The Blog
Straight talk from the Cash Flow Cowboy™.
Practical notes on profit, cash flow, job costing, and tax strategy - written for contractors and business owners who'd rather have answers than jargon.
Profit Per Hour: The Contractor Metric That Tells the Real Story
Revenue lies. Margin lies. Profit per hour tells the truth. Here's how contractors should calculate their real hourly profitability - and what to do when the number is ugly.
Read the postStop Giving Away the Best Hours of Your Day: How Contractors Lose Billable Time
Free quotes, free site visits, free advice. Most contractors give away thousands of dollars of expert time every month. Here's how the Cash Flow Cowboy™ helps clients price the work before they sell the job.
Read the postThe 13-Week Cash Flow Forecast: A Step-by-Step Template for Contractors
The 13-week rolling forecast is the single most powerful cash management tool a small business can build. Here's how the Cash Flow Cowboy™ sets one up for contractors - and why it changes how you run the company.
Read the postPay Yourself First: How Owner Compensation Should Actually Work for a Contractor
Most contractors pay themselves last - and pay themselves wrong. Here's the Cash Flow Cowboy's™ playbook for an owner-pay system that protects your cash, your tax bill, and your sanity.
Read the postJob Costing 101: Why Your Real Margin Isn't What You Think It Is
Job costing is the difference between a contracting business that grows and one that grows broke. Here's the Cash Flow Cowboy's™ framework for job costing that actually changes how you bid.
Read the postThe S-Corp Election for Contractors: When It Saves You Money and When It Doesn't
The S-corp election is one of the most overused and misunderstood tax moves in small business. Here's when it actually saves contractors money, what reasonable salary really means, and what to watch out for.
Read the postCPA vs Bookkeeper: Who Should Be Doing What in Your Contracting Business?
Most contractors blur the line between bookkeeper and CPA - and end up overpaying for one while underusing the other. Here's how the Cash Flow Cowboy™ draws the line, and how to staff your finance function.
Read the postWant the Cash Flow Cowboy™ in your inbox?
Occasional notes on profit, cash flow, and tax strategy. No fluff, no jargon, no spam. Just the stuff worth knowing.