Industry · Construction accounting
Construction accounting that knows which job made money.
Contractors don’t fail on revenue — they fail on jobs that quietly lost money while the books looked fine. TechBrot’s Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors set up real job costing, WIP, and retainage so you see profit per project, bill progress correctly, and stay compliant on certified payroll. We deliver the books in your own QuickBooks file; your CPA files. Independent firm, not affiliated with Intuit Inc.
Construction accounting runs on projects, not periods — per-job revenue and cost, often on percentage-of-completion, with retainage, change orders, certified payroll, and AIA progress billing that standard bookkeeping can’t handle. TechBrot’s Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors set up real job costing by cost code, WIP schedules, and retainage tracking in your own QuickBooks file, keep it accurate monthly, and turn it into job-level profit you can bid from. We deliver the books and coordinate with your CPA; we do not file income taxes.
Reviewed by the Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor team at TechBrot Inc., an independent firm — not affiliated with Intuit Inc. Bookkeeping and ProAdvisor scope; does not file income taxes — coordinates with your CPA or EA.
Construction accounting, in five questions.
Why is construction accounting different?
It runs on projects, not periods. Revenue and cost track per job — often by percentage-of-completion — with retainage, change orders, and certified payroll that standard bookkeeping can’t handle. Company-wide income and expense can’t tell you which job made money.
Do you set up job costing in QuickBooks?
Yes. Labor, materials, equipment, and subcontractor costs tracked to each project and cost code — real job-level profit you can bid from, not a company-wide guess.
Can you produce WIP schedules and handle retainage?
Yes. WIP schedules showing earned revenue vs. billings (over/under billing), and retainage receivable and payable tracked separately for an accurate balance sheet and cash position.
Do you handle certified payroll and AIA billing?
We support certified payroll for prevailing-wage and public work and AIA-style progress billing (G702/G703). Complex union or multi-state prevailing-wage cases are scoped openly on the discovery call.
What does it cost?
A fixed monthly fee against a written scope — driven by active jobs, payroll complexity, and whether certified payroll or AIA billing is required. No hourly billing. We do not file income taxes; we coordinate with your CPA or EA.
Construction accounting, plainly.
Construction runs on projects, not periods — so company-wide books that only show total income and expense can’t tell you whether a single job made or lost money. Real construction accounting needs job costing (labor, materials, equipment, and subcontractors tracked per project and cost code), work-in-progress (WIP) schedules showing over- and under-billing, retainage tracked on both receivables and payables, change-order discipline, and often certified payroll and multi-state tax. Whether you recognize revenue on percentage-of-completion or completed-contract changes how every one of those lines reads on your financials.
TechBrot is a firm of Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors who set this up correctly in your own QuickBooks file, keep it accurate monthly, and turn it into job-level profitability you can bid and grow from. We handle AIA-style progress billing (G702/G703), retainage on both sides of the ledger, equipment costing, and certified payroll for prevailing-wage and public work — with multi-state payroll for crews crossing state lines. For contractors scaling up, advisory adds cash-flow and bonding insight on top. We deliver the books; your CPA or EA files. Independent ProAdvisor firm — not affiliated with Intuit Inc.
Three places contractors lose the numbers.
Profitable-looking companies go under when these go unmanaged. Knowing which one you’re in tells us where to start.
No real job costing.
Costs land in company-wide buckets, not on jobs. You know the business made money this year — you don’t know which jobs made it and which quietly bled, so you bid the next one blind. The fix is job costing by project and cost code — labor, materials, equipment, subs — so every job shows true profit. If you can’t pull profit on a single completed job in under a minute, this is your starting point.
No WIP or retainage tracking.
Without a WIP schedule you can’t see over- or under-billing — so cash looks healthy while you’ve borrowed against unearned revenue. Retainage held on both sides distorts the balance sheet further. The fix is WIP schedules (earned vs. billed) and retainage tracked separately on receivables and payables. Over-billing feels like profit until the job finishes; WIP shows reality before it bites.
Certified payroll & AIA gaps.
Public and prevailing-wage projects require certified payroll reporting; GCs expect AIA-format progress billing (G702/G703). Get either wrong and payments stall or penalties land. The fix is certified payroll reporting and AIA-style progress billing handled within your QuickBooks workflow — with complex union or multi-state prevailing-wage cases scoped openly on the call.
Construction accounting, done by an expert.
Every engagement is scoped to your jobs and crew, delivered in your own QuickBooks file by a named Certified ProAdvisor.
Job costing setup & maintenance
Labor, materials, equipment, and subcontractors tracked to each project and cost code — real job-level profitability you can bid from.
WIP & over/under billing
Work-in-progress schedules showing earned revenue versus billings, so cash and profit reflect reality mid-project — on percentage-of-completion or completed-contract.
Retainage tracking
Retainage receivable and payable tracked separately, with AIA-style progress billing and lien-waiver discipline, so your balance sheet and cash position stay accurate.
Certified payroll
Certified payroll reporting for prevailing-wage and public projects (Davis-Bacon and state prevailing wage), plus multi-state crew payroll handled correctly across state lines.
Job-cost cleanup
Rebuild job costing from messy books, reclassify costs to the right projects and cost codes, and reconcile to a known-good baseline before monthly bookkeeping begins.
Cash flow & bonding advisory
Job-cost data turned into cash-flow forecasting, bonding-ready financials, and bid-margin strategy as you grow — the judgment layer above the books.
Connected to how you build.
- QuickBooks Enterprise — contractor edition, common on larger GCs
- Buildertrend — job management synced to job-cost ledgers
- Procore — project financials reconciled to QuickBooks
- Knowify — AIA billing and change orders
- Hammr — certified-payroll-aware time tracking
- CompanyCam — job documentation tied to cost codes
- Gusto — multi-state crew payroll
- QuickBooks Time (TSheets) — field time to job costing
Using different job-management software? If it exports to QuickBooks, we can work with it. Ask on a discovery call.
Percentage-of-completion vs. completed-contract.
Which method you use changes how every job reads on your financials. We set up your books for the right one and keep the WIP behind it accurate.
| Consideration | Percentage-of-completion | Completed-contract |
|---|---|---|
| When revenue is recognized | As the job progresses, by cost or milestone | Only when the job is finished |
| WIP schedule required | Yes | No |
| Best for | Long, multi-period jobs & bonded work | Short jobs & smaller contractors |
| Profit visibility mid-job | Yes | No |
| Tax-method eligibility | Often required above gross-receipts threshold | Available to many small contractors — confirm with your CPA |
From guesswork to job-level profit.
Every construction engagement follows the same four-phase rhythm — books accurate first, profit visibility second, advisory third.
Discovery
A 30-minute call to map your jobs, crew, payroll requirements, and where the books are breaking. No pitch.
Job-cost setup & cleanup
Configure job costing and cost codes, plus a cleanup to reclassify past costs to the right projects where needed.
Monthly close & WIP
Monthly reconciliation with job-cost reporting, WIP schedules, retainage tracking, and certified payroll where required.
Reporting & advisory
Job-profitability reporting and, as you scale, cash-flow and bonding advisory.
Accurate job costs are the start. Winning bids is the point.
Once every job shows real profit and your WIP is clean, the question shifts from “are the books right?” to “how do we bid the next one better?” Which job types actually carry margin, when to chase bonded work, how cash flows across overlapping projects, what overhead each job should really absorb — the decisions that separate contractors who grow from those who stall.
That’s where construction advisory comes in: a Certified ProAdvisor who knows your job-cost data turning it into bid strategy, cash-flow forecasting, and bonding-ready financials. Accurate job costs come first; then that judgment turns them into decisions. As automation handles routine entry, this advisory layer is where contractors find their edge. Explore fractional CFO & advisory →
Reviewed by the ProAdvisor team.
This page reflects how TechBrot actually handles construction engagements. It is maintained by the Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor team at TechBrot Inc., a Delaware-incorporated independent ProAdvisor firm, and reviewed for technical accuracy on job costing, WIP, retainage, AIA progress billing, and certified payroll. Where our approach or scope changes, this page is updated. TechBrot delivers the books and coordinates with your CPA, who files.
Certifications
Active Intuit Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor — Online (L2), Desktop, Enterprise, Payroll
Scope
Job costing, WIP, retainage, AIA billing, certified payroll · income-tax filing coordinated with your CPA/EA
Engagement
Fixed-fee, written scope before work · delivered in your own QuickBooks file
Independent
Not affiliated with Intuit Inc. · QuickBooks is a registered trademark of Intuit Inc.
Construction accounting questions.
Why is construction accounting different from regular bookkeeping?
Do you set up job costing in QuickBooks?
Can you produce WIP schedules and handle retainage?
Do you handle certified payroll and AIA billing?
What does construction bookkeeping cost?
My job costing is a mess. Where do we start?
Contractors start here
See which jobs actually make you money.
Book a discovery call. A Certified ProAdvisor reviews your jobs, your payroll requirements, and where the books are breaking, flags any certified-payroll or WIP exposure, and sends a written fixed-fee scope within 3 business days. No pitch. Independent firm — does not file income taxes; coordinates with your CPA.