Contractors & Home Services

Bookkeeping and accounting for contractors who need job costing, tax planning, and payroll handled right.

The Industry

A roofing contractor finishes a $45,000 job. Materials cost $12,000. Labor ran $18,000. Permits and waste removal added another $3,000. Profit should be $12,000. Except when he actually looks at the numbers, he forgot to include his own labor on the estimate, two trips back to fix flashing issues, and the dump fees that were higher than expected. Real profit was $7,500. He bid the next similar job at the same rate thinking he had good margins.

Contractors operate on job costing, progress billing, and cash flow timing that doesn’t match profitability. You buy materials today, pay your crew Friday, bill the customer at completion, and collect 30 days later if you’re lucky. A profitable quarter can still leave you scrambling to make payroll because the timing is off.

Who This Covers

General contractors, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, painting, flooring, landscaping, pest control, fence installation, garage doors, waste removal. Any trade business in Phoenix bidding jobs and managing crews.

What Makes It Complex

Job costing by project. Progress billing and retainage. Material costs that need allocation to specific jobs. Crew payroll with overtime and varying rates. Vehicle and equipment expenses. Subcontractors who need 1099s. Tax deductions specific to construction that often get missed.

What We Handle

Contractor accounting means tracking every dollar by job and making sure your tax situation doesn’t cost you more than it should. Job costing shows which projects make money. Payroll gets your crew paid without eating your weekends. Tax planning keeps April from turning into a crisis.

QuickBooks needs construction-specific setup or the reports are useless. Tax returns need someone who knows Section 179 depreciation and mileage deductions for contractors. Payroll has to account for varying crew sizes and overtime rules. These aren’t generic accounting problems.

Job Costing and Financial Tracking

Every expense coded to a specific job. Labor, materials, subs, permits, equipment rental. You see actual costs versus estimates on each project. QuickBooks configured for construction with job costing enabled and reports that show profitability by project type. Historical data that makes bidding accurate instead of hopeful.

Payroll and Tax Management

Weekly or bi-weekly payroll processed for your crew with overtime calculated correctly. Tax withholdings and deposits handled automatically. Tax prep that captures vehicle expenses, equipment depreciation, and contractor-specific deductions. Quarterly estimates set so you’re not surprised in April.

Common Problems

Contractors who don’t track jobs properly can’t bid accurately. Every estimate becomes guesswork because you don’t know what the last similar job actually cost. Materials get expensed when purchased instead of allocated to projects. Labor lumps together instead of separating by job. You think you’re profitable overall but have no idea which types of work make money and which lose it.

Tax planning gets ignored until April when you owe $25,000 and have no cash saved. Deductions get missed because nobody tracked mileage or equipment purchases properly. Payroll eats your Friday afternoon every week because you’re calculating hours and hoping the tax withholdings are right.

No Job-Level Visibility

You have total revenue and total expenses for the month but can’t see profitability by project. That kitchen remodel might have lost $4,000 while the bathroom addition made $8,000. Without job costing, you bid more kitchen remodels at rates that don’t work.

Tax Bills You Didn't Expect

Profitable year, no quarterly estimates set up. April arrives and you owe more than you have saved. Vehicle expenses weren’t tracked. Equipment got expensed wrong. Come tax time, you leave thousands in deductions on the table and still owe a bill you can’t pay.

What Changes

Job costing shows real profitability by project type. You know kitchen remodels barely break even while commercial work consistently hits 22% margin. Bidding becomes data-driven. Historical costs show what similar jobs actually ran including the hidden expenses that always pop up.

Payroll happens without eating your time. Crew gets paid on schedule. Tax deposits go through automatically. Tax prep captures every deduction you’re entitled to. Quarterly estimates keep April from becoming a crisis. You stop losing money on missed deductions or surprise tax bills.

Accurate Estimates and Better Projects

Historical job cost data shows what things actually cost. You stop underbidding work and losing money without realizing it. Stop taking jobs that feel profitable but aren’t. Focus on project types and customers that consistently make money.

Tax Strategy and Time Back

Maximum deductions captured throughout the year. Section 179 used strategically on equipment. Quarterly estimates prevent surprises. Payroll processed without you spending Friday afternoon on it. Two to four hours back every pay period to spend on actual business.

The Valley's Trusted Accounting Firm