mean?”
“Someone got their knickers in a bunch and decided to go
after Dad. Slapped him with several nuisance suits that dragged our name
through the mud. Two of them were dismissed. The others went to jury trials,
and both came back not guilty. Turns out the guy behind all of them felt Dad
had stolen a local corporate client from him, but Dad had simply done a better
job of wooing them. When Dad retired from T&T last year, they asked me to
stay on as their consultant, by the way.”
“Oh.”
“I wanted to sue the bastards for defamation of character,
but Dad was too much of a gentleman to play cutthroat.” He gave her a lopsided
smile. “Thankfully, people remember the good things about T&T and we’ve got
all the business we can handle. In fact, I’m thinking of making my associate a
junior partner and hiring a couple of new accountants to round out our staff.”
She smiled back at him. “I’m glad.”
“There’s something else I want to check out.” He pawed
through both bins until he withdrew a file from each. “Remember when you had
that load of mulch delivered Friday and I said I was surprised that you didn’t
have more stone and gravel?”
Giselle returned to sit in the client chair. “I do. And?”
“Who’s responsible for approving invoices to be paid?”
“Larry, mostly. He knows everything there is to know about
the operation. He’s more than just a foreman to me.”
Con’s head came up sharply at that, but he merely asked,
“Who signs the checks?”
Realizing what she’d implied, she backpedaled. “I mean, he’s
a jack-of-all-trades. As to checks, I’m the only authorized signatory. But
Larry does have my password for the software that prints the checks out. Not
payroll, that’s confidential, but for business expenses. He often leaves
folders of them, a check attached to an invoice, for me to sign.”
“Who reconciles your bank statements?”
“My administrative assistant. Works part-time, ten to two,
which allows her to be home when her kids get home from school.”
“Hmm.” He set aside the two folders he was holding and
selected two more.
“What? What are you looking for?”
“Your accounting software isn’t generic, right? It’s geared
to landscaping?”
“Absolutely. Well, it’s called business management software,
but it’s the same thing. It has applications for time and materials, job cost
estimates, the ability to track chemical use and generate reports, that kind of
thing. When Larry or the crew chiefs key in what work was done that day, it
automatically transfers the charges to the client’s account.”
“Hmm.” He shuffled through more folders, more invoices.
“Does it interface with your design software?”
That one went over her head. “What do you mean?”
“In other words, how do you get your reports as to how many
cherry trees or how many pots of Vinca or how many bucketloads of mulch are
actually used on each job versus what you estimated on the job quotation?”
“Right now we take inventory quarterly, but I’m constantly
eyeballing everything to make sure we don’t run out of staples. If I create a
plan that has, say, a weeping Cedrus libani , I’ve made sure they’re
available at one of the specialty nurseries before I offer it to the client.”
“This might be some software to add in the future,” he said
carefully.
A helpless little laugh escaped her. “As soon as we start
turning a profit again. I’m living on as little as I can, but I do have to draw
a minuscule salary. I don’t want to take out a second mortgage on the house to
finance the business. I just don’t know where to cut any more corners and still
be a Class-A operation.”
She felt a frown settle into place between her brows as her
enthusiasm sagged. She loved what she was doing. She did. She just didn’t know
if she could keep it going at the high level Felix had established.
Then her frown disappeared as Con came up behind her chair
and, bending
“Someone got their knickers in a bunch and decided to go
after Dad. Slapped him with several nuisance suits that dragged our name
through the mud. Two of them were dismissed. The others went to jury trials,
and both came back not guilty. Turns out the guy behind all of them felt Dad
had stolen a local corporate client from him, but Dad had simply done a better
job of wooing them. When Dad retired from T&T last year, they asked me to
stay on as their consultant, by the way.”
“Oh.”
“I wanted to sue the bastards for defamation of character,
but Dad was too much of a gentleman to play cutthroat.” He gave her a lopsided
smile. “Thankfully, people remember the good things about T&T and we’ve got
all the business we can handle. In fact, I’m thinking of making my associate a
junior partner and hiring a couple of new accountants to round out our staff.”
She smiled back at him. “I’m glad.”
“There’s something else I want to check out.” He pawed
through both bins until he withdrew a file from each. “Remember when you had
that load of mulch delivered Friday and I said I was surprised that you didn’t
have more stone and gravel?”
Giselle returned to sit in the client chair. “I do. And?”
“Who’s responsible for approving invoices to be paid?”
“Larry, mostly. He knows everything there is to know about
the operation. He’s more than just a foreman to me.”
Con’s head came up sharply at that, but he merely asked,
“Who signs the checks?”
Realizing what she’d implied, she backpedaled. “I mean, he’s
a jack-of-all-trades. As to checks, I’m the only authorized signatory. But
Larry does have my password for the software that prints the checks out. Not
payroll, that’s confidential, but for business expenses. He often leaves
folders of them, a check attached to an invoice, for me to sign.”
“Who reconciles your bank statements?”
“My administrative assistant. Works part-time, ten to two,
which allows her to be home when her kids get home from school.”
“Hmm.” He set aside the two folders he was holding and
selected two more.
“What? What are you looking for?”
“Your accounting software isn’t generic, right? It’s geared
to landscaping?”
“Absolutely. Well, it’s called business management software,
but it’s the same thing. It has applications for time and materials, job cost
estimates, the ability to track chemical use and generate reports, that kind of
thing. When Larry or the crew chiefs key in what work was done that day, it
automatically transfers the charges to the client’s account.”
“Hmm.” He shuffled through more folders, more invoices.
“Does it interface with your design software?”
That one went over her head. “What do you mean?”
“In other words, how do you get your reports as to how many
cherry trees or how many pots of Vinca or how many bucketloads of mulch are
actually used on each job versus what you estimated on the job quotation?”
“Right now we take inventory quarterly, but I’m constantly
eyeballing everything to make sure we don’t run out of staples. If I create a
plan that has, say, a weeping Cedrus libani , I’ve made sure they’re
available at one of the specialty nurseries before I offer it to the client.”
“This might be some software to add in the future,” he said
carefully.
A helpless little laugh escaped her. “As soon as we start
turning a profit again. I’m living on as little as I can, but I do have to draw
a minuscule salary. I don’t want to take out a second mortgage on the house to
finance the business. I just don’t know where to cut any more corners and still
be a Class-A operation.”
She felt a frown settle into place between her brows as her
enthusiasm sagged. She loved what she was doing. She did. She just didn’t know
if she could keep it going at the high level Felix had established.
Then her frown disappeared as Con came up behind her chair
and, bending
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