Pest Management Professional, September 2012

austins agenda Austin M Frishman Ph D Columnist W hen pesticide certification was established in the mid 1970s highly educated people were placed in charge of creating the program Some of the most important spot checks you need to look at some 35 years later include 1 Is your certification current in the relevant category and subcategory 2 Have you ensured that all of your bait station rodenticide is within 100 feet of a manmade structure 3 When performing a space treatment can you calculate volume correctly 4 Do you have a measuring device with which to record width length and height 5 Do you know whether state or local laws are stricter than what the U S Environmental Protection Agency EPA dictates 6 Do you have all of the safety equipment in your vehicle or carrying case mandated by the pesticide labels you carry 7 When performing crack and crevice treatments from a measuring can do you know how much active ingredient is emitted per second If not request the manufacturer give you this information in writing Also does your pesticide application equipment have a crack and crevice tip and do you have spare tips 8 Are your dusters properly labeled Try resealable plastic bags properly labeled with the dusters inside Plug the tip of the dusters after each application 9 Do you carry material safety data sheets for each pesticide 10 Is your vehicle free of pesticide spills And are all pesticides stored in tight containers and carried in second larger but not cardboard containers to capture spills Feel free to add to this checklist You have to start somewhere and this is my idea of what constitutes 10 core spot checks pmp You can reach Frishman an industry consultant since 1967 and president of AMF Pest Management Services at mypmp@ northcoastmedia net 10 spot checks We are an accounting and business advisory firm obsessed with providing pest control companies the cutting edge tools and information they need to prosper in todays competitive business environment Does Your Accountant Understand the Pest Control Industry Accounting is the language that we use to communicate the health of our business When many of us think of accounting we think of April 15th TAX DAY There is a lot more to the accounting function with respect to the PCO Firm owner than taxes The overall goal of your accountant should be to help you accumulate and preserve wealth by growing your PCO firm Saving taxes is just a small part of this overall task As your business grows you need the internal structure and financial controls to support this growth The foundation of a strong pest control business begins with timely and accurate financial records Your accountant should not only know your industry but should be familiar with the software used to run your business Programs such as Pest Pac Service Pro and Quickbooks are the operational and financial By Daniel S Gordon CPA packages that run our industry Month end reporting using these programs is paramount PCO Bookkeepers in Newton NJ works with PCOs around the country helping to grow their firms by using these programs to gain financial visibility allowing them to make decisions used to grow their businesses To View the Most Comprehensive Operational and Financial Reports in the Industry Visit us at www PCObookkeepers com or call us at 877 682 8118 PCO Bookkeepers Providing Accounting Bookkeeping and Business Solutions to the Pest Control Industry Join us on Join our group called PCO Business Solutions www mypmp net Pest Management Professional September 2012 103