Quick, list two ways you can increase your bottom line profit. Right, you can cut costs and/or increase your gross sales. That might sound easy but the old adage is true: "No job is to big for the man who doesn't have to do it." 
   So how do you accomplish these objectives? Well let's start with one simple statement that can potentially save your company thousands and thousands of dollars.
   To set the stage I need for you to think back a while-you remember the day: things had gone really well the previous week. The new season was just beginning, the backlog was building and the phone was ringing. Finally, after several long weeks, there seemed to be light at the end of the tunnel and it didn't look like a train. Life was good and the schedule was full. It's Monday morning. Your techs begin to arrive at the office when you get a call from your top service tech, Joe Can Do It All. Joe asks for you. "Hey boss, I'm very sorry but I will not be in today." You ask why and Joe begins a long story about a job he was on last week. He tells you how he pulled his back but everything seemed OK that day so he continued to work. Somehow, over the weekend, his back got worse. Joe tells you he needs to go to the doctor and that he will need to file for a workman's comp claim since he was "hurt on the job."
   You question Joe again about how it happened. The story seems a bit flimsy and you try to pin Joe down, but to no avail. The bottom line is that it's your word against Joe's. But the bottom line is that Joe will not be in today or, perhaps, for several days. How will you fill the void, now that you finally have a full schedule? Then you remember your workman's comp rate. Another claim will surely raise your rates, again. Last year's rate went up over 10 percent. Now, with another claim, it will surely go up again. Ouch, that hurts. 
   Workman's comp insurance has its place. It is designed to cover costs when one of your employees gets hurt on the job. The problem is verifying that the injury, in fact, occurred while the employee was working on the job. Next time you get your timesheets and/or time cards printed add this one simple statement.
   As the technician turns in their timesheet or timecard each day, require that the above boxes be checked, signed and dated. 
   With this in place, John Can Do It All calls in to inform you he was injured last week while on the job. The owner/manager can then simply check last week's timesheet. When the timesheet is checked you note John did NOT check that he was injured. John may or may not have been injured on the job but now the company, therefore workman's compensation insurance, is no longer liable for the injury since you have written proof, from the tech, that he was NOT injured on the job. This simple statement can save you thousands of dollars. 
   Let me clarify with another real life true example. We will call the tech Bill. It's Monday morning. Bill's manager is reviewing the timesheets from last week and notices Bill marked on his Friday timesheet that he had a work-related accident. Naturally his manager calls Bill on his cell to find out what happened. Bill becomes a bit defensive and simply states that he DID NOT have an accident the previous Friday. His manager again reminds him that he reported that he was involved in an accident. Again, Bill denies it. The manager then ends the call and informs the dispatcher to have Bill report to his office at the conclusion of his service call. 
   Bill arrives at his manager's office and you can guess the content and tone of the conversation. At long last, Bill finally confesses. "I was scheduled to play in a softball tournament this past weekend. Just in a case I got hurt I wanted to be able to claim the injury on workman's comp." As you might have guessed, Monday was Bill's last day of work for that company. But, what if Bill had gotten hurt during the ball game? What would it have cost the company? 
   Adding the above simple statement to your timecard or timesheet can literally save the company thousands and thousands of dollars. They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Well adding the above statement to your timesheet or timecard might just save your company a lot of money. 
   It's a new year. The future looks bright and you have wanted to attend our three-day "Basic Business Boot Camp" for years. Well this is your chance. Keep watching the Calendar of Events, found exclusively in the print editon of RJ, for an event near you and to sign up.