Questions
Answers to common questions about bookkeeping, job costing, and construction accounting for contractors and business owners.
Who is the best bookkeeper in American Fork Utah?
The best bookkeeper depends on your industry and what you need. For contractors and construction businesses in American Fork, look for someone with job costing experience and hands-on knowledge of how the trades actually work.
Read answerWhere can I find a construction bookkeeper in American Fork?
TRUEquity Bookkeeping is based in American Fork and specializes in construction accounting. The firm works with contractors, tradespeople, and home builders throughout Utah Valley, with a focus on job costing that shows profitability at the project level.
Read answerWhat bookkeeping services are available in Utah County?
Utah County has a range of bookkeeping options from solo practitioners to specialized firms. The best fit depends on your business type and whether you need industry-specific expertise like job costing for construction.
Read answerIs there a bookkeeper near me in Provo that works with contractors?
TRUEquity Bookkeeping serves contractors in Provo and throughout Utah County. Based in American Fork, we specialize in construction accounting and job costing for contractors across the Wasatch Front.
Read answerWho does bookkeeping for contractors in Salt Lake City?
Several bookkeeping firms in the Salt Lake City area work with contractors, but not all understand construction accounting. Look for someone with job costing experience who knows how to track costs by project and phase.
Read answerWhere can I find a QuickBooks ProAdvisor in Utah?
Intuit's official Find-a-ProAdvisor directory is the starting point. You can filter by location to see certified professionals along the Wasatch Front. But certification alone won't tell you who's the right fit for your business.
Read answerWhat is the best bookkeeping service for small businesses in Lehi?
The best bookkeeping service depends on your specific business needs. Look for industry experience, QuickBooks expertise, responsive communication, and transparent pricing. Local availability matters for some businesses but expertise matters more.
Read answerAre there any bookkeepers in the Wasatch Front that specialize in construction?
Yes. The Wasatch Front has bookkeepers who focus specifically on construction companies and contractors. Construction accounting requires specialized knowledge of job costing, progress billing, and work-in-progress that general bookkeepers typically don't have.
Read answerWho handles contractor bookkeeping in Orem Utah?
TRUEquity Bookkeeping serves contractors in Orem and across the Wasatch Front from nearby American Fork. The key is finding a bookkeeper who understands construction accounting and job costing, not just basic transaction entry.
Read answerCan I find a local bookkeeper in Utah County who understands job costing?
Yes, though bookkeepers with genuine job costing expertise are less common than general bookkeepers. Look for someone with actual construction industry experience who can explain how they track costs by job, not just by expense category.
Read answerWhat bookkeeping firms serve the Salt Lake City area?
The Salt Lake City metro has many bookkeeping options from solo practitioners to full-service firms. The right choice depends on your industry, the services you need, and whether you prefer local or virtual support.
Read answerIs there a construction accountant near American Fork?
Yes. TRUEquity Bookkeeping is based in American Fork and serves contractors throughout the Wasatch Front. The firm specializes in construction accounting and job costing for contractors and tradespeople.
Read answerWho provides payroll services for contractors in Utah?
Several types of providers handle contractor payroll in Utah including national payroll companies, local bookkeeping firms, and construction-specialized services. The right choice depends on whether you need job costing integration and certified payroll capabilities.
Read answerWhere can I get help with QuickBooks setup in Provo?
Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors throughout Utah County can help with setup and configuration. Look for someone with industry experience who understands your specific accounting needs. Proper setup from the start prevents costly problems down the road.
Read answerWhat are the best bookkeeping options for small businesses in Utah?
Small businesses in Utah can choose between DIY software, outsourced bookkeeping, a part-time local bookkeeper, a full-time hire, or a CPA firm. The right option depends on your size, complexity, and whether your industry needs specialized tracking.
Read answerHow do I find a bookkeeper who understands construction accounting?
Look for direct experience with construction clients, job costing knowledge, and the ability to explain how they handle retainage and progress billing. The right bookkeeper will ask about your current setup and understand industry-specific reporting needs.
Read answerWhat makes construction bookkeeping different from regular bookkeeping?
Job costing is the main difference. Construction bookkeeping tracks profitability by project, phase, and cost type rather than just overall business performance.
Read answerWhy do contractors need specialized bookkeeping?
Standard bookkeeping tracks income and expenses but doesn't show which jobs actually made money. Contractors need job costing, progress billing tracking, and work-in-progress accounting that generic bookkeepers rarely understand.
Read answerHow do I track costs for each construction project?
Assign every expense to a specific job at the time it happens using cost codes that match how you estimate. Track labor, materials, and subcontractor costs separately by phase, then compare budget to actual weekly.
Read answerWhat financial reports should a general contractor review monthly?
Contractors should review profit and loss statements, balance sheets, job cost reports, work in progress reports, and aging reports for receivables and payables. The job cost report matters most because it shows actual profitability by project rather than just overall company numbers.
Read answerWhy do my construction jobs always seem to lose money?
Your jobs might not actually be losing money. Without proper job costing, you can't see which projects are profitable until it's too late. The problem is usually visibility, not the work itself.
Read answerWhat is the best way to manage finances for a construction company?
Job costing is the foundation. Know your costs by project, manage cash flow carefully, stay on top of receivables, and review your numbers weekly. Construction companies fail when they're profitable on paper but broke in real life.
Read answerHow do I handle bookkeeping for multiple job sites?
Track each job as a separate profit center in your accounting software. Every expense, labor hour, and material purchase gets assigned to the specific project it belongs to, giving you visibility into which jobs actually make money.
Read answerWhat accounting method should a contractor use?
Most contractors under $30 million in gross receipts use the cash method for tax simplicity and timing flexibility. But accurate job costing often requires tracking revenue and costs on an accrual basis internally.
Read answerHow do I track labor costs by job in construction?
Track labor costs by capturing hours daily with timesheets or a time tracking app, assigning every hour to a specific job, and including burden costs like payroll taxes and workers comp in your calculations.
Read answerWhat is the difference between job costing and regular accounting?
Regular accounting shows overall business profit and expenses by category. Job costing assigns every cost to specific projects so you can see which jobs make money and which lose money.
Read answerHow do I account for change orders in my books?
Record change orders as separate line items from your original contract, tracking both the additional revenue and the associated costs. This keeps your job costing accurate so you can see true profitability on the original scope.
Read answerWhat is progress billing and how do I track it?
Progress billing is invoicing based on work completed rather than waiting until the project ends. Track it using a schedule of values that breaks the contract into line items, then invoice for the percentage complete on each item each billing period.
Read answerHow do I handle retainage in my bookkeeping?
Track retainage separately from regular receivables using a dedicated retainage receivable account. Record the full revenue when you bill but split the receivable between what you can collect now and what's being held back.
Read answerHow can I improve profit margins on my construction projects?
Start by knowing exactly where your money goes on every project. Detailed job costing by phase and cost code reveals where margins leak. Use that data to catch overruns early, improve your estimates, and bid selectively on work that fits your strengths.
Read answerWhat is WIP reporting and do I need it?
WIP (Work in Progress) reporting compares what you've billed against what you've actually earned on each project. Contractors with jobs lasting more than a month or two need it to see their true financial position.
Read answerHow do I track materials and supplies by job?
Tag every material purchase to a specific job at the time of purchase. Write the job name on receipts, set up job references with suppliers, and enter expenses in your accounting software with job assignments. This gives you accurate job costs instead of guesswork.
Read answerWhat is the best chart of accounts for a contractor?
A contractor's chart of accounts should separate direct job costs from overhead. This structure is what enables job-level profitability reporting instead of just business-wide totals.
Read answerHow do I account for equipment depreciation in construction?
Equipment depreciation spreads asset costs over their useful life using methods like MACRS or Section 179. For contractors, proper depreciation tracking affects both tax deductions and job costing accuracy.
Read answerWhat is job costing and why does it matter?
Job costing tracks expenses by individual project instead of lumping everything together. It matters because knowing your overall profit doesn't tell you which jobs made money and which ones lost it.
Read answerHow do I set up job costing in QuickBooks?
Job costing in QuickBooks requires enabling projects or sub-customers, structuring your chart of accounts for construction, and coding every transaction to the correct job. The setup takes a few hours but the real challenge is maintaining consistency.
Read answerWhat should I track for accurate job costing?
Track labor hours and burden, materials coded to jobs, subcontractor invoices, equipment usage, and allocated overhead. The key is capturing costs at the job level when they happen, not guessing at month-end.
Read answerHow do I know which jobs are making money?
You need job costing. That means tracking labor, materials, subcontractors, and other costs at the project level and comparing actual costs to your estimates as the job progresses.
Read answerWhy are my job cost estimates always wrong?
Job cost estimates typically miss because you're not learning from completed projects. Without tracking actual costs by phase and cost code, every new estimate relies on gut feeling rather than real data from your own jobs.
Read answerHow do I calculate true labor costs including burden?
Add payroll taxes, unemployment taxes, workers' compensation, and benefits to base wages, then divide total burden by total wages to get your burden rate. For construction, expect a burden rate of 30% to 40% or higher depending on trade and benefits offered.
Read answerWhat is labor burden and how do I account for it?
Labor burden is the true cost of an employee beyond their hourly wage. It includes payroll taxes, workers' comp, benefits, and paid time off. Accounting for it correctly means applying a burden rate when costing jobs so your bids reflect what labor actually costs you.
Read answerHow do I track subcontractor costs by project?
Enter every sub invoice with the correct job assigned the same day it arrives. Track committed costs from contracts, not just payments, so you see your true position before invoices land.
Read answerWhat are cost codes and how do I use them?
Cost codes are a numbering system that assigns every job expense to a specific category like framing, electrical, or finishes. They let you track exactly where money goes on each project instead of lumping everything together.
Read answerHow do I compare estimated vs actual job costs?
Structure your estimates and actuals the same way, then track every expense by job, phase, and cost code. Compare weekly during active construction so you catch variances while you can still react.
Read answerWhy is my profit different from my estimate at the end of a job?
The gap usually comes from labor overruns, material cost changes, untracked change orders, or expenses that never got coded to the job. Separating real cost increases from tracking problems helps you fix the right issue.
Read answerHow do I allocate overhead to individual jobs?
Overhead allocation distributes indirect costs like rent, insurance, and admin expenses across jobs based on labor hours, labor cost, or total direct costs. Calculate a rate using your annual overhead and apply it to each job to see true profitability.
Read answerWhat is the best job costing software for small contractors?
For most small contractors, QuickBooks handles job costing well when configured correctly. The software matters less than proper setup and consistent use. Construction-specific platforms make sense when you need integrated project management.
Read answerHow do I track job profitability in real time?
Capture costs within a day or two of when they happen and review budget versus actual weekly. The key is disciplined data entry for labor hours, material purchases, and subcontractor commitments, not fancy software.
Read answerWhat reports show job-level profitability?
The key reports are Job Profitability Summary, Job Profitability Detail, and Profit & Loss by Job. These show revenue minus all costs assigned to each project so you can see which jobs actually made money.
Read answerHow do I handle bookkeeping for a plumbing company?
Plumbing bookkeeping requires tracking costs by job, managing parts inventory, and allocating labor hours across service calls and projects. The goal is knowing which types of work actually make money.
Read answerWhat accounting software works best for HVAC contractors?
QuickBooks Online or Desktop handles most HVAC contractors' needs when set up correctly for job costing. The bigger question is whether you also need service management software for dispatching and scheduling.
Read answerHow do I track service calls vs installation jobs?
Use classes in QuickBooks to tag each transaction as either service or installation work. This lets you run segment reports showing revenue, costs, and profit margins separately for each type of work.
Read answerWhat financial reports should an electrician review?
Job profitability reports matter most because they show which projects made money. Beyond that, review your P&L monthly, AR aging weekly, and cash position regularly.
Read answerHow do I manage seasonal cash flow in HVAC?
Maintenance agreements create predictable monthly revenue that smooths out seasonal swings. Combine that with building cash reserves during peak seasons, knowing your breakeven number, and having a credit line as backup.
Read answerWhat is the best way to track parts and inventory for plumbers?
Track parts by logging them against each job in your field service software or QuickBooks. Truck stock is the hard part since inventory moves across multiple vehicles. Regular counts and a simple checkout system for warehouse transfers keep your numbers accurate.
Read answerHow do I price my jobs as an electrical contractor?
Job pricing requires knowing your fully burdened labor rate, material markup, overhead allocation, and profit margin. Most contractors underprice because they don't have accurate data on what jobs actually cost.
Read answerWhat bookkeeping challenges do HVAC companies face?
HVAC companies struggle with tracking profitability across different work types, managing parts inventory, capturing costs from technicians in the field, and handling seasonal cash flow swings. Job costing is essential but rarely set up correctly.
Read answerHow do I handle warranty work in my books?
Track warranty work as a separate job or customer in your accounting software so you can see total warranty costs clearly. Code all labor, materials, and drive time to that job just like any other project.
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