Retainage counted as revenue
Money held back on a draw is not money you have. Book it as collected revenue and you overstate income while hiding a real receivable you still need to chase.
Service overview
Construction Bookkeeping. Done Right. Closed Every Month.
Construction accounting is its own world. Revenue comes in as draws, costs land before you bill, retainage sits in limbo, and every job is its own profit center. Generic bookkeeping treats your shop like a sandwich counter and the numbers stop meaning anything fast. We know the difference. Here is what real construction bookkeeping actually covers.
Quick answer
- Every job tracks its own labor, materials, subs, and margin. Not just a company-wide total that hides where you won and where you bled.
- We handle what retail bookkeeping ignores: work-in-progress, retainage, progress billing, draws, and change orders.
- Your subs are tracked all year with W-9s on file. January is a confirmation, not a fire drill.
- We work inside your own QuickBooks Online file and deliver an expert-reviewed close every month. You keep the file. Always.
- Plans are month-to-month and start at $249/mo. No setup fee. Cancel anytime.
What construction bookkeeping actually includes
Real construction bookkeeping is not just sorting transactions. It is a monthly system that keeps your job costs, billings, and cash in agreement. Every month, you know exactly where each job stands and whether your shop made money.
- Job costing: labor, materials, equipment, and subs allocated to each job by Class or Location
- Work-in-progress tracking so over-billing and under-billing on open jobs are visible
- Retainage tracked as its own receivable and payable, not counted as cash you have
- Progress billing and draw schedules reconciled against the schedule of values
- Subcontractor and 1099 tracking with W-9s collected at engagement
- Trade-native chart of accounts: materials vs tools vs equipment vs overhead
- expert-reviewed monthly close: accruals, prepaids, and depreciation handled
Construction accounting vs construction bookkeeping
People search for construction accounting and construction bookkeeping interchangeably, and for a small contractor the day-to-day work overlaps heavily. The simplest way to think about it: bookkeeping is the disciplined recording and reconciling that happens every month, and accounting is the broader picture on top, including how revenue is recognized on long jobs, how your financial statements are structured, and how the numbers feed tax and bonding.
What matters for a contractor up to about ten crew is that both rest on the same foundation: clean, job-costed books kept current every month. Get the bookkeeping right and accurate construction accounting follows, because the statements, the work-in-progress picture, and the tax-ready numbers all draw from the same well-kept ledger. We handle the monthly construction accounting and bookkeeping inside your own QuickBooks file, and coordinate with your CPA on the higher-level accounting and tax questions.
How we compare to generic options
There are cheaper ways to get books. The real question is whether those books give you numbers you can actually build on. Here is an honest look at the alternatives.
- A local generalist bookkeeper keeps you compliant but usually skips job costing, retainage, and WIP. You cannot see job-level profit.
- QuickBooks Live and similar services sort transactions but do not do construction job costing, 1099 prep, or field-service sync.
- DIY software gives you tools. It does not give you a finished close. Someone still has to reconcile, review, and produce reports you can trust.
- We specialize in the trades, work inside your own QuickBooks file, preserve your job structure, and back the work with an expert-reviewed close and written SLAs.
Who keeps your books, and what we put in writing
Your books are handled by Mary Mattison, our lead bookkeeper with 40 years in bookkeeping and tax preparation. She works inside your own QuickBooks Online file. You always have direct access, and you keep the file if you ever leave.
Three things we commit to in writing: your books are closed and reconciled every month; every close is expert-reviewed before it reaches you; and you own your QuickBooks file from day one. No lock-in. No gatekeeping.
Where construction books usually go wrong
No work-in-progress view
Without tracking costs and billings on open jobs, you cannot tell if you are over-billed or burning cash on a project until it is too late to do anything about it.
Subs left until filing time
Every sub needs a W-9 and a running payment total. Chase it in January and you are tracking down missing tax IDs against a hard deadline instead of confirming clean numbers.
Which plan fits your construction business
- Truck, solo operator, 1 to 2 accounts, simple job tracking
- Crew, growing crew, job costing, FSM sync included
- Shop, payroll, 1099 subs, AR/AP, priority close
- Builder, multi-entity, high volume, custom mapping
Construction bookkeeping FAQ
Is construction accounting different from construction bookkeeping?
They overlap, especially for smaller contractors. Bookkeeping is the monthly recording and reconciling of your transactions; construction accounting is the broader layer on top, including revenue recognition on long jobs, financial statement structure, and how the numbers feed tax and bonding. Both rest on the same foundation: clean, job-costed books. We keep that foundation current inside your QuickBooks file and coordinate with your CPA on higher-level accounting and tax matters.
Do you provide construction accounting services?
We provide the monthly construction bookkeeping and accounting that runs inside your QuickBooks Online file: job costing, work-in-progress and retainage tracking, reconciliations, and an expert-reviewed close. For tax filing and formal financial statement or bonding work, we coordinate with your CPA and supply the clean, reconciled numbers those rely on. The result is accurate construction accounting without handing your books to a generalist who does not know the trades.
What makes construction bookkeeping different from regular bookkeeping?
Construction work is job-based and billed over time. Your books have to track each job's costs and billings, handle retainage and progress billing, and manage a high volume of subcontractors. Regular bookkeeping treats the whole business as one bucket and loses all of that detail.
Do you handle job costing and work-in-progress?
Yes. We set up Class or Location tracking so each job carries its own labor, materials, and subcontractor cost. We track costs versus billings on open jobs so over-billing and under-billing are visible. Job-level profit is part of every monthly close on the Crew plan and up.
Can you handle retainage and progress billing?
Yes. Retainage is tracked as its own receivable or payable, not counted as collected revenue. Progress billing is reconciled against the schedule of values so your billed-to-date and earned numbers stay honest.
How do you handle subcontractors and 1099s?
We collect W-9s at engagement, track payments to each sub through the year, and prepare 1099 totals so January is a confirmation, not a scramble. 1099 prep is included on the Shop plan: we keep W-9s and payment totals filing-ready all year, and your tax preparer files the forms.
Do I keep my QuickBooks file?
Always. We work inside your own QuickBooks Online subscription. If you ever leave, you keep the file and a clean set of workpapers.
What if my books are far behind?
Our 6-month prepaid option includes a catch-up cleanup so you start current. We scope the backlog up front so there are no surprises.
Books you can build a construction business on
Trade-native categories, job costing, and an expert-reviewed close every month. You keep your QuickBooks file.