maybe you need another one.

It's the first episode of the fourth quarter.

And a lot of times this time of year we are talking about tax planning and bond planning, and really you can dress up your financial statements so that they do look better if you plan for it and you don't just say, "Okay, we're just trying to pay the minimum tax possible." Sometimes they're not necessarily competing goals, but it's the start of fall.

Here in Atlanta the leaves are starting to change and it is a change of season.

And I got to thinking about the December 31 trap.

As I said in the intros, like a lot of people like December 29th are like, "Okay, what am I gonna do next year?" They make resolution and it goes out the window before the second week of January.

There's no planning that went into that.

January 1 is just a day on the calendar.