It’s July: Would You Hire Your Business Again?

July is a useful pause. The first half is complete, busy season is moving, and there is still time to change the year. Imagine choosing a roofing company to manage your money, reputation, work, and family income. Knowing what you know now, would you hire your own business again? Use these seven areas as a practical scorecard.

1. Revenue

Compare year-to-date revenue with budget and the prior year. Then ask why it changed. Did prices improve, did the company complete more jobs, or did one unusual project create the increase? Revenue growth is useful only when the operation can deliver it profitably and collect the cash.

2. Gross margin

Compare actual gross margin with targets, estimates, and prior results. Review it by job type when possible. Pricing, materials, crew productivity, supplements, disposal, commissions, and classification can all change the result. Strong sales cannot rescue work that is consistently underpriced.

3. Net profit

Review net profit in dollars and percentage, allowing for one-time or unusual entries. Do not use the bank balance as a substitute. Loans, unpaid bills, owner contributions, asset purchases, and collection timing can make cash and profit move differently. Ask whether six months of work produced a reasonable return.

4. Cash reserves

Compare unrestricted operating cash with normal monthly expenses. Exclude money reserved for taxes or obligations. The right reserve depends on seasonality, payroll, collections, debt, and risk. The key question is whether one delayed project or slow collection week would create an emergency.

5. Job profitability

Review completed jobs by gross profit dollars, margin percentage, estimate-to-actual difference, production time, and collection speed. Look for job types, salespeople, or crews with repeated variance; missing costs; uncollected changes; and customers who require disproportionate attention. Update pricing and selection while the year remains.

6. Accounts receivable

Review aging by customer and age. A large current balance may be normal. A growing set of invoices over 30, 60, or 90 days signals weak collection, documentation delays, disputes, or poor terms. Assign a next action and owner to every meaningful past-due balance. Collection completes the job.

7. Owner compensation

Review what you have received and compare it with structure, profitability, cash needs, and tax guidance. Separate pay for the work you perform from return on ownership. If the business cannot pay you consistently, do not hide it. The cause may be pricing, overhead, collections, debt, or unpaid owner labor.

Turn the scorecard into three decisions

Choose one decision to protect margin, one to strengthen cash, and one to improve the owner’s position. Give each an owner, deadline, and number that shows whether it worked. You do not need perfect scores to rehire your business. You need visible weaknesses, honest decisions, and a plan to address them.

Need help determining these figures? Wise Bookkeeper can assist. Contact us for a free consultation.