A construction bookkeeper codes every expense to the correct job. When materials come in, they get assigned to the project where they’ll be used. Labor hours get allocated to the job your crew worked on. Subcontractor invoices tagged to the specific project. This job-level tracking is the foundation of knowing which projects make money.

They reconcile bank and credit card accounts monthly, matching every transaction to what’s in your books. Catch errors early instead of discovering six months later that you’ve been missing charges or recording things twice. Monthly reconciliation also flags fraudulent transactions or missed deposits while there’s still time to fix them.

Accounts receivable management means tracking what you’ve billed, what’s been paid, and what’s outstanding. Follow up on slow-paying customers before invoices age past 60 days. Track retainage separately so you know what’s being held and when it should be released. Construction cash flow depends on collecting what you’re owed on schedule.

Subcontractor payments get processed and tracked for 1099 compliance. Every check to a sub gets recorded with their tax ID. At year end, 1099-NEC forms go out showing what you paid each contractor. Miss those filings and you face IRS penalties.

Progress billing gets handled if you bill customers as work progresses rather than at completion. The bookkeeper creates invoices based on percentage of work completed, tracks what’s been billed versus what’s actually been paid, and manages the timing between work performed and cash collected.

Financial reports show profitability by project and overall business performance. You get profit and loss statements by job showing actual costs versus estimates. Monthly P&L for the whole business. Balance sheet showing assets and liabilities. Reports formatted so you can actually use them to make decisions about bidding and which types of work to pursue.

The difference between a general bookkeeper and one who understands construction is job costing knowledge. Generic bookkeeping tracks income and expenses by month. Construction bookkeeping tracks income and expenses by project. Without that project-level visibility, you’re flying blind on which jobs made money and which lost it.

A good construction bookkeeper also prepares your books for tax time so your accountant isn’t starting from scratch. Clean records, proper job costing, accurate subcontractor tracking, and organized documentation make tax preparation faster and cheaper. Most of the tax prep fee is cleanup work on messy books. Keep them clean monthly and you pay less in April.