Why There’s Never Money Left in Your Painting Business

Send us Fan Mail Why is there never money left in your painting business? Daniel Honan, CPA, breaks down the Profit First system from Mike Michalowicz's book: every time your company gets paid, you split the money between profit, taxes, and operating expenses using percentages set in advance, instead of hoping something is left at the end of the month. He walks through why expenses tend to grow until they use everything available, the four bank accounts to open (revenue, profit, tax, and operating), how to set starting percentages from your last 12 months of numbers, and why jumping straight to a big profit percentage can empty your operating account. He also covers what to do when the operating account can't cover the bills, how to tell a timing problem from a profitability problem, a simple weekly allocation routine, rules for your profit account, and why this system manages cash but doesn't replace bookkeeping. Know Your Numbers & Save Big in Taxes, Daniel Honan, CPA Every episode is made for painting business owners. Follow the show so the next one downloads automatically. FREE BOOK FOR PAINTING CONTRACTORS Free, just cover shipping. Get your copy here: profitablepaintercpa.com/book WANT DANIEL TO LOOK AT YOUR NUMBERS? Join 529+ painting contractors who know exactly where their money goes, keep more of what they earn, and scale without tax surprises. Book a free Profit Checkup here: profitablepaintercpa.com/vsl Prefer video? Watch this episode on YouTube What We Discuss: 00:00 Profit First for painting businesses 00:59 Why one bank account causes problems 01:36 The 4 bank accounts to open 03:17 Setting your allocation percentages 04:38 When operating cash can't cover the bills 05:16 Your weekly allocation process 05:42 Rules for your profit account 06:07 Profit First doesn't replace bookkeeping Profitable Painter CPA – accounting and financial strategy for painting contractors. Visit us profitablepaintercpa.com This episode was originally recorded as a video for YouTube. If you hear me say things like “in this video” or reference visuals, don’t worry — the content still works perfectly in audio form. And if you ever want to watch the video version, you can find it on the  Profitable Painter YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/@BookkeepingForPainters