Snapshot of your business expenses

Hi all,

Just wondering if any of you could give me a snapshot of your business expenses as far as percentages go?

Here is a snapshot of my expense breakdown by percentage (taken from quickbooks).

Well, my accounting is off alot, so dont laugh when you see my numbers for the profit, but the loss is accurate so the % of expense is accurate too.

Thanks Tony,

My numbers aren’t close to being right either cause I’ve only used quickbooks for 2 months so the percentages are way out of line, but I appreciate you posting those.

Interesting to see what others are spending moneys on…

Dude, mine are so screwy it aint even funny. I am gonna have to re-do EVERYTHING. I have been using quickbooks for 3 years now. The first year I never put any expenses at all. The first and part of the second, I never deposited the funds. So I still have like 30 grand undeposited! Even now, when people pay cash, I still dont input it in to quickbooks. My numbers would be dead on if I did. So, I spoke with an accountant and he told me to go and get the Pro edition instead of the Enterprize solutions that I have, start all over and do everything right.
Easier said than done. I have to do my customer list BY HAND which will take probably a good 7 hours straight, not to mention re do my templates for the estimate and invoices, my pricing schedules, business plan, budget, oh god Im getting dizzy.
Yeah, its a mess.

By the way, did you get that big job? Or were they just going over bids for next years budget?

If you were using the customer factor, you would not be having these issues.

Thanks Doug-big help:mad: I just barely found out about the customer factor a month ago. I still havent looked into it, I will check it out now.:cool:

By the way, I just checked it out, it looks pretty awesome and the price is perfect…so when I re-do everything, I will get it and spend a weekend on it. Thanks Doug.

you can also import all of your customers from quickbooks.

I know you like CF Doug, but let’s be honest. The problems he is having is not a result of the system he is using, it’s a result of not using the system that he has consistently and accurately. Just having the customer factor is not going to solve any of those problems.

I ran my business with 3 ring binders, tickler files, and excel spreadsheets when I first started and I never had the problems he is describing. I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with the C. F. but it is software and just like Q.B., it can be used well or inefficiently.

Thats true Steve, thats a nice way of saying tho so thanks for that. I had no idea what I was doing when I started, and I am still learning. There was a couple features that I really liked about the customer factor that caught my eye, one of them was the part where it will track the roi and how bad or well a flyer or marketing peice is or was doing. I know I can do that in a spreadsheet, but it is something that I would like to have a snapshot of.

with the customerfactor, 2 clicks and you are done, thats what makes it soooo easy to use, with other software programs, you have multiple steps to do one task.

why do you hate the program so much Steve???

I’m sorry that you think I hate the program, because I don’t. I have no bad feelings toward the Customer Factor, nor do I think it is a bad program. I didn’t chose it, but it was in my final top 3 choices. However, I believe that almost any system can work well if a person applies discipline and accuracy to it.

What I hate is hyperbole. Buy this, use that, etc… and all your problems are solved. Every system has it’s strengths and weaknesses. A few years ago, I was using a Franklin Day Planner to keep organized and thought everybody needed one until I met a man who used a yellow legal pad to organize his life and he ran circles around me in productivity because he was disciplined and created a system that fit his personality.

I give more weight to the implementation and execution of a system now than I do the actual system. That’s all.

Hey Tory,

Didn’t get that big job in Newport, but I did visit the building today and saw that the glass had been cleaned. And go figure, I think they did it nose-to-glass.

I didn’t get out of the car to look close enough to be sure, but from a distance, it sure seemed to be done by hand. Atleast the bottom floor…

Oh well, maybe next year