M I N N E S O T A M E T R O P O L I T A N C O N T R A C T O R S A S S O C I A T I O N
who we are MMCA’s mission is to help its members builders, developers, remodelers, home improvement contractors, and all the businesses contracting in residential and commercial construction excel in their business and to represent all contractors and developers in the Twin Cities market.
Our vision is for construction businesses to work together to protect the business opportunity in the local market that they live and work in. MMCA will work with the local government officials to provide members with a competitive advantage by addressing code interpretations, ordinances, policies, and fees. We focus on the issues members face in the communities where they build. www.mnmca.com
It was only two years ago that I began my journey with the Minnesota Metropolitan Contractors Association. Even in that short of time, we have grown and changed. Our board has evolved, our committees (now "Teams') are more focused that ever, and the goals are new. Check out the Action Plan on our homepage of the website.
There are things that don't change though. We care about our members first and foremost. You are the reason we exist. You are our "why".
This Thanksgiving, we are celebrating you.
And giving thanks for the continued membership and value you bring to us We thank the board of directors, who are doing the "behind the scenes" work, and those who started MMCA in 2017. We thank BAM and NAHB for the work at the capitol's and for the advocacy efforts. Without them, we wouldn't have had the opportunity to work through COVID and the challenging times. We thank our partners in the rebate programs who provide shared cost savings and our teams providing education. We thank the employees of our members and the bosses who allow involvement.
I wish each and every one of you a blessed Thanksgiving season. I really do thank you from the bottom of my heart.
As you scroll through this newsletter, I hope you take a moment to think about the work, time, and commitment that you, your staff, your suppliers, and vendors, your advocacy teams, your instructors and your MMCA "family" give. Reach out to them and celebrate.
GiveThanks.
ChelleEliason MMCA Execuitve DirctorMatt’s love for investing began when he purchased his first stock at age 13 Since then, his passion has evolved and grown beyond just buying stocks Over the years, he has seen in the lives of those closest to him and experienced in his own life, the value of good financial decisions and the consequences of bad ones.
Matt has over a decade of industry experience. He previously worked at one of the largest wealth management firms in the world, working directly with hundreds of clients, ranging from those just starting out in their careers, to business owner ’ s worth tens of millions, to retirees looking to make sure their money lasts. After much thought, Matt launched Voyageur Capital Advisors with the idea that creating a firm hyper-focused on advice and service over products and sales, would greatly benefit clients in the long-run
When not working with clients, Matt enjoys home improvement projects, exploring the natural world via camping, hiking, and canoeing and serving his community as a part time firefighter for Hopkins. Matt and his wife, Kristin, welcomed their first son, Woods, in February 2022. They also have a 4 year old chocolate lab, named Marshall. Marshall does not enjoy splitting attention with Woods.
Who we work with Life is busy Between work, kids and a hundred other priorities, learning more about your 401k investment options or choosing between Roth or Traditional contributions is rarely at the top of the list But financial decisions, or lack of decisions, can be very consequential over time Voyageur works with individuals and business owners who are seeking to maximize their financial well being, yet recognize that they lack the time, interest, or specific knowledge needed to make all the decisions alone.
With increasing employee demand for greater benefits, selecting the right retirement plan for your business can be an important part of making sure you are able to attract and maintain great employees But selecting the right retirement plan can be a daunting task and can take focus away from running your business. Let Voyageur help.
We will help you select, design and maintain a cost effective retirement plan, so you can stay competitive in the labor market and get back to more important things.
Many new contractors want to know what the MCPAP is. They also want to know if the process of completing the application for this potential credit is worth their time. Simply stated, this is a workers’ compensation optional credit for contractors, based on their employees’ hourly wages. If the credit application is not completed, no credit will be applied.
Workers’ Compensation rates are calculated as a percentage of wages. If a contractor pays their employees more than the union industry average, this credit is a way to fairly adjust their workers’ compensation premium.
Let’s say you have a concrete construction company. Given the tight labor market, you may have had to increase your hourly wages for many of your employees. If you have the same number of employees, and everything else is the same, the risk of a workers’ compensation claim will be the same. However, now that you pay your employees more, you will also pay more in workers’ compensation premiums since this is based on a factor of payroll. This is exactly the intent of the MCPAP--to add a credit to put you in line with the average.
Each year, new minimum hourly wages are established. For example, in 2022, a contractor will need at least one employee, in a contracting role (as specified by the MWCIA), paying at least $28.00 in average hourly wages. In 2023, that is bumped up to $28.50.
One important point, that is often overlooked, is how this MCPAP credit can have a negative impact on a contractor’s Experience Modification (E-Mod) factor. This E-Mod is a factor based on expected losses verses actual losses. To stay on task with the MCPAP topic, I will not go into detail on the E-Mod factor and will address that in a future newsletter. Just know that if a contractor has lower payrolls (or a credit from the MCPAP to essentially lower the payroll), this will increase the E-Mod, which will then increase premiums. Depending on the situation, we encourage our clients to have the discussion first. It is unusual for the premium increases on the E-Mod to outpace the credit given for the MCPAP.
Applications for the MCPAP are typically mailed to employers, in January of each year, by the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Insurers Association (MWCIA). If the credit application is not received back by the MWCIA prior to April 1st, a small late penalty will be applied. They will accept the credit application, each year, up to 90 days after the effective date of your policy. Remember that this is all handled through the MWCIA. This is a very rigid organization who holds very firm to deadlines and rules.
Like many organizations, they are encouraging applications to be electronically filed. The process is relatively simple if your company has all the qualifying contractor payrolls. The website to file is www.mwcia.org/Pages/MCPAP.
The close of the year is a natural time to take stock of all things, and one of them should be your business. Your money – as well as your plans for it – should be top of the list.
From your people to your payroll taxes, budgets to your bank: Though financial assessment can seem to be a big basket, with proper planning you can tick off one item at a time and set yourself up for 2023.
Give a once over to your key financial documents: balance sheet (assets, liabilities, and shareholder equity), income statement, P&L and cash flow statement Here's what to look for:
Balance sheet: Are your receivables and debts in line with total assets? Higher inventories can reflect lower sales. Double check for contingent liabilities and their due dates.
Income statement: Look at unexplained drops in sales and marketing expenditures Do they correlate? If not, what went wrong? Did operating costs ever rise without a corresponding rise in revenue? Again, what happened?
Cash flow statement: Operating activities should be your biggest category. Too many big but infrequent payments from just a few clients? Delayed receivables?
Prepare a budget for 2023 Go over your A/R past-dues and look ahead to factor in upcoming capital improvements in addition to regular operating expenses Check your inventory and prepay if possible for items and services such as insurance, professional dues, or rent that you’ll need next year.
Use last year ’ s budget as a guide, but not as an ironclad roadmap. Every year is different. With inflation and ongoing supply chain messes likely into 2023, it pays to plan and now.
Aside from suppliers, two of the biggest outside businesses impacting your company are your bank and your insurer.
Banking: Simply, are you getting all the services you need, such as employee company credit cards? Is your access to your bank sufficient, either through in person branches or online? Are fees too high? Are they meeting all your credit needs including for Small Business Administration loans? Can you get better support or perks elsewhere? Now is the time to shop around.
Insurance: Make sure your policy is renewed and up to date Looking ahead to 2023 developments that you expect for your small business, do you have coverage for those changes? Need any policy riders? See if bundling coverage will save on premiums.
Aside from making sure everybody checks the new calendar to slot vacations ASAP, perks and taxes are two big details to check before the new year
Retirement plans: Review reporting requirements based on the size of your plan and its participant numbers. Some businesses give end of year bonuses or retirement contributions to employees, which can come with a tax break.
If you don’t have a retirement plan for workers, look at options for creating one in 2023 – even small companies of 100 or fewer employees can easily set up a SIMPLE (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees) IRA. We can help you do this.
Review payroll. Double check with us if you have questions in this area, which frequently changes. Starting next year, for instance, the base annual wage for computing Social Security tax will increase to $160,200 up from 2022. Did you get any pandemic relief for payroll in the past? Make sure that such credits and loans are wrapped up heading into 2023
Tax documents It’s never too early Start with the financials we mentioned before and check with us about having to fill out any additional forms: Examples might include W-2s or W-3s; quarterly, state, and federal returns; or IRS Form 1099 NEC this year, the latter kicks in for just $600 in payments to most independent contractors. Assemble your paperwork for deductions; we’d like to look at it sooner rather than later to get you all the money back that we can.
Debt, income, and expenses Generally, try to rattle debtors’ cages and get your outstanding A/R by the end of the year cash in hand always makes bookkeeping easier. There may be times when deferring income into the new year makes tax sense. Ditto for deductible expenses: Taking a major business deduction for, say, capital equipment, can make a big difference for your company ’ s taxes in one year but a huge difference the next. Check with us if you need help with timing
Marketing plan. Now’s the time to think about those new markets and niches that you ’ ve wanted to target, and about the marketing needed to do it. What kind of business do you want to be doing this time next year? Set your budget and start considering what media will get your message across best and how much it’ll cost you.
"Now is the time to think about...needing to do it."
Our actions and decisions today will shape the way we will be living in the future.
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