Contractor Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping for Contractors
Bookkeeping for contractors goes beyond standard small business books. Contractors need accurate job costing, subcontractor 1099 tracking, retainage handling, and reports that show profit by project — not just by month.
What's Included
- Job costing and project-level P&L
- Subcontractor tracking and 1099 preparation
- Materials and equipment expense tracking
- Progress billing and retainage management
- Payroll coordination including prevailing wage where required
- Monthly financial reports by job and overall
Who This Is For
- General contractors and builders
- Specialty trades — electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing
- Remodeling and home improvement contractors
- Commercial construction firms
- Landscapers and outdoor contractors
- Independent and 1099 tradespeople
How to Choose
- Construction industry experience
- QuickBooks Online or Desktop for Contractors expertise
- Job costing capability
- Familiarity with retainage and progress billing
- Coordination with your CPA on percentage-of-completion accounting
- Clear monthly reporting cadence
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do contractors need specialized bookkeeping?
Contractors need profit visibility by job, not just by month. Specialized bookkeeping tracks materials, labor, and subcontractor cost against each project so owners know which jobs make money.
What is job costing?
Job costing assigns income and expenses to specific projects so you can see profit per job. It is the foundation of contractor financial management.
How much does contractor bookkeeping cost?
Contractor bookkeeping typically costs $400 to $2,000+ per month depending on job volume, payroll, and subcontractor count.
Can a bookkeeper handle subcontractor 1099s?
Yes. Most contractor bookkeepers track subcontractor payments throughout the year and prepare 1099s in January.
Do I need different software for contractor bookkeeping?
QuickBooks Online with job costing or QuickBooks Desktop Contractor Edition both work well. Larger contractors sometimes use industry-specific software like Buildertrend or Procore alongside QuickBooks.
Related services
Advisor-grade guides
Downloadable ebooks & templates
CPA-ready playbooks and templates you can use today — instant downloads, no signup required.
The Small Business Tax & Profit Playbook
A CPA-ready guide to deductions, quarterly taxes, S-Corp strategy, owner pay, cash flow, and year-round tax planning.
Business Tax Deduction Checklist
A CPA-curated checklist of 80+ business deductions most owners miss — organized by category so you can sweep it before filing.
The Definitive Bookkeeping Cleanup & Recovery Guide
The CPA's step-by-step playbook for diagnosing messy books, reconstructing missing history, and restoring a clean, audit-ready ledger.
The Freelancer Tax Guide
The practical tax playbook for freelancers, contractors, and solo creatives — deductions, quarterly estimates, and self-employment strategies.
The Year-End Tax Planning Guide
The CPA's December playbook — practical strategies to reduce your tax bill before the year closes.
The Premium Bookkeeping Template Pack
Automated dashboards, multi-account reconciliations, and CPA-ready reporting workbooks for serious owners and bookkeepers.
Tax & Bookkeeping Resource Library
Our complete advisor-grade collection — every premium asset an owner needs to run clean books, lower taxes, and recover messy ledgers, in one bundle.