Contractors have some of the toughest books around. Money comes in by draw or by deposit. Materials get bought on three different cards. Subs need to be paid. A good month in summer has to carry a slow stretch in winter. And through all of it, you’re on a job site, not at a desk.
I’m Miles with MilesP Bookkeeping. I’m a certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor (Level 1, Level 2 and Payroll), and I work remotely with contractors around St. Louis and the Metro East. I’ve already written about the basics of bookkeeping for contractors and job costing. This post answers a different question: how do you choose the right bookkeeper for a contracting business?
Why contractors need a different kind of bookkeeper
A general bookkeeper can record your income and expenses. But a contracting business needs more than that. You need to know whether each job made money, not just whether the whole business did. A bookkeeper who doesn’t understand that will give you a tidy profit and loss statement that still can’t tell you which jobs to bid more on.
Here are the things that make contractor books different:
- Jobs. Costs need to be tied to the job they belong to.
- Subcontractors. You need clean records of who you paid and how much, all year long.
- Deposits and draws. Money you receive before the work is done needs careful tracking.
- Materials. Supplies bought for a job should be charged to that job, not lost in a general bucket.
- Seasons. Cash planning matters when work slows down.
Questions to ask before you hire
“How would you set up jobs in QuickBooks?”
A good answer mentions tracking income and costs by customer or project, so you can run a profit report for each job. If they look puzzled, keep looking.
“How do you handle subcontractor payments?”
You want someone who keeps vendor records complete and collects the paperwork from subs up front, not in a scramble at year end. Ask them how they’d help you stay ready for your CPA.
“Can you help with payroll?”
If you have crews, payroll is a big part of your books. I hold the QuickBooks Payroll certification for that reason. Here’s my post on the top payroll compliance mistakes I see.
“What reports will I get, and when?”
Monthly is the minimum. I’d also want to see a job profitability report alongside the usual profit and loss statement and balance sheet.
“Will you explain things in plain English?”
You’re busy. You need someone who can tell you in two sentences whether a job is on track.
Habits that make any contractor’s books easier
Whether you hire me or not, these habits save a lot of headaches:
- Put the job name on every receipt. Write it on the paper or in the memo when you snap a photo.
- Use one card for jobs and another for overhead. It cuts sorting time in half.
- Send invoices the day a phase is done. Late invoices mean late cash.
- Collect sub paperwork before the first payment. It’s far easier than chasing it in January.
- Look at job profit after every job, not once a year. That’s how you learn to bid better.
If cash gets tight between jobs, my post on cash management for small business owners has some practical ideas.
Why remote works for contractors
You’re rarely in an office, so neither am I. I work remotely through QuickBooks Online, phone, email and secure file sharing. You can send me receipts from your truck. I don’t need you to stop by anywhere, and you don’t have to schedule around office hours. Since I’m up early, you can usually catch me before you head out for the day.
You can read more about how I work with St. Louis businesses on my St. Louis bookkeeping page. I also work with plenty of contractors on the Illinois side, which I cover on my Columbia, IL page.
What working together looks like
- A quick call about your business, your crews and what’s frustrating you.
- A look at your QuickBooks to see how jobs and costs are set up today.
- A clear quote, so you know the cost before I start.
- Setup or cleanup, so jobs are tracked the right way going forward.
- Monthly bookkeeping, with reports that show both the business overall and each job.
If your file is in rough shape, we’d start with a cleanup. My post on how a QuickBooks cleanup makes reports useful explains what that does.
Frequently asked questions
I’m a one-person operation. Do I still need job tracking?
Yes, even more so. When it’s just you, knowing which kinds of jobs pay best helps you decide what work to chase.
Can you work with my estimating software?
I focus on QuickBooks. Most contractors keep estimating separate and bring the final numbers into QuickBooks, which works fine.
Do you handle my taxes too?
I focus on bookkeeping and payroll support, and I work alongside your CPA so they get clean records.
Do you only work in St. Louis city?
No. I’m remote, so I work with contractors across the St. Louis area and the Metro East.
If you want books that tell you which jobs are really paying off, reach out on my contact page.