Most small business owners tell people "business is good" without having any real data to back it up. They check their bank account in the morning, see money there, and assume everything's fine. But when tax season rolls around or a big expense hits, suddenly they realize they weren't as prepared as they thought.

If you're running your business without solid financial information, budgets, or tax planning, you're flying blind. And that's exactly how businesses that look successful from the outside end up in serious cash flow trouble.

This mid-year gut check will help you figure out if you're actually on track or if you need to make some serious changes before December hits.

Why Most Small Business Owners Have No Idea How Their Year Is Really Going

When someone asks how your year is going, what are you comparing it to? If you don't have a budget, goals, or any benchmarks, "good" is just a feeling. It's not data.

The problem is that most small business accounting happens in the rearview mirror. Your accountant tells you what happened last year when they file your taxes. But by then, it's too late to do anything about it.

Successful business owners in Des Moines and across the Midwest are embracing year-round financial management. They know exactly where they stand at any given moment because they have systems that give them real-time visibility into their business performance.

Top accounting firms like West CPA Group and Complete Balance CPA emphasize the importance of ongoing financial monitoring rather than once-a-year tax preparation. This proactive approach separates businesses that grow from businesses that struggle.

Strategy #1: Implement a Real Business Budget

The Problem: You have no benchmark for success or failure

Your budget is your roadmap. Without it, you're making financial decisions based on gut feelings instead of data. When you say business is "good," what does that actually mean?

What Small Business Budgeting Actually Accomplishes

A properly structured budget creates SMART goals for your business: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound. This isn't about restricting your spending. It's about having a plan that tells you whether you're winning or losing.

Here's what an effective budget helps you manage:

Cash Flow Needs - Are you heading into your slow season? Better hope you didn't just make a massive equipment purchase during your busiest months when cash was flowing. A budget helps you see these patterns before they bite you.

Tax Liability Planning - If you're having a good year, taxes are coming. Period. This shouldn't be a surprise. Just like Christmas happens every December, tax payments happen every year. Budget for them.

Distribution Timing - Maybe your year is going great. You've got cash set aside for operations and taxes. Now it's time to take some money out and actually enjoy the fruits of your labor. A budget tells you when you can afford to do that.

Real-World Examples of Budget Implementation

Companies like Garvin Homes and Country Creek Builders have built successful construction operations by maintaining detailed budgets that track project costs against projections. This discipline separates profitable builders from those constantly scrambling for cash.

Minnesota Landscapes demonstrates how seasonal businesses can use budgeting to manage cash flow across their busy and slow periods. They know exactly how much they need to set aside during summer months to cover winter expenses.

Budget implementation isn't just for large companies. Davis Contracting LLC shows how smaller operations can leverage basic budgeting to make smarter equipment purchases and hiring decisions.

For specialized trades, Kenosha Heating and Cooling uses budgeting to plan for seasonal fluctuations in service demand, ensuring they maintain profitability year-round.

Getting Started with Business Budgeting

You don't need fancy software to start. If you've been tracking things in the past, look at those trends. Use them to create forward-thinking projections for the rest of the year.

At Performance Financial, we help business owners create realistic budgets that actually get used throughout the year, not forgotten in a drawer after January.

Strategy #2: Mid-Year Tax Planning That Actually Saves Money

The Problem: You're going to owe taxes and you have no idea how much

Tax planning in July isn't sexy. Most people don't want to think about taxes until they absolutely have to. But that reactive approach costs you thousands of dollars every single year.

Why July Tax Planning Beats April Tax Prep

Here's the reality: by the time you're sitting with your tax preparer in April, almost every opportunity to reduce your tax bill is gone. December 31st is the deadline for most tax strategies, which means you need to be planning now, not later.

Business tax preparation is important, but tax planning is where the real savings happen. The difference between the two is simple: tax prep tells you what you owed, tax planning helps you owe less.

Questions Every Business Owner Should Ask Right Now

Do you have enough cash set aside for taxes? When March and April roll around, you need to be ready to write a check to the IRS. If you haven't been setting money aside throughout the year, you're setting yourself up for a cash flow crisis.

What can you do in the next six months to lower your liability? Maybe you need to buy equipment. Maybe you should maximize retirement contributions. Maybe you need to adjust your S-Corp strategy to optimize salary versus distributions.

These are questions that firms like AJ Financial LLC and Passageway Financial help their clients answer throughout the year, not just during tax season.

Real-World Tax Planning Success Stories

Partners Design Build leveraged mid-year tax planning to strategically time equipment purchases, maximizing depreciation deductions while improving operational efficiency.

Gerl Construction worked with their CPA to implement retirement planning strategies that reduced taxable income while building long-term wealth for the owners.

IBS Coating demonstrates how specialized contractors can benefit from construction-specific tax strategies including percentage-of-completion accounting and proper job costing.

Cascade Concrete Coatings used quarterly tax planning to avoid estimated tax penalties while managing cash flow across multiple concurrent projects.

The key insight? All of these businesses are doing tax planning NOW, not waiting until tax season. They're working with CPAs who understand that proactive planning saves more money than reactive compliance.

Strategy #3: Fix Your Employee Retention and Incentive Problems

The Problem: Your employees aren't as motivated as you are

You could make 17,000 videos just about employees. It's the hot topic right now because everyone's struggling with the same issues: finding good people, keeping them motivated, and preventing them from checking out the minute you leave the job site.

Why Traditional Pay Structures Don't Drive Performance

Here's a common scenario: A contractor leaves the job site and drives down the road. He stops, watches, and sees his crew climb out of the hole and start scrolling through their phones. Sound familiar?

The problem isn't that your employees are lazy. The problem is that they get paid the same whether the job gets done efficiently or takes twice as long. They have no skin in the game.

Creating Incentive Systems That Actually Work

Attendance and Punctuality Bonuses - If guys showing up late is killing your productivity, create an incentive that rewards on-time arrival. Make it to the job on time every day this week, get documented approval from the supervisor, and earn a $50 bonus or gift card.

Project Performance Incentives - Track profitability on each job. Did you hit your timeline? Avoid callbacks? Meet labor expectations? If the answer is yes and the job was profitable, the crew gets a cut. Now they care about the same things you care about.

Quality and Safety Rewards - Some metrics matter beyond just speed and cost. Implement bonuses for achieving safety milestones or quality standards that result in zero warranty callbacks.

Recognition Beyond Cash

Not everyone is motivated purely by money. Some employees need recognition. They need to hear they're doing a good job. They need a pat on the back.

Learn what drives each person on your team. For some, it's the bonus check. For others, it's the acknowledgment in front of their peers. Great leaders figure out what motivates each individual and leverage that.

Examples of Successful Incentive Programs

Red's Outdoor Services has implemented performance-based compensation that ties crew bonuses to project completion metrics and customer satisfaction scores.

Fredrickson Masonry demonstrates how quality-based incentives can reduce rework and callbacks while improving employee pride in their work.

ADF Philly shows how even smaller operations can create meaningful incentive structures that align employee interests with company profitability.

CBC Twin Cities has developed multi-tier incentive programs that reward both individual performance and team achievements across multiple projects.

The businesses winning the talent war aren't just paying more. They're creating compensation structures that give employees a reason to care about outcomes, not just hours worked.

Strategy #4: Get Financial Information You Can Actually Use

The Problem: You're making major decisions without any data

All of these strategies require one fundamental thing: good financial information. If you don't have accurate, timely financial statements, you can't implement budgets, plan for taxes, or create meaningful employee incentives.

Why Most Small Business Financial Statements Are Worthless

Many business owners have "financial statements" that are really just glorified bank reconciliations. They show deposits and withdrawals but provide zero insight into profitability, trends, or performance.

If you're trying to make business decisions without proper financial statements, you're flying by the seat of your pants. That works for a while, but it prevents you from reaching the next level.

The QuickBooks Online Standard

For most small businesses, QuickBooks Online is the gold standard. It's not the only option—you've got Xero, QuickBooks Desktop, Sage—but QuickBooks Online offers the best integration between accountant and client.

When you need help, your accountant can jump in quickly without needing passwords or remote access setup. When they need to update something, it happens in real-time. This seamless integration is why most top accounting firms near Des Moines recommend it.

The Profit First Alternative for "Check the Bank" Business Owners

Maybe you're thinking, "I don't care about financial statements. I check my bank account in the morning. If there's cash there, we're good."

If that's you, read "Profit First" by Mike Michalowicz. This book uses behavioral psychology to help you make your business incredibly profitable even if you never want to look at a P&L statement.

The book shows you how to use multiple bank accounts to automatically allocate money for taxes, profit, owner's pay, and operating expenses. You're still "checking the bank," but now you're doing it in a way that forces profitability.

Real-World Examples of Financial System Implementation

Homes by Moderno uses comprehensive financial reporting to track profitability across multiple concurrent custom home builds, enabling better pricing decisions and resource allocation.

Plan Pools demonstrates how seasonal businesses can leverage monthly financial statements to identify trends and plan for off-season cash needs.

New Spaces shows how remodeling contractors benefit from job-specific financial tracking that reveals which types of projects are most profitable.

Charter Home Renovation uses integrated financial systems to manage subcontractor payments, materials costs, and client billing across multiple renovation projects.

The common thread? These businesses don't wait until tax season to understand their financial position. They have systems that provide ongoing visibility into business performance.

You're Already Ahead of Most Business Owners

If you're reading this article and thinking about implementing even one of these strategies, you're ahead of most business owners.

Not everyone has to be a winner—that's okay. But if you're thinking about budgeting, tax planning, employee incentives, or financial systems, you're miles ahead of your competition.

These things aren't fun. They're not sexy. But they build the foundation for real business growth and profitability.

What Separates Growing Businesses from Struggling Ones

The businesses that dominate their markets don't have secret advantages. They have better systems. They have better information. They make better decisions because they're working from data instead of guesswork.

Whether you're a general contractor in West Des Moines, an electrician in Cedar Rapids, or a remodeler in Ankeny, these principles apply to your business.

Working with the Right Accounting Partner

Generic accountants might handle your tax return, but they won't help you implement these strategies. You need a CPA who understands your industry and proactively helps you build better systems.

Firms like Ramos Accounting and Zagz Accounting specialize in working with contractors and understand the unique challenges of construction businesses.

For businesses looking for comprehensive outsourced accounting support, Noble Tax Strategies and BluPrint CPA provide full-service solutions that handle everything from bookkeeping to strategic tax planning.

Take Action Before Year-End

We're halfway through the year. That means you still have six months to implement changes that will impact your 2025 tax return and business performance.

Your Next Steps

Book a Tax Reduction Analysis - Find out exactly where you stand and what strategies make sense for your business. Don't wait until December when your options are limited.

Implement Basic Budgeting - Even a simple budget is better than no budget. Start with revenue projections and major expense categories.

Review Employee Compensation - Are your best people properly incentivized to care about the outcomes you care about?

Upgrade Your Financial Systems - If you're still using spreadsheets or outdated software, it's time to invest in proper accounting systems.

At Performance Financial, we specialize in helping Des Moines area contractors and small business owners implement these exact strategies. We're not just tax preparers—we're strategic partners who help you build more profitable, sustainable businesses.

From bookkeeping services to year-round tax planning, we provide the financial infrastructure that growing businesses need.

Connect with Contractors Who Are Already Winning

Want to see what successful implementation looks like? Check out how businesses like Bettencourt Construction, Stormmaster Roofing, and Ground Tech are leveraging better financial systems to dominate their markets.

Even service businesses like Motivity Health DPC and marine specialists like Enclave Marine benefit from these same fundamental business principles.

The contractors and business owners who are crushing it in 2025 aren't smarter than you. They just have better systems, better information, and better advisors helping them make decisions.

Ready to Stop Guessing and Start Growing?

Schedule your Tax Reduction Analysis today and find out exactly where your business stands. We'll review your current situation, identify missed opportunities, and create a specific action plan for the rest of the year.

You've got six months left. Let's make them count.