Most contractors I talk to in November had a good spring. They just didn’t track it.
By the time the books catch up, the truck needs work, a job underbid in March turns into a winter cash problem, and Q4 feels like a wreck. None of it had to go that way.
A short mid-year check fixes most of this. Half an hour at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. That’s it.
Here are the five numbers I’d want every Montana plumbing or electrical owner to know before Memorial Day weekend.
1. Cash on hand right now
Open your bank app. Look at every business account. Add it up.
This is the most important number you can know about your business, and most owners check it less than once a month. If the answer surprises you, that’s already useful information. If it scares you, even more useful. Knowing where you actually stand is the start of every other decision.
2. Accounts receivable
Pull up your open invoices. How much money is owed to you, and how long have those invoices been outstanding?
In trades, AR over 60 days starts to age fast. Customers move. Memories fade. The longer an invoice sits, the harder it gets to collect. May is the perfect month to chase anything from January, February, and March that hasn’t paid yet. Send the polite reminder. Then send the second one.
3. Gross profit margin on this year’s jobs
This one trips up plumbing and electrical owners the most.
Markup is what you add on top of cost. Margin is what’s left after costs are paid. They are not the same thing. A 30% markup is a 23% margin. A lot of trades businesses think they’re running 30% and they’re really running 23%. That difference compounds over a year.
If your books can’t tell you gross margin per job right now, that’s the real signal. We can help with that.
4. Payroll burn against the busy season
If you’re hiring or planning to, look at last year’s monthly payroll for May, June, and July. Then pull what you’ve actually paid this year so far. Are you tracking, ahead, or behind? What’s that mean for cash flow if you bring on another crew member?
Federal payroll taxes, withholding, unemployment insurance — none of that goes away because you’re busy. Plan for it.
5. Q2 estimated tax payment
Q2 estimates for 2026 are due Mon June 15. That’s about three weeks out from Memorial Day.
If you haven’t set the cash aside yet, do it now. The general rule is set aside enough to cover what you’d owe based on this year’s income trajectory, or use safe-harbor based on what you paid in tax last year. Talk to your tax pro before you write a number on a check. Calculations vary by situation. The point is to have the cash ready, not to scramble in mid-June.
What to do with this
Write the five numbers on a piece of paper. Put a date on it. Stick it in a folder.
If anything on the list is unclear, that’s the real signal — your books need attention, not next month, this month. Mid-year is the easiest moment to fix it. The work is small in May. By August it’s bigger. By November it’s a wreck.
If you’d rather not chase this down alone, that’s what we do. Fixed-fee bookkeeping for trades businesses across Montana. No surprise bills. No accounting jargon to translate.
Call (406) 609-4567 or grab a free consult at abundantskiestax.com/contact.