CONSTRUCTION ACCOUNTING

You're Building Structures.
Are Your Books Building Debt?

Job costing. AIA billing. Certified payroll. Retainage tracking. WIP schedules. We speak your language.

Open a Case — Free Consultation
KNOWN COMPLICATIONS

Construction Books Have Unique Problems. Generic Bookkeepers Don't Know Them.

No Per-Job P&L

You finished the job. But did you make money? If your books can't answer that by project, you're pricing on guesswork.

Retainage Blindspots

That 5–10% withheld from every invoice? It's booked as revenue — but it isn't cash. Many contractors don't track it separately until a cash crisis hits.

Change Order Chaos

Verbal approvals. Undocumented additions. Change orders that didn't make it into QuickBooks. All of it affects your contract balance and your profitability.

Subcontractor 1099 Gaps

Miss a 1099 and you lose the deduction — plus penalties. Construction companies run more subs than almost any other industry. The tracking has to be airtight.

Workers' Comp Misclassification

Classifying employees and subs incorrectly isn't just a tax problem — it's a workers' comp audit problem. The fines can be significant.

Bonding Capacity Limitations

Your bonding limit is a function of your financials. Messy books cap your bonding capacity and your ability to bid larger, more lucrative projects.

Deep Specialization

Construction Accounting Is Its Own Discipline.

Job costing isn't optional in construction — it's the whole game. Every material, every labor hour, every subcontractor invoice, every equipment rental needs to attach to a specific project. Not a general expense category. A project. This is how you know whether the Riverside job made money and the Downtown job didn't.

Most generic bookkeepers set up a chart of accounts that works fine for a retail shop or a law firm. They don't know that construction needs a different structure entirely — one that tracks costs by phase, by job, by trade. They don't know what a Schedule of Values is, or why the percentage-of-completion revenue recognition method matters, or what a WIP schedule is for.

AIA billing documents — the G702 and G703 — are the language of commercial construction. They show your owner exactly what you've earned, what you've billed, what's in retainage, and what remains. Getting these wrong, even slightly, delays payment and creates disputes. We prepare them correctly.

Certified payroll for prevailing wage work is a compliance minefield. Every worker classification has to be correct. Every fringe benefit accounted for. A single error on a federal project can cost you the contract and future bidding eligibility.

The Section 179 deduction for equipment purchases, the nuances of equipment depreciation, direct vs. indirect costs, overhead allocation — this is the level of detail construction bookkeeping requires. We understand all of it. Because we've done the work at every level.

OUR APPROACH

How We Get Your Construction Books Right.

01

Assessment

We review your current chart of accounts, job setup, and historical data to understand the scope.

02

Restructure

We rebuild your chart of accounts for construction — properly structured for job costing and WIP reporting.

03

Ongoing Management

Monthly bookkeeping that attaches every transaction to a job. Real-time per-project P&Ls you can actually use.

04

Reporting

WIP schedules, bonding-ready financials, certified payroll compliance — everything your business needs to grow.

FREQUENTLY ASKED

Construction Bookkeeping Questions. Answered.

What is job costing in construction bookkeeping?
Job costing tracks all costs — labor, materials, subcontractors, equipment, overhead — against a specific project. Unlike standard bookkeeping that tracks income and expenses by category, construction bookkeeping tracks them by job so you know if each individual project is profitable. Most generic bookkeepers skip this. We don't.
What is AIA billing and do you handle it?
AIA billing (American Institute of Architects G702/G703) is the industry-standard progress billing format used on commercial and government construction projects. It tracks the original contract sum, change orders, work completed to date, stored materials, retainage, and balance to finish. Yes — we handle it.
What is retainage and how does it affect cash flow?
Retainage is the percentage (typically 5–10%) withheld from each progress payment until the project is substantially complete. For a $1M project at 10% retainage, $100,000 sits withheld until completion. Many contractors get caught off guard when retainage isn't tracked correctly in their books — it looks like revenue that isn't actually available.
Do you handle certified payroll for prevailing wage projects?
Yes. Certified payroll is required for federally funded and many state/local public works projects. It documents workers' wages, hours, job classifications, and fringe benefits to prove compliance with prevailing wage laws (Davis-Bacon Act). Errors here can disqualify you from future projects or trigger penalties.
How is construction bookkeeping different from regular bookkeeping?
Construction operates on projects, not periods. Revenue recognition is more complex (percentage-of-completion vs. completed-contract methods). You have retainage, change orders, subcontractor management, equipment depreciation, bonding ratios, and WIP schedules. A generic bookkeeper treating construction like a retail business will cost you money.
How do you handle subcontractor 1099s?
Every subcontractor paid $600 or more in a calendar year requires a 1099-NEC filed by January 31. We track subcontractor payments throughout the year and prepare 1099s at year-end. Missed 1099s can result in penalties and jeopardize your business deductions.
What is a WIP schedule and why does it matter?
A Work-in-Progress (WIP) schedule shows where each project stands financially — what's been billed vs. what's been earned, and whether you're over-billed or under-billed. Contractors without a WIP schedule are flying blind. Banks and bonding companies require accurate WIPs. So do serious contractors.
Can you help with bonding capacity?
Yes. Your bonding capacity is directly tied to the financial health your books demonstrate. Clean, accurate financials showing strong working capital, manageable debt, and profitable jobs are what surety companies look for. Messy books limit your bonding capacity and your ability to bid larger jobs.
Open a Case — Free Consultation

Let's Talk Construction.

Tell us about your projects. We'll show you what proper construction bookkeeping looks like.

Clarity Counts Bookkeeping and Accounting Services LLC — Fort Lauderdale, FL