Nyquaise Moteng, CPA, EA

One wrong tax return created a much bigger problem.

A business should have been filed as a partnership for 2024.

But instead, it was filed as a corporation.

The owner thought everything was fine.

Then we started asking questions.

That’s when we found out a new EIN had also been created.

Now we were not just looking at one wrong return.

We were looking at two EINs.

Different records.

Different filings.

And a lot of confusion about what the IRS actually had on file.

This is why tax cleanup is not just about filing another return.

Sometimes you have to stop first.

Look at the transcripts.

Confirm the entity classification.

Review the filing history.

And make sure the business, the owner, and the IRS are all telling the same story.

Because fixing the wrong thing too fast can make the problem even bigger.

A couple weekends ago reminded me that sometimes you need to step away from spreadsheets, tax deadlines, and construction numbers… 😂

A close friend’s mom came over and let’s just say…

the house was louder,
the laughter was stronger,
and somehow I still got roasted like I wasn’t the accountant in the room. 😭

Construction owners are not the only ones getting audited around here apparently.

Good food.
Good stories.
Good people.

Honestly… I needed that weekend more than I realized.

🔥 Revenue is growing… but cash still feels tight?

That’s usually the moment construction business owners realize they don’t just need bookkeeping.

They need financial clarity.

A lot of construction businesses don’t realize they need a Fractional CFO until every decision starts feeling like guesswork.

Because growing revenue means nothing if you still don’t know:

where the cash is going
which jobs are making money
or why profit doesn’t match the bank account

Most construction business owners don’t lose money because they’re bad builders.

They lose money because they said yes to a job before checking the numbers.

I’ve seen jobs look profitable on paper… then destroy cash flow, overload the team, and leave the owner stressed trying to figure out where the money went.

Before you take the next project, stop and ask:

Can this job actually make money for the business?

Not just keep the crew busy.
Not just grow revenue.
Actually produce profit.

The right job should improve your cash flow, protect your margins, and move the business forward.

Before you take the next job… know your numbers.

!!! Construction business owners!!! 5 Things to do before you take the next construction job

Not every construction job is a good job.

Sometimes the next job brings revenue.

But it also brings cash pressure, material costs, payroll, subcontractor bills, weak payment terms, and more stress if the numbers are not reviewed first.

Tomorrow, May 20, 2026, at 10:00 AM CDT, I’ll be going live to talk about:

5 Things to Do Before You Take the Next Construction Job

We’ll cover what construction business owners should review before saying yes to the next project:

Protect cash
Estimate the real job costs
Check the margin
Review payment terms
Know your capacity

Because the goal is not to take every job.

The goal is to take the right jobs — the jobs that protect your cash, cover your costs, and leave profit in the business.

Join me live tomorrow at 10:00 AM CDT.

!!! Construction business owners!!!

Your contract got cancelled and now what?

When expected work disappears, it is not just a sales problem.

It can quickly become a cash flow problem, a payroll problem, a vendor problem, and a planning problem.

That is why construction business owners need to slow down and look at the numbers before making the next move.

Tomorrow, May 12th at 10 AM CT, I’ll be live talking about:

Your Contract Got Cancelled and Now What?

We’ll cover how to:

Protect cash
Control costs
Review active jobs
Collect money already owed
Understand what bills are coming due
Stabilize the business before replacing the work

Because cancelled contracts do not always destroy a construction business.

But ignoring the cash impact can.

Join me live tomorrow at 10 AM CT.

When two big contracts get cancelled, the first reaction is usually:

“We need to cut expenses.”

And that makes sense.

Payroll is still due.

Bills are still coming.

Cash flow starts getting tight.

But the real question is not just what to cut.

The real question is:

Which expenses can you cut without hurting the business even more?

That is where the numbers matter.

In one situation, the aged receivables did not match what the owner thought he had.

There was no clear view of what cash was actually coming in.

And there was no job costing, so it was hard to see which jobs were worth focusing on during the slow period.

This is why accounting should not be the first thing small business owners cut when money gets tight.

I understand why it happens.

Accounting feels like an expense.

But in a tough season, accounting is where the strategy starts.

It helps you see what is real.

What needs to be collected.

What can be paused.

What should be protected.

And which type of work is actually helping the business survive.

Because when contracts slow down, guessing gets expensive.

Clean numbers help you make better decisions.

Yesterday on the live I talked about something that keeps showing up with construction owners.

Growth.

Everybody wants more work.
So, you take the jobs.
You hire.
You add trucks.
You push.

And then the weird part happens.

Revenue is up… but cash feels tighter.
You’re busier… but you feel less in control.

That’s what I meant when I said growth can become the biggest risk in the business.

Because growth doesn’t fix weak numbers.
It exposes them.

If job costing is messy, you don’t just lose margin on one job. You repeat the mistake on five.
If overhead is creeping, it doesn’t show up like a big warning sign. It shows up like “why are we working so hard and keeping so little?”
And if the books are “fine” but not truly accurate, you start making big decisions on bad information.

My point wasn’t to scare anyone.

It was to say this clearly:
Growth isn’t the goal. Healthy growth is.

And healthy growth needs visibility; job margins you can trust, cash timing you can see, and overhead that’s controlled on purpose.

That’s what we covered.