SPEC 05 · SUBCONTRACTORS

Subcontractor accounting, trade by trade.

Accounting for Kansas City specialty subcontractors: electrical, plumbing and HVAC, concrete, roofing and sitework, with job costing, a monthly WIP and crew payroll.

Sound familiar?

  • The GC holds your retainage and pays in 60 days.
  • They want your lien waiver and your certified payroll first.
  • Back charges show up on the final pay app.

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 · EVERY SUB

What every sub has in common.

  1. Retainage held by the GCTracked by job until it is billed and paid.
  2. Pay applicationsAgainst your schedule of values, on the GC's calendar.
  3. Lien waiversConditional and unconditional, logged both ways.
  4. Back chargesRecorded against the job they hit, and disputed with paper.

SHEET A-201 · BY TRADE

And what is different by trade.

  1. Electrical

    Material-heavy, long schedules

    Stored materials billed correctly, prefab and service work kept apart from construction jobs.

  2. Plumbing and HVAC

    Service and construction

    Two kinds of work in one company, warranty callbacks, and Kansas commercial remodel labor taxed. See the State Line guide.

  3. Concrete and masonry

    Crew-heavy

    Weather days, pump and equipment cost charged to each job, labor burden that decides the margin.

  4. Roofing

    Short jobs, many of them

    Residential and commercial treated differently on the Kansas side, and dozens of small jobs closed every month.

  5. Excavation and sitework

    Equipment and public work

    Equipment hours to jobs, and prevailing wage on public projects through certified payroll.

An HVAC technician servicing a rooftop unit at dusk while a foreman holds a clipboard

SHEET E-101 · THE SUB'S SIDE

Paid last

Subs finance the job until retainage comes in.

You buy the materials, carry the crew and wait for the GC to pay, with retainage held to the end. Job costing and a monthly WIP show how much of your cash is sitting in other people's buildings, job by job.

  • Retainage receivable by job
  • Cash tied up in underbillings
  • Margin after back charges
The monthly WIP schedule

RFI LOG · FIT

Who we are not for.

Homebuilders selling spec houses

Spec building is a different set of books and taxes. We refer it out.

One-truck handyman work

If there is no job to cost, a general bookkeeper will serve you better for less.

Everyone else with crews and contracts

Electrical, mechanical, concrete, steel, roofing and sitework subs on commercial and public work. Prices are the same tiers on the pricing page.

SPEC · WHO RUNS IT

All three of us, one sub at a time.

Colleen keeps the books and the year-end, Andre builds the WIP and Teresa runs crew and certified payroll. A sub with public work and a surety line usually uses all three.

Start with the WIP schedule build if you want to see where your jobs stand in ten business days, or go straight to job-cost books.

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 AccountantAndre Ellison, controller, by a tall warehouse window at blue hourAndre EllisonControllerTeresa Tran, payroll lead, at a job site fence at golden hourTeresa TranPayroll Lead
The owner of an electrical subcontractor standing beside open switchgear in an electrical room

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

Subcontractor questions

Something else? Call (816) 555-0148.

RFI 01Do you work with subs who only work for one or two GCs?

Yes. Concentration is common for subs; the WIP shows how much of your cash each GC is holding.

RFI 02Can you separate service work from construction jobs?

Yes. Service calls and construction jobs get their own structure, so each one's margin is visible.

RFI 03Do you track back charges?

Yes, against the job they hit, with the paperwork you need to dispute them.

RFI 04Is Kansas sales tax on our labor different?

It can be. Kansas taxes labor on commercial remodeling and repair but not on original construction. See the State Line guide.

RFI 05What does it cost?

The same monthly tiers for every trade, from $1,350 a month; illustrative. See pricing.

SHEET 99 · CLOSEOUT

See where your cash is sitting.

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