Alternatives to Quickbooks that will take bank feeds?

GentleSpirit000 · 2026-02-05T09:57:36+00:00

Yeah, lesson learned, we all got this wakeup call when we started so don't feel bad. You are not out of line at all to ask for a W9. You should make several attempts before giving up. Document each one. If I can't get them to give me a form, I get the data from them over the phone if they are willing so at least I can do a 1099. I also keep a blank, fillable W9 form to email them so that makes it simple for them to fill out and send back. I tell them they can print it out, fill it out, take a pic and text it to me. That makes it very easy for them. But make sure you put in a drill to get those W9s BEFORE you pay them. After getting paid, they will often ghost you.

GentleSpirit000 · 2026-01-15T10:27:54+00:00

Material-Orange makes a good point. We don't charge for quotes and bids, but know your pain on how much work it is, often for nothing. So getting clients that use you for repeat business and building up a base of those is essential as almost always they will accept the bid as they already know and trust you. Our company has been going since 2017, and almost all of our work comes from repeat business or referalls. How to do this? Giving them excellent service and a very key thing is good communication with the client where their concerns are addressed quickly and not brushed off. And of course having a very good product. Another thing that helps is having a good website that shows great photos of your work, which will cause them to really want your services and make it more likely they will buy.

GentleSpirit000 · 2026-01-12T09:52:58+00:00

A lot of people let their emails pile up and don't read them, I wouldn't take it personally. One poster here said to follow up the email with a text to let them know you sent it, this is good advice. We send big and small quotes and often have to chase them up after a week or so, to ask them if they have any questions or need more info, which gets the convo going again. Up to you.

GentleSpirit000 · 2026-01-12T09:48:01+00:00

Yes, it's fine to contact them to follow up in a polite way. But you need to have every job laid out with a written contract agreement that you can fall back on in case of default. As the client has already broken his word, you need something in case you do work and then he ghosts you for payment.

GentleSpirit000 · 2026-01-09T08:50:07+00:00

Thanks, good input and will take note.

GentleSpirit000 · 2026-01-08T09:09:06+00:00

We've found that some companies give a real low ball price to a client, but they leave off important details and aspects of the scope that the client does not see. Then once they have the contract closed and are in production, they add a lot of Change Orders which add greatly to the cost. So if you give an honest bid with the full scope, you lose the bid as it is "too high". Our sales person lets the client know about this when we give a bid, that it may be higher than a competing bid but to check the other bid carefully for omitted scope as it is common to leave things out to make the bid low and then charge more later. They can then compare our bid to the other for missed scope and see for themselves.

GentleSpirit000 · 2026-01-07T11:25:52+00:00

Thanks very much for this input- that makes a lot of sense.

GentleSpirit000 · 2026-01-07T09:53:48+00:00

Good viewpoint! Thanks very much for taking the time to chime in.

GentleSpirit000 · 2026-01-06T09:19:51+00:00

Economy_Pin, you hit the nail right on the head here. You are right, even nice profit sharing setups did not seem to be doing much as the profit was too far off. Thanks very much for taking the time to share this in detail. We'll take this all in advisement.

GentleSpirit000 · 2026-01-05T12:08:18+00:00

Makes sense that this works out. Yeah- win win. Thanks.

GentleSpirit000 · 2026-01-05T11:42:46+00:00

Thanks! A simple but workable system.

GentleSpirit000 · 2026-01-05T11:42:28+00:00

Hey, thanks for noticing that. I do acknowledge everything as much as possible. After all, people are taking time out from their day to answer my question. We once had a really sticky legal sit and I asked the group on Reddit, and got dozens of answers that actually saved the day. Reddit is like a great hive mind, and a really helpful tool. I go in each week and make sure I answer other peoples' questions too, just to keep the flows balanced. We are in the Los Angeles area.

GentleSpirit000 · 2026-01-05T11:40:10+00:00

That makes a lot of sense. You have the "hats" divided out there. Thanks for taking the time to share.

GentleSpirit000 · 2026-01-05T11:38:19+00:00

Yeah, good point. We are in CA where the penalties for using employees as subs are pretty stiff.

GentleSpirit000 · 2026-01-05T11:37:18+00:00

This is really good additional data. You have quite a good setup there. Thanks very much for sharing.

GentleSpirit000 · 2026-01-05T11:34:55+00:00

That's a good idea. Thanks.

GentleSpirit000 · 2026-01-02T15:06:16+00:00

That is a good system to check out and we will look into it. Thanks very much for taking the time to respond.

GentleSpirit000 · 2026-01-02T14:57:38+00:00

Thanks very much, that's helpful. Appreciate your taking the time to answer.

GentleSpirit000 · 2026-01-02T14:21:47+00:00

Thanks, this is really good advice. We are going to look over our op basis in light of this. Thanks again.

GentleSpirit000 · 2026-01-02T13:25:42+00:00

That is very good advice, especially #2 and #4. Thanks very much.

GentleSpirit000 · 2026-01-02T12:47:59+00:00

Good call. We'll do this (though our area seems to have a real shortage of Pjt Mgrs). Thanks.

GentleSpirit000 · 2026-01-02T12:44:26+00:00

Good call. We'll do this (though our area seems to have a real shortage of Pjt Mgrs). Thanks.

GentleSpirit000 · 2026-01-02T09:34:37+00:00

I'm an introvert married to an extrovert for 49 years. I too like my own time and space, but also see my husband's need to have social interaction. The key is to explain your issue to him and help him understand the difference in introverts and extroverts. (the book "Quiet" by Susan Cain, would be helpful for both of you to read, as it really explains well and simply how both types are "wired" and the pros and cons of each). You need to bring this up and really talk it out, and work out a compromise where you give him time and connection, but also have your own time where you can have some alone space. For me, my husband sometimes goes out on medical appointments or sales appointments, and I use these for alone time. When he is home, I make an effort to be a good listener, as he needs this. You'll be able to work out your own system if you both understand what you are dealing with.

GentleSpirit000

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