SPEC 01 · BOOKS AND JOB COSTING

Construction bookkeeping that tells you which jobs made money.

Books kept by job, phase and cost code for Kansas City contractors, with committed costs, change orders, retainage and pay apps reconciled and the month closed by the 15th. From $1,350 a month on the pricing page.

Sound familiar?

  • The bank balance looks fine and nobody can say which jobs made money.
  • Job profit shows up once a year, on the tax return.
  • Change orders live in a foreman's truck and never reach the books.

Or call (816) 555-0148. Monday to Friday, 7:00 am to 4:30 pm.

Start with a WIP schedule

Three details. A construction accountant calls within one business day to set up the review.

The WIP schedule build is $1,250 fixed (illustrative), credited to your first month. Nothing starts until you agree the price in writing.

SHEET A-101 · HOW IT RUNS

Three steps, then the same close every month.

Set up once, then a monthly rhythm you can plan a meeting around.

  1. Jobs and cost codes set upEvery open job gets a number, phases and cost codes that match how you estimate, and its budget is loaded from the estimate.
  2. Monthly close by the 15thBills coded to jobs, bank and cards reconciled, pay apps checked against the schedule of values, retainage tracked both ways.
  3. A job-cost report per jobBudget, committed cost, cost to date and margin for every open job, then the WIP schedule if you are on the controller tier.

SHEET A-201 · WHAT WE TRACK

What we track on every job.

  1. Estimate and budgetLoaded by phase and cost code, so every cost has something to be measured against.
  2. Committed costPurchase orders and subcontracts, so cost to complete is not a guess.
  3. Change ordersApproved and pending, billed and unbilled, tied to the job.
  4. RetainageReceivable from your customer and payable to your subs, by job. Subs feel it most; see subcontractor accounting.
  5. Pay applicationsReconciled to the schedule of values every month.
  6. Lien waiversA log of what you have received and what you still owe the GC.
  7. Labor burdenTaxes and fringes posted to jobs from payroll, not to overhead.
  8. EquipmentHours charged to the jobs that used it.
Printed job cost reports and a rolled blueprint on a dark desk under a lamp

SHEET S-101 · THE NUMBER

Which jobs made money

Margin by job, every month, not every April.

A profitable year can hide two jobs that lost money. The job-cost report puts each job's margin next to its estimate every month, so you see the fade while there is still time to change the next bid.

  • Estimate against actual by phase
  • Committed cost to complete
  • Margin trend per job
From job cost to the WIP schedule

RFI LOG · OBJECTIONS

What contractors say before they start.

My office manager already does the books.

Keep them. We set up the job structure and do the monthly close and job-cost review; your office manager keeps entering bills and timecards, and now they land on jobs.

We are too small for job costing.

If you run more than one job at a time, you are not. Small contractors feel a losing job most, because there are fewer winners to cover it.

We are halfway through the year.

We start with open jobs and rebuild their costs from the start. Most contractors begin with the WIP schedule build.

SPEC · SOFTWARE AND PEOPLE

In the software you already run.

We work in QuickBooks set up with jobs and classes, and in the construction ERPs Kansas City contractors use. We do not resell software, and we do not move you to a new system unless the old one cannot hold a job structure.

Colleen Brandt leads the bookkeeping team and reviews every close before the job-cost reports go out. When you are ready for the next step, the same numbers become your monthly WIP schedule, and payroll labor burden posts straight to jobs from crew payroll.

Who runs it

Colleen Brandt, founder of Ironbark Accounting, on a job site at dusk with a white hard hat under her armColleen BrandtFounder and Construction Accountant

Colleen reviews every monthly close before it goes out.

Colleen Brandt, founder, on a job site at dusk with a hard hat under her arm

DETAIL REFERENCES · READ NEXT

SITE PLAN · WHERE WE WORK

Both sides of State Line.

Our office is at 1520 Genessee St, Suite 300, Kansas City, MO 64102. We work for contractors across the metro in Missouri and Kansas, and we meet you at the shop, the yard or the trailer.

  • West Bottoms
  • Crossroads
  • River Market
  • the Northland
  • Waldo
  • North Kansas City
  • Riverside
  • Independence
  • Raytown
  • Grandview
  • Lee's Summit
  • Liberty
  • Belton
  • Kansas City, KS
  • Overland Park
  • Olathe
  • Lenexa
  • Shawnee
  • Merriam
  • Leawood
  • Bonner Springs

RFI LOG · BEFORE YOU BOOK

Construction bookkeeping questions

Something else? Call (816) 555-0148.

RFI 01What is job costing, in plain words?

Every cost goes to the job and the phase that caused it, so you can see each job's margin against its estimate instead of one profit number for the whole company.

RFI 02How soon after month-end do we see numbers?

The books close by the 15th, and the job-cost report for every open job goes out with the close.

RFI 03Do you enter our bills and timecards?

We can, or your office keeps entering them and we code, reconcile and close. The price on the pricing page assumes up to 12 active jobs and two bank or card accounts.

RFI 04Do you track retainage both ways?

Yes. Retainage your customers hold and retainage you hold on your subs, by job, until it is billed and paid.

RFI 05Can you take over mid-year?

Yes. We start from your open jobs and rebuild their costs from the start of the year. The WIP schedule build is usually the first step.

SHEET 99 · CLOSEOUT

Find out which jobs made money.

Send your open job list. In ten business days you get a WIP schedule and a fade report, $1,250 fixed and credited to your first month if you stay. Illustrative price.

Start with a WIP schedule

or call (816) 555-0148

Call (816) 555-0148 Start with a WIP