Things To Do In SW Florida

If you are a contractor with a business, whether big or small, you should think about joining a contractor/trade association (or more than one).

As a contractor licensing company, we wanted to share reasons with you as to why you should join these associations.

These associations help promote the industry through collaborative efforts. For example, you can go to local high schools and promote a certain trade.

These associations will keep you up-to-date on code and licensing changes.

There is strength in numbers. As an association, you can go up against the city or state in decisions or votes that are going to hurt your trade.

An association can help pay for training or offer less expensive training for people.

Associations often bring in great speakers for meetings. These speakers are good at what they do and can motivate you to do things you may have never done before.

You belong to a group doing the same work as you and having similar problems as you. These people can become friends and a great support system to you.

You can find people to buy or sell a business to through the association.

Your customers will find you more credible if you belong to an association.

You can choose what level association you want to be a part of to save on costs.

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If you’re a contractor that wants to start your own business or have a business and want it to grow more, you need to make sure you have the right things or systems in place for your business to run efficiently and effectively.

As a contractor licensing business, we wanted to share with you some things you need to have in place for your business to flourish.

• Use accounting and bookkeeping software that is easy-to-use and understand. These systems track all your money come in and out, and they help you keep your business running. Some good choices are Quickbooks and Xero.
• Just like the accounting and bookkeeping software, you need a payroll and invoicing system that is easy to use, so you can pay yourself and your employees and invoice clients and vendors. Due.com is a great service. Quickbooks is great for payroll, as well.
• Get yourself a task management platform to manage projects. A great tool is Asana.
• A lot of your business communications may happen through email, so it is in your best interest to get a good email server, like Gmail, for your emails.
• Get yourself a proper digital calendar system to schedule projects, appointments, deliveries, bills due, etc. Google Calendar or Calendly are great tools to keep track of all your appointments.
• Google Docs and Google Sheets are a great and cheaper way to send paperwork and you don’t have to buy a software license to use them.

If you need more tips or ideas on how to start a business or get a contractor business going, either join an association or contact us. We help contractors get their businesses started.

If you need help establishing a contractor business of if you need your contractor license, let us help you. We are a Florida contractor licensing company and have helped contractors in all 50 states get their licenses.

We know what the Board needs to get your license or business approved quickly. To get your contractor license or business license, click our Florida contractor’s license page or Forming Your Contractor Business page  to learn more or call 239-777-1028. read more

In the state of Florida, it is illegal to practice contractor work without a contractor license. Do you really want someone working on your home illegally? Sure, maybe this unlicensed contractor’s fees are a lot less than other contractors, but is it worth the risk?

As a contractor licensing company, we have helped thousands of contractors get their licenses across many states. For this article, we wanted to share with you reasons why you should hire or work with an unlicensed contractor, even if they are the most affordable option.

• An unlicensed contractor can take your money and disappear.
• Licensed contractors must go through a lot of work to be licensed, so it shows they have a higher work ethic and values.
• An unlicensed contractor likely doesn’t carry any type of insurance, which means he/she can go after you if they get hurt on your property.
• If you work with an unlicensed contractor, there’s a good chance some of the warranties on the products he/she installed will be void.
• Your contract with an unlicensed contractor may not have any legal backing, so if something goes wrong, you can’t go after them legally in the what you would like.
• If the unlicensed contractor makes a mistake and ruins other things in your home by accident, he isn’t obligate to fix or replace any damaged areas. He cannot pay you for the loss, and it will be nearly impossible for you to sue him for damages.
• Your unlicensed contractor likely will not know the proper codes or permits, which means you must investigate this information. If not, you will get fined.
• If the work the contractor does on the home causes future damage or defects, you will be liable not the unlicensed contractor. In this scenario, your homeowner’s insurance likely will not help you either because you chose to work with an unlicensed contractor.

Every year, homeowners hire unlicensed contractors who make promises and appear to be trustworthy and legit; however, in many of these scenarios, the contractor starts to make up lies and disappears with the homeowners’ down payment. Don’t let this be you. Don’t let a small home job turn into thousands of dollars lawsuit against you.

It’s worth hiring and paying more money for a licensed contractor. You know with a licensed contractor that he/she is insured, experienced, and legally responsible to get the job done for you. read more

As a contractor licensing company, we don’t just help our clients get their contractor’s license, we also help people form their business and run their business.

What services do we offer?

• Corporation registration
• Limited liability company
• Foreign qualification

When forming and running a business, there is a lot of paperwork. We will do this paperwork for you. We can form your new business in two to three days. Our business package is tailored to the construction industry. We can form your business far cheaper than an attorney can.

What do we do? We fill out forms, acquire information, and request other needed documents. We offer foreign qualification packages and license and business maintenance services.

Here’s how we help you form a new business:

• We research the desired company name for availability with the state
• We fill out Corporation or LLC forms and file with the state’s Division of Corporations
• We acquire an EIN using SS4 form from the IRS
• We prepare a 2553 (S-corp) document
• Professionally organized corporate documents provided electronically
• We apply for your Workers Compensation exemption (Per person state fee is additional)
• We fill out your Local Business Tax/Occupational License form
• We fill out forms to Register your state license with the local municipality

 

When it comes to running your business, we will help you keep track of deadlines for your business and licenses. We don’t want you to pay late fees. Our service will provide you with a comprehensive list of all requirements, by state and county, for each of your businesses and/or licenses. We provide you with everything from when to file annual reports to when your CEU’s need to be done. read more

If you just started your own contracting business, you have a lot to think about – finances and budgets are one of the things that is on your mind. Without a financial plan or budget in place, you will not be able to keep your company afloat. From overhead expenses to payroll, there’s a lot of expenses to running your own business.

As a Florida contractor licensing company, we wanted to share with you some tips on how to budget at the start of your new business.

Estimate your projected spending for the year. From office space to materials, come up with a number. Being a new business, you may want to start off conservatively – there’s no need for fancy, expensive (unnecessary) items yet.

You can determine the amount of revenue you will need for the year to pay for the spending and make a profit.

Figure out your direct costs – these are costs related to projects such as labor, subcontractors, materials, rental fees, etc. Understand what it costs to pay for labor. With each employee, you must think about pay, taxes, workers’ compensation, liability insurance, holidays, vacation time, insurance premiums and overtime.

Figure out your fixed costs such as rent, salaries, marketing, technology. These amounts are constant year to year but can go up, but not like your variable costs. Variable costs change as your business changes. Variable costs include travel expenses, supplies, repairs, uniforms, and tools.

Determine your overhead costs from your fixed costs and variable costs. These are expenses that are general/admin expenses that are ongoing that do not have to do with your services.

Determine how much you need to take in to break even. As a new business, it might take you a few years before you make a profit.

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