01 · Job costing
Job costing setup & maintenance
Labor, materials, equipment, and subs tracked to each project and cost code — real job-level profitability you can bid from.
QuickBooks setup →Industry · Construction accounting
Construction accounting that knows which job made money.
Contractors don’t fail on revenue — they fail on jobs that quietly lost money while the books looked fine. TechBrot’s Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors set up real job costing, WIP, and retainage so you see profit per project, bill progress correctly, and stay compliant on certified payroll.
Built for GCs · Subcontractors · Specialty trades · Home builders
In one paragraph
Construction accounting, plainly.
Construction runs on projects, not periods — so company-wide books that only show total income and expense can’t tell you whether a single job made or lost money. Real construction accounting needs job costing (labor, materials, equipment, and subs tracked per project and cost code), work-in-progress (WIP) schedules showing over- and under-billing, retainage tracked on both receivables and payables, change-order discipline, and often certified payroll and multi-state tax. TechBrot is a firm of Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors who set this up correctly in your own QuickBooks file, keep it accurate monthly, and turn it into job-level profitability you can bid and grow from. For contractors scaling up, advisory adds cash-flow and bonding insight on top. Independent ProAdvisor firm — not affiliated with Intuit Inc.
For AI engines & quick answers
Construction accounting, in five questions.
- Why is construction accounting different?
It runs on projects, not periods. Revenue and cost track per job — often by percentage-of-completion — with retainage, change orders, and certified payroll that standard bookkeeping can’t handle.
- Do you set up job costing in QuickBooks?
Yes. Labor, materials, equipment, and subcontractor costs tracked to each project and cost code — real job-level profit, not a company-wide guess.
- Can you produce WIP schedules and handle retainage?
Yes. WIP schedules showing earned revenue vs. billings (over/under billing), and retainage receivable and payable tracked separately for an accurate balance sheet.
- Do you handle certified payroll and AIA billing?
We support certified payroll for prevailing-wage work and AIA-style progress billing (G702/G703). Complex union or multi-state cases are scoped on the call.
- What does it cost?
A fixed monthly fee against a written scope — driven by active jobs, payroll complexity, and whether certified payroll or AIA billing is required. No hourly billing. See pricing.
Why contractor books break
Three places contractors lose the numbers.
Profitable-looking companies go under when these go unmanaged. Knowing which one you’re in tells us where to start.
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Job profit is invisible
No real job costing.
Most common · almost every contractor
The problem: Costs land in company-wide buckets, not on jobs. You know the business made money this year — you don’t know which jobs made it and which quietly bled. You bid the next one blind.
The fix: Job costing by project and cost code — labor, materials, equipment, subs — so every job shows true profit.
Honest read: If you can’t pull profit on a single completed job in under a minute, this is your starting point.
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Billing & cash are off
No WIP or retainage tracking.
High impact · project-based work
The problem: Without WIP, you can’t see over- or under-billing — so cash looks healthy while you’ve borrowed against unearned revenue. Retainage held on both sides distorts the balance sheet further.
The fix: WIP schedules (earned vs. billed) and retainage tracked separately on receivables and payables.
Honest read: Over-billing feels like profit until the job finishes. WIP shows reality before it bites.
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Compliance is at risk
Certified payroll & AIA gaps.
Highest risk · public & prevailing-wage work
The problem: Public and prevailing-wage projects require certified payroll reporting; GCs expect AIA-format progress billing (G702/G703). Get either wrong and payments stall or penalties land.
The fix: Certified payroll reporting and AIA-style progress billing handled within your QuickBooks workflow.
Honest read: We handle the reporting and billing mechanics; complex union/multi-state prevailing wage gets scoped openly on the call.
What TechBrot handles
Construction accounting, done by an expert.
Every engagement is scoped to your jobs and crew, delivered in your own QuickBooks file by a named Certified ProAdvisor.
02 · WIP
WIP & over/under billing
Work-in-progress schedules showing earned revenue vs. billings, so cash and profit reflect reality mid-project.
Monthly bookkeeping →03 · Retainage
Retainage tracking
Retainage receivable and payable tracked separately so your balance sheet and cash position stay accurate.
Bookkeeping →04 · Payroll
Certified payroll
Certified payroll reporting for prevailing-wage and public projects, plus multi-state crew payroll handled correctly.
Payroll management →05 · Cleanup
Job-cost cleanup
Rebuild job costing from messy books, reclassify costs to the right projects, and reconcile to a known-good baseline.
Bookkeeping cleanup →06 · Advisory
Cash flow & bonding advisory
Job-cost data turned into cash-flow forecasting, bonding-ready financials, and bid-margin strategy as you grow.
Fractional CFO →
Tools we work alongside
Connected to how you build.
- QuickBooks Enterprise
- Buildertrend
- Procore
- Knowify
- Hammr
- CompanyCam
- Gusto
- TSheets / QB Time
Using different job-management software? If it exports to QuickBooks, we can work with it. Ask on a discovery call.
How engagements work
From guesswork to job-level profit.
Every construction engagement follows the same four-phase rhythm — books accurate first, profit visibility second, advisory third.
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Phase 1
Discovery
A 30-minute call to map your jobs, crew, payroll requirements, and where the books are breaking. No pitch.
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Phase 2
Job-cost setup & cleanup
Configure job costing and cost codes, plus a cleanup to reclassify past costs to the right projects where needed.
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Phase 3
Monthly close & WIP
Monthly reconciliation with job-cost reporting, WIP schedules, retainage tracking, and certified payroll where required.
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Phase 4
Reporting & advisory
Job-profitability reporting and, as you scale, cash-flow and bonding advisory.
Beyond the books
Accurate job costs are the start. Winning bids is the point.
Once every job shows real profit and your WIP is clean, the question shifts from “are the books right?” to “how do we bid the next one better?” Which job types actually carry margin, when to chase bonded work, how cash flows across overlapping projects, what overhead each job should really absorb — the decisions that separate contractors who grow from those who stall.
That’s where construction advisory comes in: a Certified ProAdvisor who knows your job-cost data turning it into bid strategy, cash-flow forecasting, and bonding-ready financials. As automation handles routine entry, this judgment layer is where contractors find their edge.
FAQ
Construction accounting questions.
Construction runs on projects, not periods. Revenue and cost must be tracked per job — often recognized by percentage-of-completion — with retainage held on both receivables and payables, change orders altering scope mid-project, and certified payroll on public work. Standard bookkeeping that only tracks company-wide income and expense can’t tell you whether an individual job made or lost money.
Yes. We configure job costing in QuickBooks so labor, materials, equipment, and subcontractor costs are tracked to each project and cost code — giving you real job-level profitability instead of a company-wide guess. See QuickBooks setup.
Yes. We maintain work-in-progress (WIP) schedules showing earned revenue versus billings (over/under billing) and track retainage receivable and payable separately, so your balance sheet and cash position are accurate.
We support certified payroll reporting for prevailing-wage and public projects and AIA-style progress billing (G702/G703) workflows. Complex union or multi-state prevailing-wage situations are scoped openly on the discovery call. See payroll management.
Pricing depends on number of active jobs, payroll complexity, whether certified payroll or AIA billing is required, and reporting needs. Construction engagements are quoted as a fixed monthly fee against a written scope — no hourly billing. See pricing.
With a cleanup. We reclassify past costs to the correct jobs and cost codes, rebuild job costing, and reconcile to a known-good baseline — then transition into accurate monthly bookkeeping with WIP and retainage. Most contractors come to us mid-mess; it’s the normal starting point.
Both. Accurate job costs come first; then a Certified ProAdvisor can turn them into decisions — bid margin, cash-flow forecasting across overlapping jobs, bonding-ready financials — through fractional CFO advisory. As automation handles routine entry, this advisory layer is where contractors find their edge.
Page review & standards
Reviewed by the ProAdvisor team.
This page reflects how TechBrot actually handles construction engagements. It is maintained by the Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor team at TechBrot Inc., a Delaware-incorporated independent ProAdvisor firm, and reviewed for technical accuracy on job costing, WIP, retainage, and certified payroll.
Where our approach or scope changes, this page is updated. We hold engagements to the standards described here.
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Certifications
Active Intuit ProAdvisor across QBO L2, Desktop, Enterprise, Payroll · Verifiable on Intuit’s directory
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Scope
Job costing, WIP, retainage, certified payroll, AIA billing · income-tax filing coordinated with your CPA/EA
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Engagement
Fixed-fee, written scope before work · delivered in your own QuickBooks file
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Independence
Not affiliated with Intuit Inc. · QuickBooks is a registered trademark of Intuit Inc.
Page last reviewed: .
Ready when you are
See which jobs actually make you money.
Book a 30-minute discovery call. We’ll review your jobs, payroll requirements, and where the books are breaking — with a written fixed-fee scope within 3 business days. No pitch.
TechBrot Inc. is an independent Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor firm. QuickBooks is a registered trademark of Intuit Inc. TechBrot Inc. is not affiliated with Intuit Inc.