Amanda Westenbarger
Sales & Marketing Administrator
Amanda Westenbarger is the Sales and Marketing Administrator at First Steps Financial. She is a dedicated specialist in customer service and is committed to ensuring a seamless onboarding experience for our clients. With several years of experience in marketing and business development, Amanda brings strategic insight and a client-first approach to every interaction. Her unique blend of skills enhances the way clients engage with First Steps’ services.
Experience/Education
- 1+ years accounting experience
- 20+ years sales & marketing experience
- Business Degree, Colorado Technical University
Certifications
- Intuit Certified QuickBooks Level 1 ProAdvisor
Areas of Focus
- Client onboarding and support
- Customer service and communication
- Sales and marketing operations
- Business development strategy
- QuickBooks Online assistance
Our Latest Insight
Most trade contractors know their revenue down to the dollar. Ask them what materials actually cost on last month's jobs, and the answer gets fuzzy. That gap is where profit quietly disappears. Solid contractor accounting starts with knowing what you spent on pipe, wire, fittings, and equipment for each specific job. Not for the month. Not for the quarter. For the job. When materials costs sit in one giant bucket, you lose the ability to see which work makes money and which work drains it. This guide walks through the Materials COGS Playbook, a practical framework for getting materials tracking right in HVAC, plumbing, and electrical businesses.
Managing financial operations in an engineering firm requires a accounting structure tailored specifically to project-based service models. A properly designed chart of accounts serves as the backbone of your financial system, enabling leadership to track billable utilization, monitor project profitability, and streamline overhead management. Without a specialized framework, engineering firms often struggle to separate direct project expenses from general operating costs, skewing critical metrics like labor multipliers and project margins. This guide breaks down a standard service firm chart of accounts template, detailing how to customize each account category to gain full visibility into your firm's financial health.
For project-based businesses, a healthy income statement can be dangerously deceiving. You might land a landmark contract and boast a record-breaking backlog, yet still find yourself scrambling to cover payroll by Friday. Why? Because in project-driven models, profitability and cash in the bank rarely move in sync. Between delayed milestone payments, scope creep, upfront vendor costs, and unpredictable client approval cycles, managing cash flow is a constant balancing act. A reliable cash flow forecast isn't just a nice-to-have financial report, it is your early warning system. This comprehensive guide walks through the frameworks, metrics, and best practices required to master cash flow forecasting for project-based operations.
