Consult Your CFO Blog
Independent Contractor or Employee
Small and medium sized businesses have been put on notice by the state governments. Most States have budget shortfalls and need to obtain additional tax revenue. States are hiring new investigators in order to assess more small and medium sized company’s...
The Importance of Reviewing Internal Controls
Due to the severe economic downturn businesses are required to reduce staff and cut operating costs in order to maintain profitability. The normal place to reduce staff is in the administrative areas. However, as you will read from the article below, maintaining...
Deciding on a New Accounting Software System
An accounting software system should not be simply used for recording and storing company transactional data. The main purpose of an accounting system is to allow the user the capability to extract and analyze the transactional information in order to make informed...
Market Share at the Expense of Profitability
A new company is highly motivated to obtain clients, thereby, bringing in cash to support the new company's initial employee and administrative costs. However, it is important to understand that obtaining new clients at any price is not a strong financial decision....
Change the Old Saying “Let the Customer Beware” To “Let the Service Provider Beware”
If a company offers credit terms, sooner or later it will encounter a customer or client who refuses to pay for the products and services it received. In the four years that I’ve been in business as an outsourced CFO, I’ve helped many companies deal with the hassles...
Construction Blog Series w/Joan Watkins
"How to Choose an Architect" is the first in a series of blogs discussing construction projects. Consult Your CFO and Joan Watkins, Owner of JSW Residential Design are collaborating to bring you this information. We hope you find this information helpful.
How to Choose an Architect: Questions to Ask Before You Hire
The feeling is overwhelming. The walls are closing in, nothing else fits through the door, and it finally hits you: you have outgrown your home. Whether you are planning an addition, a renovation, or starting fresh with a new build, you know what you want, more or...
How to Choose a Builder for Your New Construction Project
You have designed your new building to your specifications and now comes one of the most important decisions in the entire process: choosing a contractor or builder to make it a reality. Start with Reputation When Choosing a Builder Hiring a builder both you and your...
Obtaining Legal Representation / Choosing a lawyer
Establishing a solid construction building agreement is extremely critical to the success of the project. You need to make sure your needs and priorities are completely documented and not open to interpretation. This makes obtaining a strong legal advocate throughout...
Construction Planning and Design
In any construction project planning is critical to the successful outcome of the design. Over the years we have seen many construction projects that, due to lack of proper planning, fail, thus causing the owner to be unhappy with the design and have cost overruns...
When Construction Change Orders are Necessary
In a previous blog we mentioned Change Orders. Change Orders are used when the project requirements change due to an unforeseen issue or an owner request that is different than what was in the original construction documentation. Change orders should be documented...
Understanding the Role of the Sub-Contractor
Your building project is set to go, you have the land, the designer has created the building of your dreams, your lawyer has checked your contract with the builder, the civil engineer has developed the site plan, and the building authority has approved the plans,...
The Role of the Project Manager
As we discussed in a prior blog, it is important to have a Project Manager (PM) working directly for you whether in a full-time or a contractual capacity. Your PM will work closely with you and your architect to ensure your priorities and needs are being met on time...
Consult Your CFO featured in “The New Small”
Columbia, Maryland, January 21, 2011 - Consult Your CFO was recently featured in the book "The New Small - How a New Breed of Small Businesses is Harnessing the Power of Emerging Technologies" by Phil Simon. The book discusses how small businesses are utilizing...