Corviniti/Services/Bookkeeping for General Contractors & Construction
Bookkeeping / Contractors & Construction
Bookkeeping for General Contractors & Construction
CPA-led books that cost every job while you can still change the outcome, keep WIP schedules a bonding company and lender will accept, and track retainage on both sides, so you know which jobs make money before the job is over.
We keep your books current, cost every job, maintain a WIP schedule your bonding company will accept, and track retainage on both sides, so you know which jobs make money before they close and your bonding and lending are never held up by your books.
What it is. A CPA-led team keeps your books current every month: transactions categorized, every account reconciled, costs tracked to each job, WIP and over/under billings maintained, and financial statements delivered on a fixed date.
Who it is for. General contractors and construction companies past the do-it-yourself stage: firms that bid, bond, and carry work in progress and need accurate job costing and WIP their surety and bank will trust.
What generic bookkeeping misses. Construction books have to cost jobs, carry percentage-of-completion and over/under billings, and track retainage on both sides. Generic bookkeeping blends the numbers and misstates profit on every open job.
Corviniti provides monthly bookkeeping to general contractors and construction companies. The service is flat-priced: we categorize your transactions, reconcile every bank, credit card, and loan account, book payroll from your provider, cost each job, maintain your work-in-progress schedule, and deliver financial statements on a fixed date. The numbers tell you where the profit is on each job, which a company-wide total cannot show you. The team is led by a CPA with Big Four experience.
Watch
How we keep construction books
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Bookkeeping for general contractors, in three minutes
3 min
How we cost each job, maintain WIP and percentage-of-completion, track over/under billings and retainage, and keep books a bonding company and lender will accept.
0:00Why construction needs specialized bookkeeping
0:45Job costing that shows real profit per job
1:35WIP schedules and percentage-of-completion
2:20Retainage and bonding-ready books
3:05Our satisfaction guarantee
Transparent Pricing
Construction bookkeeping: pick a plan
Flat monthly pricing sized to your operation. Each plan keeps the books current and reconciled; the higher tiers add job costing, WIP reporting, and hands-on support as the volume and job count grow.
Basics
Simple, accurate bookkeeping every month. Best for solo owners with < $50k monthly expenses.
Every plan is flat monthly and month to month, with no long-term contract. Catch-up and cleanup, if you need it, is a separate one-time project quoted up front. Volume above the Professional tier is quoted to scope, so contact us for a specific number.
How We Help
What you get
On a construction engagement, you get books that cost every job and carry your work in progress correctly, kept current every month by a CPA-led team, in the form your surety and bank expect.
Monthly books, reconciledEvery bank, card, and loan account reconciled to the statement, costs coded to jobs, and statements delivered on a fixed date.
Job-level cost trackingLabor, materials, subs, and equipment tracked per job and cost code, synced from Buildertrend, Procore, or Sage 100 Contractor.
WIP and percentage-of-completionA work-in-progress schedule with costs to date, estimated cost to complete, and earned revenue that ties to your financials.
Over and under billingsCalculated from WIP and posted to the balance sheet every month so earned revenue and cash are both honest.
Retainage on both sidesRetainage receivable and payable tracked by job so you collect what you are owed and release sub retainage correctly.
Bonding and lending-ready financialsAccrual-clean, job-costed records with the WIP and working-capital detail a surety underwriter and a bank accept.
When companies bring us in
You cannot tell which of your open jobs are actually making money.
Your bonding company or bank wants a WIP schedule your books cannot produce.
Retainage receivable and payable are buried in AR and AP and getting lost.
You are raising bonding capacity, financing equipment, or drawing a line of credit and need construction-standard books.
Percentage of completion
WIP and percentage-of-completion
On a long job, revenue is earned as the work is done, not when you bill, and the WIP schedule is how that gets measured. Cost to date divided by the estimated total cost gives the percent complete. Percent complete times the contract value gives the revenue earned to date. Comparing earned against billed reveals the billing status: earned above billed is underbilling (an asset), and billed above earned is overbilling (a liability). Job-level profit and a defensible WIP schedule are exactly what a bonded contractor’s surety and lender require, and running the schedule monthly is where over- and under-billings surface early, before they distort a year-end.
Percentage-of-completion and the WIP schedule for a contractor. Illustrative.
This is for you if
You cannot tell which of your open jobs are actually making money.
Your bonding company or bank wants a WIP schedule your books cannot produce.
Retainage receivable and payable are buried in AR and AP and getting lost.
You are raising bonding capacity, financing equipment, or drawing a line of credit and need construction-standard books.
What you get
Monthly books, reconciled Every bank, card, and loan account reconciled to the statement, costs coded to jobs, and statements delivered on a fixed date.
Job-level cost tracking Labor, materials, subs, and equipment tracked per job and cost code, synced from Buildertrend, Procore, or Sage 100 Contractor.
WIP and percentage-of-completion A work-in-progress schedule with costs to date, estimated cost to complete, and earned revenue that ties to your financials.
Over and under billings Calculated from WIP and posted to the balance sheet every month so earned revenue and cash are both honest.
Retainage on both sides Retainage receivable and payable tracked by job so you collect what you are owed and release sub retainage correctly.
Bonding and lending-ready financials Accrual-clean, job-costed records with the WIP and working-capital detail a surety underwriter and a bank accept.
The Detail
The gaps, and how we close each one
Service 01
Job costing that shows real profit per job
A company-wide profit number tells you the year was good or bad. It does not tell you which jobs made money and which quietly lost it, and by the time a closed job is reconciled the estimate that mispriced it has already been reused on the next bid. Without cost tracking at the job level you are bidding and staffing on guesswork.
How we handle it
We track labor, materials, subcontractors, and equipment against each job, so profit shows up at the level you can act on. You see committed cost, cost to date, and margin per job while the job is still open and the outcome can still change, not in a post-mortem after it closes. Approved change orders are added to the contract value and the budget so a job that grew in scope is measured against the right number, and cost overruns show up against the estimate that priced them. We work with the construction platforms contractors use, including Buildertrend, Procore, and Sage 100 Contractor, and bring that budget, commitment, and cost activity into your accounting file so the books reconcile to the field and project software every month.
Service 02
WIP schedules and percentage-of-completion
On any job that spans months, cash and profit are different numbers. Revenue has to be recognized as the work is earned, not when a draw lands, and a set of books that recognizes revenue on cash overstates profit on some jobs and understates it on others. A bonding company reads the work-in-progress schedule line by line, and one that does not tie to your financials costs you capacity.
How we handle it
We maintain a WIP schedule on the percentage-of-completion method: contract value, costs to date, estimated cost to complete, percent complete, and earned revenue for every open job. The schedule ties to your income statement and balance sheet, so the profit you report is the profit you have actually earned. You get it on the same date every month in the format a surety underwriter and a bank expect, so a bonding review or a lender request is a routine export rather than a scramble.
Service 03
Over and under billings
When you bill ahead of the work you have completed, that overbilling is a liability, not revenue, and it flatters your cash position while hiding jobs you have already spent the money on. When you have earned more than you have billed, that underbilling is an asset a lender wants to see. Books that ignore the difference misstate both your profit and your balance sheet.
How we handle it
We calculate over and under billings from the WIP schedule every month and post them so the balance sheet carries costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings, and billings in excess of costs, correctly. That keeps earned revenue honest, shows you which jobs are front-loaded on cash you will owe against later work, and gives your surety and bank the schedule they read to judge how you manage a job. It is one of the numbers underwriters check first.
Service 04
Retainage tracked on both sides
Retainage held back on your receivables and retainage you withhold from your subcontractors are both real money, and in sloppy books both go missing. Retainage receivable gets buried in accounts receivable and forgotten until long after a job closes; retainage payable gets paid early, paid twice, or released before a sub has met the conditions. On a large job the retainage held against you can be more than the profit on the whole contract, so leaving it untracked means leaving your margin uncollected.
How we handle it
We track retainage receivable and retainage payable by job, held in their own accounts and separated from ordinary AR and AP, so the money withheld from you and the money you are holding from subs are both visible at all times. You see what is owed to you and coming due for release, and what you owe subs and when their conditions are met, so you collect the retainage you are owed and release sub retainage on the right terms rather than on memory. At closeout the retainage schedule tells you exactly what remains to bill and to pay, so no job is left with cash sitting on the table.
Not sure which of your open jobs are carrying the company? Talk to us, and the first clean WIP schedule will show you.
Most construction books fail in the same two places: costs categorized to the wrong job or the wrong cost code, and accounts that never get reconciled. Both compound across open jobs, and by the time a bonding renewal or a tax deadline forces the question, the profit number the owner has been watching all year is wrong on the jobs that matter most.
How we handle it
We run your books on QuickBooks Online or Xero on a monthly cycle. Every transaction is categorized against a chart of accounts and cost codes built for a construction business, every bank, credit card, and equipment loan is reconciled to the statement, and payroll from your provider is booked correctly, including the employer taxes and workers compensation owners routinely miscount. You get a profit and loss statement, balance sheet, WIP schedule, and cash flow summary on the same date every month, with a short note on anything that moved and one batched question list instead of a drip of emails.
Service 06
Subcontractors, 1099s, and compliance documents
A contractor who runs a roster of subs on every job has a payables picture that gets messy fast, and the paperwork behind it matters as much as the payment. Missing W-9s, expired insurance certificates, and unsigned lien waivers turn into a scramble at year-end and into exposure if a sub files a lien or a claim on a job you thought was closed.
How we handle it
We track subcontractor payments by job all year with the W-9s on file, so 1099-NEC filing at the end of January is a routine export rather than a reconstruction. We flag subs whose insurance certificates or lien waivers are missing before you release a payment, so the compliance file behind each job is complete. When a sub is really a misclassified employee, we flag it, because construction draws exactly that kind of scrutiny from the state and from your workers compensation auditor.
Service 07
Books for bonding capacity, equipment loans, and lines of credit
Bonding capacity, an equipment loan, and a line of credit all rest on clean, construction-standard financials with a WIP schedule that ties out. A surety sets your single and aggregate limits off your working capital, your equity, and how your open jobs are running, and a bank reads the same statements before it lends. Books that are behind, unreconciled, or built on cash-basis revenue turn a bonding increase into a delay and a loan request into a list of questions you cannot answer, right when you need the capacity to take on bigger work.
How we handle it
We keep accrual-clean, job-costed records with the WIP, over/under billings, and working-capital detail a surety underwriter and a bank read, so your bookkeeping supports capacity instead of capping it. When you are ready to raise your single and aggregate bonding limits, finance equipment, or draw on a line of credit, the numbers are already in the form the other side accepts, and the same practice that handles technical accounting for venture-backed and public companies stands behind them.
Service 08
How we work with your construction business, month to month
A fair question before hiring any bookkeeper: what does the month actually look like from your side, and how do you reach us when a job or a bonding request comes up?
How we handle it
The work is done in QuickBooks Online or Xero, read-only bank feeds, a connection to your construction software such as Buildertrend, Procore, or Sage 100 Contractor, and a shared inbox for the statements, bills, and certificates we need. You get a fixed monthly delivery date, a WIP schedule with it, a standing way to reach us, video calls when a conversation beats an email, and a CPA who answers within one business day. You also get a CPA-led team at a flat monthly price a solo bookkeeper cannot match on depth, keeping your books to the standard the rest of our practice works to.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Do you do bookkeeping for general contractors and construction companies specifically?
Yes, construction is a core part of what we do. That means costing each job by labor, materials, subs, and equipment, maintaining a WIP schedule on the percentage-of-completion method, posting over and under billings, and tracking retainage on both sides. We work with the construction platforms contractors use, including Buildertrend, Procore, and Sage 100 Contractor.
Do you do real job costing?
Yes, it is the core of construction bookkeeping. We track labor, materials, subcontractors, and equipment against each job and cost code, so you see true per-job profitability while the job is still open and a bid can still change, instead of finding out after it closes.
Can you produce a WIP schedule my bonding company will accept?
Yes. We maintain a work-in-progress schedule with contract value, costs to date, estimated cost to complete, percent complete, and earned revenue, and it ties to your financial statements. That is exactly what a surety underwriter and a bank read, so a bonding review is a routine export rather than a scramble.
How do you handle retainage?
We track retainage receivable and retainage payable by job in their own accounts, separated from ordinary AR and AP. That way the money withheld from you and the money you hold from subs are both visible, so you collect what you are owed and release sub retainage on the right terms.
Do you track over and under billings?
Yes. We calculate over and under billings from the WIP schedule every month and post them to the balance sheet, so earned revenue is honest, your cash position is not flattered by front-loaded billing, and your surety and lender see the schedule they use to judge how you run a job.
How much does bookkeeping cost?
Flat monthly pricing based on your transaction volume, number of accounts, and whether you need cleanup first, not an hourly meter. Plans start at $350 a month. Tell us about your business and we will send a specific number, usually within one business day.
Which accounting software do you use?
Most of our clients are on QuickBooks Online, and it is what we recommend when a business is choosing a platform. We also work in Xero, and for larger or more complex companies, NetSuite and Sage Intacct. If you are on desktop QuickBooks, spreadsheets, or a shoebox, migrating to QuickBooks Online is part of setup, and you keep full ownership of the file.
Can you catch up books that are months or years behind?
Yes, and it is one of the most common ways engagements start. We rebuild from bank and credit card records, reconcile every account, and bring you current through the last closed month, then keep it current monthly. Cleanup is quoted as a one-time project alongside the monthly price.
What is your satisfaction guarantee?
If you are not fully satisfied in your first month, we refund that month’s bookkeeping fee, no hassle. That is up to a full free month to decide we are right for you. One-time catch-up and cleanup fees are non-refundable. See terms for details.
Our Guarantee
100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
If you are not fully satisfied in your first month, we refund that month’s bookkeeping fee, no hassle. That is up to a full free month to decide we are right for you. One-time catch-up and cleanup fees are non-refundable. See terms for details.
Why Choose Us?
More Time for You to Run Your Business
Running a business means your time is best spent serving customers and growing, not reconciling accounts or chasing down last month’s numbers. We handle the day-to-day bookkeeping so you can stay focused on the work, with clean, reliable financials whenever you need them.
We understand how small businesses actually operate: uneven cash flow, job or project-based income, and expenses that do not fit neatly into a box. Our approach is practical and built around that reality, giving you numbers that reflect what is really happening in your business.
