Construction Bookkeeping & Accounting FAQs
Expert answers on Job Costing, Software Integration, and Profitability for Residential and Commercial Builders.
Navigating the financial complexities of the construction industry requires more than just standard bookkeeping; it demands a deep understanding of job costing, revenue recognition, and the technological ecosystem common to construction management, such as JobTread, Buildertrend, and QuickBooks Online. Below, we address the most critical questions from contractorsregarding compliance, software integration, and financial strategy.
Section 1: Service Scope & Methodology
At Contractors Team, we move beyond generic data entry to provide a robust financial operating system tailored for the construction industry. Unlike generalist accountants, our services are tailored to the specific needs of builders and remodelers.
Our core solutions include:
- Advanced Job Costing: Tracking expenses and revenue at the cost code level to determine proper project margins.
- WIP (Work in Progress) Reporting: Monthly schedules that track Overbilling and Underbilling, essential for surety bonding and accurate cash flow management.
- Revenue Recognition: Expertise in Percentage-of-Completion (POC) and Completed Contract methods.
- Software Optimization: Full management of the bi-directional sync between management platforms like JobTread and, Buildertrend, and QuickBooks Online.
- Labor Burden Analysis: Calculating the fully loaded cost of your workforce to ensure estimates reflect reality.
No. We meet you where you are.
We specialize in optimizing your existing software stack. Whether you utilize QuickBooks Online, JobTread, or Buildertrend, our team refines your current setup. We troubleshoot integration settings, establish clean data maps, and ensure smooth synchronization. This allows you to keep your preferred project management tools while we ensure the financial data flowing into your general ledger is accurate and audit-ready.
We use a customized Chart of Accounts and Cost Code Structure that aligns with industry standards, such as the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) guidelines or the CSI MasterFormat.
By breaking down every expense—from a lumber to a sub-contractors—by a specific cost code, we enable you to:
- Pinpoint Profit Bleed: See exactly which phase of the job (e.g., Foundation vs. Finish Carpentry) is going over budget.
- Validate Estimates: Compare actual costs against your initial bid to improve future pricing accuracy.
- Control Cash Flow: Monitor spending in real-time rather than waiting for a year-end P&L.
Percentage-of-Completion (POC) is an accounting method that recognizes revenue and expenses based on the progress of the project, rather than when cash is exchanged.
Why it matters:
- Financial Accuracy: It prevents the “spiky” P&L associated with the Cash Basis method, where a large deposit looks like profit but is actually a liability.
- Bonding & Banking: Surety companies and banks typically require POC financial statements (often in the form of a WIP Report) to verify that you are not overbilled and spending cash that belongs to future project phases.
Section 2: Software Integration & Technical Troubleshooting
A central friction point for contractors is the integration between operations (JobTread) and accounting (QuickBooks). We actively manage this sync, resolving common errors such as:
- Duplicate Customers: If a customer is named “Smith, John” in QuickBooks and “John Smith” in JobTread, the sync will create a duplicate. We audit your databases to ensure strict naming conventions and merge existing duplicates.
- “List Element Already in Use”: This common error occurs when a cost code or vendor name conflicts with an existing list item. We troubleshoot the sync logs daily to resolve these conflicts.
- Invoice & Payment Sync: We ensure that invoices generated in JobTread push correctly to QuickBooks and that payments received are recorded in both systems, maintaining a unified view of Accounts Receivable.
Yes.
For Buildertrend users, a common failure is when internal cost codes do not map to the correct “Product/Service” items in QuickBooks Online. This results in expenses being dumped into a generic “Uncategorized Expense” account. We perform a comprehensive Mapping Audit, linking every Buildertrend cost code to the correct General Ledger account. This ensures that when you approve a bill in Buildertrend, it is automatically assigned to the correct bucket on your P&L.
That’s completely fine – we’ll evaluate your operations and make a recommendation for a construction-friendly management system to compliment Quickbooks, and help get it set up for you. We can usually complete setup within a week or two and have you functioning inside a built-out system in no time.
Section 3: Operations, Pricing & Onboarding
Our onboarding is designed to transition you from chaos to clarity efficiently:
- Discovery & Diagnostic: We review your current books and software settings to identify the scope of work.
- Integration Setup: We configure the sync between your PM software and QuickBooks, establishing the correct cost code mapping.
- Clean-Up Phase: We perform forensic work to fix historical errors, reconcile bank feeds, and re-code misallocated expenses.
- Routine Management: We take over the daily transaction coding, AP/AR management, and monthly reporting.
Absolutely.
Many of our clients come to us with books that are months behind or riddled with errors. We offer specialized Clean-Up Services to correct historical data. We reconcile years of bank transactions, fix broken integrations, and clear out “undeposited funds” queues. Our goal is to provide you with a clean and accurate baseline, enabling you to file your taxes and plan for the future with confidence.
We operate on a Flat Monthly Rate model.
Unlike firms that bill by the hour—punishing you for their inefficiency—we provide a fixed monthly price based on your transaction volume, project complexity, and integration needs. This provides you with predictable overhead costs and aligns our incentives with yours, ensuring efficient and accurate results.
Yes. We integrate payroll platforms (specifically, Gusto) with your accounting software to ensure that Labor Burden is handled correctly.
We treat your financial data with the utmost security.
- Encryption: We utilize industry-standard encryption protocols for all data transmission.
- Access Control: We access your QuickBooks and JobTread accounts via secure “Accountant” user roles. This means you always retain full administrative ownership of your data.
- Confidentiality: We adhere to strict confidentiality agreements, ensuring your proprietary bid data and profit margins remain private.
Most clients experience a significant shift in financial clarity within 2-3 reporting cycles (60 to 90 days). As we refine your cost coding and Wstabilize your software integrations, you will gain accurate views of job profitability and cash flow. This immediate visibility allows you to make informed bidding and spending decisions much sooner than with traditional annual accounting.
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