Product Aware
What Happens When You Sub Out Your Back Office: A Real Contractor's Story
Mike runs a successful plumbing company. He has three trucks on the road, a crew of reliable guys, and a reputation for doing great work.
But two years ago, Mike was ready to quit.
He was working 70 hours a week. He spent his days in the field, managing the crews and dealing with suppliers. He spent his evenings writing estimates. And he spent his weekends fighting with QuickBooks, trying to figure out where all the money went.
He was exhausted. His marriage was strained. And despite the fact that his trucks were always moving, his bank account was always empty.
Mike was trapped in the cycle we describe in our Second Opinion Guide to Bookkeeping. He was a great plumber, but he was failing as a business owner because he refused to let go of the back office.
Here is what happened when he finally did.
The Breaking Point
Mike's breaking point came in April. He had ignored his books for six months, throwing receipts in a box and hoping for the best.
When his CPA finally untangled the mess, Mike got hit with a $15,000 tax bill he had not planned for. He had to pull money from his personal savings just to cover it.
He realized that doing his own bookkeeping wasn't saving him money. It was costing him his sanity and his profit. He needed a change.
The Shift: Thinking Like a GC
Mike realized he needed to treat his back office the same way he treated a massive commercial plumbing job. He needed to sub out the specialized work.
He partnered with ProTouch and enrolled in our Performance Bookkeeping program.
Here is how the transformation unfolded over the next 90 days.
Month 1: Stopping the Bleeding
We didn't try to grow Mike's business in month one. We just stopped the bleeding. We executed a massive catch-up bookkeeping sprint, reconciling six months of backlogged transactions. We digitized his receipt process so he never had to look at a shoebox again.For the first time in years, Mike had a clean P&L.
Month 2: Finding the Leaks
With clean data, we implemented strict job costing. We discovered that Mike was losing money on his large repipe jobs because he wasn't calculating his labor burden correctly. He was subsidizing those losses with his highly profitable emergency repair calls.We adjusted his pricing model. Instantly, his profit margins jumped by 12% without him having to work a single extra hour.
Month 3: Turning on the Engine
With the foundation secure, we turned on the 4R Marketing Engine.We launched a reactivation campaign to his old customer list, generating $22,000 in immediate repair work in the first week. We automated his review requests, pushing his Google rating from 4.2 to 4.8. And our team took over the appointment setting, ensuring he never missed a lead while he was under a sink.
The Result
Today, Mike still works hard. But he works 45 hours a week, not 70.
He doesn't touch QuickBooks. He doesn't stress about tax time. He doesn't worry about where his next lead is coming from.
He is the GC of his business. He sells the jobs. He manages the quality. We handle the rest.
If you are exhausted, stressed, and tired of playing bookkeeper on the weekends, you have a choice. You can keep doing it the hard way, or you can sub it out.
If you are ready to get your life back, let's talk.
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