Subscribe if you haven't yet, it's FREE!

Shew! Summer break is over! If only Summer itself were over, it's just so darn hot... The kiddies will be back in school on Monday and we're ready to get going full tilt again. :)

If you do your own preliminary notices then you'll really like our first article here, it's about a new program that uses Excel to do your preliminary notices. The time you can save using this program is astounding, it's even quicker than using our own forms!

We've also included some brief info on free email updates available from the Employment Development Department and a story about workers banning James Hardie products from their jobsites.

Last but most definitely not least, we've included an article from Dale Collie of CourageBuilders.com about reducing stress and increasing profitability in the workplace.

Enjoy the newsletter and have an outstanding day!
Diane and Curtis Dennis

Old way: Type in your company info, the job info, the GC's info, the Lender's info, the Owner's info and so on, no less than FIVE times, once for the preliminary notice and no less than four times for the release forms. Then type the labels for the certified mail postal forms (or hand-write the info).

New way: Enter the job info, the GC's info, the Lender's info, the Owner's info and so on, ONE time only! You don't even have to enter your own company info, it's already there for you.

Construction paperwork is a JOB in and of itself

If you do preliminary notices and lien release forms then you know how much time it can take to do the darn things. When you do the preliminary notice you have to enter your company info, the GC's info, the Lender's info, the Owner's info, the job info, etc.

Then, when you need release forms for the same project, you find yourself having to enter all of the same info again (your company info, the GC's info, the Lender's info, the Owner's info, the job info, etc.), for each and every release form you need on the project.

This boring time-consuming task goes on and on for every single project you do, day in and day out. There has to be a better way...

A new and much more efficient way to handle
your preliminary notice and lien release paperwork!

Recently we were contacted by Michelle from Prelim Solutions about a program they've put together that works with Microsoft Excel that'll greatly reduce the amount of time you spend doing preliminary notices and lien release forms.

This program comes with the California 20-Day Preliminary Notice form (and yes it has the new text required eff. January 2004) as well as all four California lien waiver/release forms.

It even works on joint-check jobs!

(For states other than California we have you covered as well,
click here to see what we have for you! :)

No more entering the same info over and over again

Prelim Solutions customizes the program to your company so that every time you use it your company info is already there which means you don't have to re-enter that info every time you use the program.

Not only that but when you create a preliminary notice for a project the program remembers the info you've entered and uses that info to fill in the release form(s) you need, again eliminating the drudgery of re-entering info for every release form you need.

Automatic Labels

Usually you have to open your word processing program or a label program, enter the recipient's address info and then print the labels to adhere to the certified mail postal card (or hand-write the info onto the cards). No longer though...

A recent upgrade to the Prelim Solutions program brings the ability to automatically print out labels for the front and back sides of the certified mail postal form using the info you've already entered and special labels custom die-cut to fit the postal forms.

No Limits!

You'll be able to use the program an unlimited number of times, forever, without ever having to pay for it again.

You'll get free unlimited replacements should your computer crash and lose the program.

You'll get free unlimited copies of updates/upgrades any and every time the program is updated/upgraded.

You'll get free unlimited tech support, although chances are you won't need it because this is a very simple program to use.

You can use the program on as many computers as you'd like. Have more than one person that prepares your preliminary notices using more than one computer or maybe you sometimes do the notices at home on your personal computer? No problem because you can use this program on as many computers as you'd like.

Exclusive Free Gift

The folks at Prelim Solutions are offering a special free gift but it's available ONLY to our readers... :)

Get a package of the custom die-cut labels we mentioned above, enough to do 50 preliminary notices, absolutely 100% free with your purchase of the Prelim Solutions program! Just enter the code "TCG" in the "promotion code" box when making your purchase and you'll automatically qualify for this free gift!

Your Satisfaction is 100% Guaranteed

Go ahead and try it out for 30 days. In the unlikely event you decide that you don't want to use the program you can get a full refund! You'll like it though, it's so very easy to use, as simple as filling in the blanks!

Click here now to check it out! And don't forget to use the code "TCG"! I trust you'll soon agree that this is a must-have for anyone who does California 20-Day Preliminary Notices and Lien Releases.
http://www.prelimsolutions.com

Victoria's building unions have recently black-banned all James Hardie products in outrage at the company's approach to asbestos disease compensation - and the ban is likely to spread nationally...

Although this is currently taking place in Australia we still found it interesting because we use these products here in the states as well. We thought that anyone here who uses, or has used, these products might also find this article interesting.

Click here to read the entire article

EDD's free e-mail subscription services make it easier than ever to stay up-to-date online. Subscribe to their e-mail lists and stay tuned to the latest news about programs and services online, including what's new on EDD's Web site, recently added forms and publications, events, and announcements.

The following subscription services are available:

• Employment and Payroll Tax Information
• Labor Market Information
• Paid Family Leave Information
• Workforce Investment Act

Click here to subscribe to the EDD's free email services
http://www.edd.ca.gov/listmain.htm

By: Dale Collie www.couragebuilders.com

The United Nations declares workplace stress to be a worldwide epidemic. In the United States alone, forty-six percent of workers report that their job is very stressful. This adds up to a million stress related workplace absences each day.

Meditation, soothing music, biofeedback, and other techniques work well to help people cope with the stress of our modern workplace. Individual stress control techniques such as these are important.

However, the real solution is in the hands of company management because stress control is a leadership responsibility. Leaders and managers can do more to control stress than all of the individual stress relief techniques combined.

Leaders who implement stress control strategies see the results in reduced absenteeism, lower medical costs, minimized health insurance expenses, lower
workers comp payments, fewer accidents, less complaints, and so on.

Here are 12 strategies help control stress, minimize costs and boost profits. The workplace is improved. Employees and their families are happier. Business owners make more money.

Management can control stress by:

1. Eliminating unreasonable expectations
2. Positioning people in jobs that use their skills and abilities
3. Adjusting pay for the level of responsibility assigned to individuals
4. Correcting vague and arbitrary promotion policies
5. Including employee in making decisions that affect their jobs
6. Avoiding excessive overtime, even if there is additional compensation
7. Distributing unpleasant tasks fairly
8. Enforcing policies equally throughout the organization, from top to bottom
9. Implementing problem-solving strategies and acceptable mediation of conflicts
10. Using family stress control strategies to minimize the impact of family separation caused by travel or long office hours
11. Demonstrating concern for employee welfare
12. Eliminating intolerable conditions such as temperature, hazards, noise, light, and odors

It is difficult to remove some of these stressors when you are faced with aggressive competitors or unfavorable economic conditions, but this challenge is just as important as anything else facing those who wear the mantle of leadership.

Making all of these changes can seem overwhelming. However, you can make an impact by selecting a single strategy and making a plan to improve it.

Sound leadership and stress control will maximize performance and increase net profits.

Well, that's it for this issue. Please let me know what you think about our newsletter and what you'd like to see here. It's real easy, just click here to send us an email with your thoughts. Thank you very much, we truly do appreciate it! Have an outstanding day and week! Diane & Curtis Dennis

Diane Dennis
TheContractorsGroup.com
[why no phone]
866-480-7105 fax
diane@thecontractorsgroup.com

TheContractorsGroup.com was created to help construction contractors and other business owners with their day-to-day and on-going administrative needs.