Bookkeeping for Construction Companies and Contractors
Running the jobs and keeping the books at the same time? Bookkeeping for construction companies from Ledger & Logic records your costs, your subcontractors, and your billing against the jobs they belong to, so the figures are there when you need them.
Paperwork in this trade arrives out of order, and that is ordinary. A deposit comes in before the work starts, a supplier invoice follows weeks after the material went out on the truck, and a subcontractor bills across three jobs on one statement. We know the jobs come first.
How the work gets recorded
For contractors, landscapers, and other project-based businesses, we also review how materials, subcontractor costs, customer deposits, and progress payments are recorded to identify any areas that need attention.
That review sets up how the rest of the year is recorded, so deposits and progress payments are associated with the appropriate job and recorded according to the applicable accounting treatment, and costs are recorded against the jobs that caused them.
If something on a job does not look like your usual month, we will discuss it with you that month.
Who this helps
You are in the right place if any of these are familiar:
- Supplier invoices reach you well after the material was delivered
- You pay subcontractors and are not certain which of them need a 1099
- You take deposits before a job starts and draws while it is running
- Change orders are agreed on site, and you would like them recorded against the job
- You would like to know what a job earned before you bid the next one like it
- You work in more than one trade and would like them shown separately
- Your books are behind because the season has been busy
We are in Lorton, Virginia, and work with small businesses across Northern Virginia. Because the work happens in your cloud-based QuickBooks file, we can support clients anywhere in the country.
We work with general contractors and remodelers, and with the specialty trades: landscaping, plumbing, HVAC, roofing, electrical, and concrete.
Sound like your business?
How bookkeeping for construction companies works
A personal consultation
Tell us how you bid and bill your work, who you pay outside payroll, and what you would like to see for each job. From that, we can usually give you a broad pricing range on the call itself.
A review of your books
We review what you have now, so the plan we quote fits what is there.
Your plan and fee
You receive a clear scope and price before work begins, including which services are part of your plan.
Access
We help you grant accountant access to QuickBooks Online and, where available, read-only access to your business bank and credit card accounts so we can retrieve statements directly. If your financial institution does not offer that access, you can share statements through QuickBooks Online or a shared Google Drive folder.
Your setup
We agree how your jobs and cost categories should be set up in QuickBooks Online, and put that in place within the agreed scope. Where the file needs work before that, we will discuss it with you first.
Each month
We record and code your transactions, reconcile the accounts in the agreed scope, and prepare your reports.
What your plan can include
- Monthly bookkeeping, with the business bank and credit card accounts included in your plan reconciled and your reports prepared each month
- Materials and subcontractor costs coded to the appropriate job as each bill is entered, where job costing is included in your plan
- Deposits, progress payments, and change orders associated with the appropriate job and recorded according to the applicable accounting treatment
- Vendor records kept current and W-9s collected from vendors when applicable
- Vendor bills entered, coded, and paid according to an agreed process, where accounts payable is part of your plan
- Payroll support through the payroll provider you already use, based on the services included in your plan
- Job profitability reporting, where that is included in your plan
Where your books are behind, that is catch-up bookkeeping, quoted as a separate project. Where the file itself needs restructuring first, that is QuickBooks setup, and we quote the two together.
What this gives you
When you bid the next job of that kind, you have the last one’s figures to work from.
Your subcontractor records stay current through the year, so missing W-9 information can be identified before January.
A cost that reaches us months after the work still gets recorded against the right job.
How it is priced
Your fee is a personalized monthly amount based on the services in your plan.
A flat monthly fee makes bookkeeping easier to budget for. Your personalized plan outlines the work and level of support included. If your needs change, we discuss any adjustments with you before changing the scope or fee.
Where job costing is set up as part of a QuickBooks project, we quote that setup as a fixed fee based on your needs and a review of your file.
Your plan runs month to month, with no long-term commitment. A written service agreement outlines the scope, fees, responsibilities, and cancellation process, including any required notice.
Want to know what your plan would cost?
What we need from you
Less than you might expect, once we have agreed how the job information reaches us.
Once access is set up, we retrieve bank and credit card statements directly where available. You provide receipts, supporting documents, and details about transactions that need clarification through QuickBooks Online or a shared Google Drive folder. We group questions where practical to make responding easier.
What helps most is a job name on the paperwork: on supplier invoices, on subcontractor bills, and on what your crew turns in. Where that is missing, we will ask rather than guessing.
Frequently asked questions
Can you take this on partway through a busy season?
Yes. We review what you have now and agree what to bring up to date first. Where the books are behind, that work is quoted as a separate project with its own scope and fee.
What if I am not certain how my jobs are tracked right now?
That is common. A rough idea of how you bid your work and how costs reach you is plenty for a first conversation, and our review of your books fills in the rest.
Do you work with subcontractors as well as general contractors?
Yes. A specialty trade business working as a subcontractor has the same shape to its books as the general contractor hiring it, and the work is set up the same way.
Not seeing your question? Read the full FAQAsk Kris on a call
A note on taxes. Ledger & Logic provides bookkeeping services and does not prepare or file income tax returns. With your permission, we work directly with your tax preparer on bookkeeping questions and adjustments.
See what your jobs are earning.
Book a personal consultation. We’ll discuss your needs, provide a broad pricing range when possible, and explain the next steps toward a formal quote.