Remote Bookkeeping for Contractors

Construction has its own accounting rules — Section 460, percentage-of-completion, WIP, look-back interest, certified payroll, and surety financial requirements. A generalist CPA can prepare a return, but won't run a WIP schedule, won't catch profit fade, and won't produce financials a surety will accept. The cost difference is small; the planning gap is large.

Percentage-of-completion (PCM) recognizes revenue as costs are incurred — required by GAAP and by Section 460 for most contractors over the gross-receipts threshold. Completed-contract defers revenue until the job finishes; it's allowed for small contractors and home builders on specific contract types. Choice of method directly affects current-year taxable income.

If you bond work, take on a bank line, or follow GAAP — yes. WIP reconciles costs-to-date, billed-to-date, and earned revenue on each open contract. Without it, your P&L is noise and your surety won't increase capacity. We produce surety-grade WIP monthly or quarterly.

Multi-state withholding, prevailing wage on public work, certified payroll (WH-347), union fringes remitted to multiple locals, workers' comp by class code, and 1099-NEC for subs with lien-waiver coordination. Standard payroll providers handle the basics; construction-aware bookkeepers run the rest.

Under Section 460, contractors averaging $31M or less in gross receipts (2025) over the prior three years can use completed-contract or cash basis on most long-term contracts. Above that, percentage-of-completion is required. The threshold is indexed annually.

Yes for small to mid-size contractors, with the Contractor edition or QuickBooks Online Plus/Advanced configured properly — chart of accounts rebuilt, items tied to cost codes, customer:job layer enforced, and progress invoicing turned on. Above ~$15M revenue or with heavy WIP needs, Foundation, Sage 100 Contractor, or Sage 300 CRE usually fits better.

Monthly bookkeeping runs $500–$5,000 depending on size. S-corp returns run $1,500–$4,000. Reviewed financials for bonding run $8,000–$25,000 annually. Fractional controller / CFO support runs $3,000–$12,000/mo. See the pricing table for a full breakdown.

No. Most construction CPAs work remotely with contractors nationwide. What matters is fluency in construction accounting, your software stack, and your state's prevailing-wage and contractor-licensing rules. Local matters most when a surety or bank prefers an in-person relationship.