Accounting Services Built for Construction Companies and the Trades
Bookkeeping, payroll, tax planning, and accounts payable management. All designed around how construction businesses actually work: by the job, not by the quarter.
What We Cover
Four Services. One Firm. Built for the Trades.
Accounting for a construction company is different from general business accounting. Job costing, WIP reports, certified payroll, retainage, 1099s for subs. Our firm knows construction accounting and we built our services around it.
01
Bookkeeping
- Monthly reconciliation
- Job costing by project
- WIP and CIP reports
- Sub 1099 tracking
- Catch-up available
02
Payroll
- Full payroll processing
- W-2 and 1099 filing
- New hire reporting
- Certified payroll
- Multi-state capable
03
Tax Planning
- Quarterly estimates
- Year-round strategy
- Depreciation planning
- Entity structure advice
- Business tax prep
04
A/P Management
- Bill processing & payment
- Vendor management
- Retainage tracking
- Draw coordination
- Via Bill.com
$300/mo
Gets you started
4
Core services
IRS EA
Highest IRS credential
50 States
Remote-first, nationwide
Service 01
Construction Bookkeeping
Most contractors know their bank balance. Very few know their actual profit on each job. That gap is where money disappears.
What’s included
- Monthly reconciliation of all bank and credit card accounts
- Job costing: every expense coded to a specific project
- Work In Progress (WIP) schedule prepared monthly
- Construction In Progress (CIP) accounting for long-term projects
- Subcontractor payment tracking and year-end 1099-NEC filing
- Catch-up bookkeeping for books that are behind
What is job costing and why does it matter?
Job costing tracks labor, materials, subcontractors, and overhead against each specific project. Without it, you know your bank balance but not whether job A or job B actually made money. With it, you can see which jobs are profitable, where costs ran over, and what to bid next time. We set this up in QuickBooks and maintain it monthly.
My books are months behind. Can you fix that?
Yes. Most new clients start this way. We do a catch-up first, working backward to get every month reconciled and accurate. Then we take over monthly so it never falls behind again. The catch-up is priced separately from ongoing monthly service.
Service 02
Payroll for Contractors and Construction Crews
Payroll mistakes cost you twice: once in penalties, once in the time it takes to fix them. We run it clean the first time.
What’s included
- Full payroll processing via Gusto (weekly, bi-weekly, or semi-monthly)
- Federal, state, and local payroll tax deposits and filings
- W-2 preparation and year-end filing for all employees
- New hire reporting to state agencies
- Certified payroll reports for prevailing wage projects
- Multi-state payroll for crews working across state lines
What is certified payroll and when is it required?
Certified payroll is a detailed weekly report of every employee’s hours, wages, fringe benefits, and job classification. It’s required on federal and many state public works projects where prevailing wage rules apply. We format and prepare these reports so you can submit them to the relevant agency without error.
Can you handle payroll if my crew works in multiple states?
Yes. Multi-state payroll is one of the trickier parts of construction payroll, especially for contractors who follow projects across state lines. We handle registration in the states where you have payroll tax liability and make sure deposits and filings go to the right agencies.
Service 03
Tax Planning for Construction Companies
Tax season is not when tax planning happens. If you’re only talking to your accountant in March, you’re paying more than you should.
What’s included
- Year-round tax strategy, not just tax season filings
- Quarterly estimated tax payments calculated and scheduled
- Depreciation planning: Section 179 and bonus depreciation on equipment
- Business entity structure review (LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp)
- Self-employment tax minimization strategies
- Business tax return preparation (quoted separately)
Should my construction company be an S-Corp?
Maybe. It depends on your net income, how you pay yourself, and your growth plans. An S-Corp can reduce self-employment tax significantly at higher income levels, but it adds payroll complexity and costs. We review your situation and give you an honest read, not a one-size-fits-all answer.
How does equipment depreciation work for contractors?
Under Section 179 and bonus depreciation rules, you can often deduct the full cost of qualifying equipment in the year you buy it rather than depreciating it over years. For a contractor buying a truck, trailer, or heavy equipment, this is one of the most valuable deductions available. We plan around purchases so you take the deduction the right way at the right time.
Service 04
Accounts Payable Management
Bills pile up fast when you’re running jobs. A/P management keeps vendors paid, retainage tracked, and your cash position visible.
What’s included
- Bill receipt, coding, and approval workflow via Bill.com
- Vendor payment scheduling and execution
- Retainage tracking: what’s withheld and when it releases
- Draw request support and documentation
- Lien waiver coordination with subcontractors
- Monthly A/P aging report
What is retainage and how does it affect cash flow?
Retainage is the percentage of each draw payment that the project owner withholds until the job is substantially complete, typically 5-10% of contract value. It means you’re financing a portion of every project out of pocket throughout construction. We track retainage receivable and payable separately so you always know your real cash position, not just your bank balance.
Do I need A/P management, or does bookkeeping cover it?
Monthly bookkeeping records what was paid. A/P management handles the process of getting things paid: capturing bills, routing them for approval, scheduling payments, and coordinating with vendors. If you’re managing a high volume of subcontractors and vendor invoices, A/P management saves hours every week. If it’s a smaller operation, bookkeeping alone may be sufficient. We’ll tell you honestly which one fits.
Common Questions
Construction Accounting Questions, Answered
See the full FAQ for more questions about bookkeeping, payroll, taxes, and how construction accounting works.
What is construction accounting?
Construction accounting is a specialized branch of accounting built around how construction businesses actually operate. Unlike general bookkeeping, construction accounting tracks costs by job (job costing), accounts for revenue based on project completion (WIP), handles certified payroll for public works, tracks subcontractor payments and 1099s, and manages retainage. A general accountant can keep your books; a construction accountant keeps them in a way that actually tells you what each job costs and whether you made money.
What does a construction accountant do?
A construction accountant handles the day-to-day financial records of a construction business in a way that matches how the work flows. That includes monthly reconciliation, job costing to track profitability by project, WIP reports for accurate revenue recognition, payroll for crews and subcontractors, 1099 filing at year-end, and tax planning around equipment purchases and entity structure. They are the financial equivalent of a project manager: keeping track of the numbers so the owner can focus on the work.
What is WIP accounting and do contractors need it?
WIP stands for Work In Progress. It matches your revenue to the actual percentage of each job that’s complete, rather than recording all revenue when you bill. If you’re a GC or specialty contractor doing multi-month projects, WIP schedules give you accurate monthly financials instead of misleadingly lumpy numbers. Foundations Accounting prepares WIP reports monthly for clients who need them.
Do you work with contractors outside of Florida?
Yes. We work with contractors and construction businesses nationwide. Everything runs remotely through QuickBooks Online, Gusto, and Bill.com, so location doesn’t matter. If you run jobs across multiple states, we handle multi-state payroll and compliance as well.
How do you handle subcontractor 1099s?
We track every subcontractor payment inside QuickBooks through the year. At year-end, we generate and file 1099-NEC forms for any sub paid more than $2,000/year (the current IRS threshold) who is not incorporated. You don’t scramble in January. The records are current and filing is straightforward.
What does an Enrolled Agent do that a regular bookkeeper can't?
An Enrolled Agent (EA) is federally licensed by the IRS, the highest credential the agency awards. An EA can represent you before the IRS on audits, payment agreements, and tax notices. A regular bookkeeper keeps your records. An EA keeps your records and can stand between you and the IRS if something goes sideways. Chris holds an active EA license, so both capabilities come from one firm.
What's your onboarding process?
It starts with a free QuickBooks review. We look at your current books, identify what’s missing or messy, and give you a clear scope and price before anything starts. If your books are behind, we quote the catch-up and the ongoing monthly service as separate line items so you know exactly what you’re committing to.
Ready to Get Started
Let's look at your books together.
A free QuickBooks review takes about 30 minutes. We look at your current setup, tell you what needs fixing, and give you a price. No pressure, no commitment.
U.S.-based — IRS Enrolled Agent — Serving contractors nationwide