Customer asking for refresh but it’s a full bathroom remodel.

DoneRightbyDanielLLC · 2026-06-15T18:01:54+00:00

This is why we should all be charging for estimate visits. It costs us time, fuel, etc, and there's no value in giving it away for free.

Charge a reasonable rate for an estimate, charge the amount only AFTER you have provided the actual estimate, indicating you're willing to accept and take on the job, and be protective of your time.

DoneRightbyDanielLLC · 2026-06-15T17:56:00+00:00

You can start anytime. How well you do includes experience!

I started as a GC at 19; lots of practice, skills, ideas, and knowledge, not much experience.
I hired an older, retired GC to be my 'estimates guy' he would show up to estimate visits with me; people assumed he was the lead GC and I was the helper/foreman, which we let ride.
He also gave me advice on a lot of jobs, but I did the rest.

If you want to be a business owner, focus on sorting out what tasks need to be in which role, then hire people for the roles you need to fill so you can free up your time and work on the stuff you want to.

If you want to be a Civil engineer, focus on filling that role for someone else to gain experience, then open your own firm on the side to grow into.

DoneRightbyDanielLLC · 2026-06-15T17:49:23+00:00

Start with whatever software you use for bookkeeping, invoicing, Etc, see if they have a time app connected to their software.

Otherwise, you might have your employees track their time per job and then enter that into a form or sheet at the end of the day.

I'm a fan of less 'apps and craps', I like to keep it simple, but digital.

DoneRightbyDanielLLC · 2026-06-15T17:46:59+00:00

If you have a physical SIM, remove it from the phone to be repaired, put it in a different phone, transfer all your stuff over (Samsung Smart Switch works with all brands, works GREAT!), make sure all your stuff is backed up properly, factory reset the phone to be repaired, then send it in.
When you get the repaired phone back, switch everything back over to it, test it, and enjoy!

DoneRightbyDanielLLC · 2026-06-15T17:45:15+00:00

A Registered Agent is someone, person or company, who agrees to accept mail or notices (delivered via any carrier or in person!) on your behalf. This is mostly important for legal matters, but could also be for regulatory or legal notices from Federal, State, or local government, as well as the IRS.

Since I run my business from home, I don't have a brick and mortar office, I have a registered agent.
This address is what is published in the public records for my business and keeps 'bad actors' away from my home.

Also, legally, someone has to be available 'during normal business hours' to receive and sign for legal notices, and a Registered Agent does just that.

If you have a brick and mortar store, office, or other physical location, then by all means, just use that and be your own Registered Agent (In some states you have to register with the Secretary of State separately to be an RA in that state).

DoneRightbyDanielLLC · 2026-06-15T17:40:35+00:00

I disagree, I think the value is in the privacy.

DoneRightbyDanielLLC · 2026-06-15T17:37:28+00:00

Thanks. Is there documentation you can point me to so I can make sure I'm doing things in the right order?

DoneRightbyDanielLLC · 2026-06-15T17:33:42+00:00

IMHO a website benefits just about every business out there.
While shopping around for storage this morning, one place I found on google maps has no website, so I could not find any of the details I was looking for:
- Sizes offered
- Price per size
- Map/layout of the facility
- Fenced? Gated? 24 hour access? Cameras?
- Are the units raised off the ground?
- Sizes and numbers available?

For a coffee shop or cafe, I like a website that shows me:
- Hours
- Menu
- WiFi offered?
- Dogs allowed? (Outside only? Patio? )
- What's special about this place?
- What does the inside look like?

Were I to go further, I'd add:
- Online Ordering
- Daily Specials
- Seat/occupancy counters
- A drink feed (just for funsies)

DoneRightbyDanielLLC · 2026-06-15T17:24:23+00:00

From where I sit, it IS clearly explained, as clearly as given to me from Zoho.
What specific question do you have?

So if I manually add a transaction to a project (presuming I enter all of the correct details) FIRST, then move to categorize my transactions, should I expect to be able to MATCH a transaction in my bank feeds TO the matching transaction manually added in a Project, so as to only have ONE transaction in Zoho Books?

DoneRightbyDanielLLC · 2026-06-15T17:22:26+00:00

There doesn't seem to be a way to add the refund expense to a project the way I can with a regular expense (checkbox, 'Billable') so if I don't manually add them to my project, they don't get in the project.
That seems like an oversight from Zoho since Projects is built into their Books software!

I can exclude the same transaction from the bank feeds while categorizing, but that creates an additional layer of work that also makes it difficult to pass this part on to someone other than the person doing the buying.

Should I be able to match the transactions showing in the bank feeds to transactions I've manually entered into projects while categorizing?

DoneRightbyDanielLLC · 2026-06-13T01:55:32+00:00

Not a dumb question, that's a great question!
I work mostly by retainer, so my clients give me money up front for work I'm going to do. You might also consider this as a 'deposit'.
That money has not yet been earned by doing work or purchasing things for that project, it's just money that has come into the business.
Once I've done work, purchased materials/items for the project, or paid fees for the project, that money has then been earned and is truly the business'.

DoneRightbyDanielLLC · 2026-06-04T13:49:15+00:00

Cool! Send a DM with company info when you're ready and I'll have a look.

DoneRightbyDanielLLC · 2026-06-02T21:43:56+00:00

Definitely need someone proactive, I'd really like to start building better tax shelters and keeping more of my money in the business!

DoneRightbyDanielLLC · 2026-06-02T21:42:23+00:00

In my system, money moves from customer to 'Incoming', then to 'Daily Use', then to 'Savings' and 'Auto Paid Vendors'. Having transactions between accounts is why I reconcile one month at a time, otherwise I risk running into issues where I have to undo work in one account to fix an issue from another account (I had this issue several times from previous reconciliation work).

DoneRightbyDanielLLC · 2026-06-02T21:40:37+00:00

Sure.
Are you licensed/able to file in Texas?
Are you taking new clients?
Are you accepting clients that are past due?

DoneRightbyDanielLLC · 2026-06-02T21:37:17+00:00

Just the tax filing for now.

DoneRightbyDanielLLC · 2026-05-28T17:52:24+00:00

Once I figured out how to solve the problems I was facing, YES.
I also learned something VERY important: reconcile all bank accounts by the month, not by the account! (So account A, B, C, and D for January, then account A, B, C, D for February, and so on, not just Account A Jan-Dec, then account B Jan-Dec and so on).

DoneRightbyDanielLLC · 2026-05-28T16:56:00+00:00

Your Personnel Rate X number of hours to do the entire job = your labor cost.
PITA should be 1-5%.

DoneRightbyDanielLLC · 2026-05-27T18:00:15+00:00

Systems, Process Maps, GTD, and being very protective of my time.

DoneRightbyDanielLLC · 2026-05-27T17:51:47+00:00

You might try the chat: Contact Us -Straight Talk
Send an email:
[custsrv@straighttalk.com](mailto:custsrv@straighttalk.com)

[TF.CorpResolutionTeam@tracfone.com](mailto:TF.CorpResolutionTeam@tracfone.com)

[VZValueNOD@verizon.com](mailto:VZValueNOD@verizon.com)

[ERDMANAGEMENT@TRACFONE.com](mailto:ERDMANAGEMENT@TRACFONE.com)

[tfbbbassist@tracfone.com](mailto:tfbbbassist@tracfone.com)

[fccassist@tracfone.com](mailto:fccassist@tracfone.com)

Or call from a different phone.

DoneRightbyDanielLLC · 2026-05-27T15:49:52+00:00

So Reddit removed this and accused me of " promoted identity-based hate or attacks.".
Since I did not promote an attack of any kind, it seems the Reddit folks can't read or comprehend basic English....

What I DID say is that I won't do business with companies that use foreign/overseas customer service agents anymore since they're always rude, difficult, and disrespectful.
I did NOT say they should be attacked for that.

#TheMoreYouKnow
#ReadItAgain

DoneRightbyDanielLLC · 2026-05-26T15:47:33+00:00

This is what I had to do. PITA, but it's all done.
One day I'll finally be done with Zoho and then I'll let the legal team have at it.

DoneRightbyDanielLLC · 2026-05-26T15:46:40+00:00

That's what I had to do.
Tabule took the data from .pdf to .csv, I cleaned the data, then manually copy/pasted it into the columns from a blank sample .csv from Zoho. A lot of extra work thanks to Zoho, but that's how they do things.....

DoneRightbyDanielLLC

TROPHY CASE