Bookkeeping for Contractors & Home Services
For Houston general contractors, sub-trades, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, remodelers, and home-service operators who need job costing that actually works — not just a monthly P&L.
The bookkeeping problems specific to your industry
You don't know which jobs made money
Without proper job costing, you find out a project lost money 6 months after it closed. By then, three more just like it are already in the pipeline.
Deposits & progress billing are messy
Customer deposits and progress payments have to be tracked as liabilities until earned. Booking them as revenue too early inflates your P&L and creates a tax surprise.
Materials, subs, and labor jumbled together
COGS should split cleanly into materials, subcontractors, and direct labor. Most contractor QuickBooks files don't — so gross margin numbers are unusable.
Sales tax on materials vs. labor
Texas rules for taxing materials vs. labor on construction contracts are specific. Getting them wrong means audits and back-tax bills.
SBA loan or bonding request coming up
Bonding companies and SBA lenders want WIP schedules, backlog reports, and 3 years of clean financials. Most contractors don't have any of that ready.
1099s for subs are a fire drill every January
If W-9s aren't collected up front and sub payments aren't coded correctly through the year, 1099 filing turns into a two-week emergency.
A bookkeeping system built for Contractors & Home Services
- QuickBooks setup with job costing (Projects or class tracking)
- Chart of accounts split by materials, subs, direct labor
- Customer deposit & progress billing tracking
- Monthly job profitability reporting
- 1099 vendor tracking with W-9 collection
- Sales tax handling for construction contracts
- WIP-ready financials for bonding & SBA
- Dedicated bookkeeper, monthly close
Common questions
Can you set up job costing in QuickBooks Online?
Yes. QBO Plus and Advanced both support Projects — we set up your chart of accounts, item list, and workflows so every material receipt, sub invoice, and labor entry lands on the right job automatically.
Do you handle bonding-company financial packages?
Yes. We prepare the P&L, balance sheet, WIP schedule, and backlog report bonding companies request. Doug's banking background means we already know the format.
What about payroll for field crews?
We coordinate with your payroll provider and make sure crew labor is coded to the right jobs so direct labor shows up in COGS, not overhead.
Let's talk about your books.
Free 30-minute consultation. No sales pressure — just a clear look at where your books stand.
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