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How should a Painting Business pay its Key Hires? Daniel Honan, CPA, and Cody Hall break down what a $25-an-hour painter really costs, why the admin usually comes first at 2 to 4% of revenue, and how to pay a production manager 4 to 7% of revenue with a two-thirds base and a monthly bonus tied to production, gross profit, and five-star reviews. They cover hunter and farmer salespeople and a commission split that stops discounting, why the $1M to $3M stage is the least profitable as a percentage of revenue, and why a second location usually doubles your overhead. Daniel also explains the vehicle cost check for how far you drive, which receipts the IRS looks at closely, and how a revocable living trust protects your family and your privacy.

Know Your Numbers & Save Big in Taxes,
Daniel Honan, CPA

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Prefer video? Watch this episode on YouTube

What We Discuss:
00:00 Why growing a painting business is expensive
03:02 Key hires and the 4 stages of a painting business
03:39 What a $25/hour painter really costs you
04:52 Why the admin usually comes first
07:08 How to pay a production manager
10:53 $65K base + $35K bonus, paid monthly
12:52 Bonusing on gross profit and 5-star reviews
15:36 How to get more Google reviews
17:38 Hunter or farmer: which salesperson you need
20:47 Paying sales without rewarding discounts
22:47 When to open a second location
27:51 How far to drive for jobs: the vehicle cost check
29:56 Company cards, fuel, and internal controls
33:23 Do you need a receipt for everything?
37:00 Succession plans and revocable living trusts
43:49 "Why am I even running this business?"

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

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Head over to profitablepaintercpa.com/book and grab your copy today. Don’t wait — this is my gift to you for being part of the Profitable Painter community.