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How do you know if your Painting Business is actually profitable? Daniel Honan, CPA, and Cody Hall, who runs business development at Profitable Painter CPA, break down the numbers that answer it. They start with the ratio Daniel calls the key number for how your business is doing and the 3-to-1 bare minimum behind it, then move to job costing, why a job bid at 50% gross profit comes in at 35%, and the markup fix. From there they cover the close rate that signals you have room to raise prices, how often to check it, how a $15M painting company times its price increases, and the rule of three. They close with what a P&L actually shows, why it can report $35,000 in profit you never see in the bank, why clean books matter to banks and buyers, and what to do if you're years behind on your taxes.

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

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What We Discuss:
00:00 Why your profit never matches your bank account
03:00 The key number for how your business is doing
06:07 Job costing: is each job profitable?
07:50 Why jobs never hit the gross profit you bid
10:13 "I'm already the most expensive painter"
12:29 How often to check your close rate
14:02 How a $15M painter decides when to raise prices
18:41 What a P&L shows and how often to read it
21:46 $35K profit on paper, not in the bank
26:14 Why clean books matter to banks and buyers
28:23 Taking cash off the books, and catching up on taxes

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

For being a loyal listener, I want to send you a copy of my new book Profitable Painter. Inside, I’ll show you the exact frameworks that have helped painting businesses save big on taxes, increase profits, and scale with confidence
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.