How do I handle bookkeeping for a plumbing company?
Start by separating personal and business finances completely. Use a dedicated business bank account and credit card for all company transactions. This sounds basic but many plumbing company owners still mix expenses, which creates problems at tax time and makes it impossible to know your real costs.
Set up QuickBooks or similar accounting software with job costing enabled. Plumbing work splits between service calls and larger projects, and you need to track both. A drain cleaning brings in $150 but how much did it actually cost after paying the technician, fuel, and truck wear? A bathroom rough-in contract is $8,000 but did you actually make money after materials, labor, and that callback two weeks later? Without job-level tracking, you’re guessing.
Track labor by job. When technicians clock in, they need to record what job they’re working on. This is the hardest part for most plumbing contractors because techs work multiple service calls per day and nobody wants to fill out paperwork. But without job-level labor tracking, your profitability numbers are fiction. Time tracking apps make this easier than paper timesheets.
Manage inventory properly. Parts and fixtures sitting in your trucks and warehouse are cash tied up until they’re installed and invoiced. Track what you have, what goes on each job, and what needs reordering. A basic system in QuickBooks works for most plumbing companies. The key is coding materials to jobs when they’re used, not just when they’re purchased.
Vehicle costs deserve separate tracking. Fuel, maintenance, insurance, and depreciation on your service trucks are real costs that eat into margins. At minimum, track total fleet expenses so you know what your trucks actually cost to operate each month. That $150 drain cleaning looks different when you factor in $40 of vehicle cost to get there.
Invoice promptly and follow up on receivables. Plumbing companies often leave money on the table by waiting days to send invoices. Bill the same day the work is complete when possible. For larger projects, establish payment schedules and enforce them. Aging receivables can cripple cash flow, especially if you’re paying suppliers and technicians before collecting from customers.
Reconcile your bank and credit card accounts weekly rather than monthly. This catches errors, duplicate charges, and forgotten deposits before they become bigger problems. Weekly reconciliation is manageable and keeps you current on your actual cash position.
The bookkeeping gets complicated when you have multiple technicians, several trucks, ongoing projects, and inventory to manage. Many plumbing contractors handle basic bookkeeping themselves when starting out but reach a point where the time spent on books takes away from running jobs. A contractor bookkeeper in American Fork who understands the trades can set up systems that give you real visibility into profitability without consuming your evenings and weekends.
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More Questions
How do I track subcontractors in QuickBooks?
Set up each subcontractor as a vendor with their W-9 information and mark them as 1099 eligible. When you enter their bills, assign each one to a specific job or project so you can see sub costs by project and generate 1099s at year end.
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 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 expenses can a plumbing business deduct?
Most expenses you incur to run your plumbing business are deductible. This includes vehicles, tools, supplies, labor, insurance, licensing, and marketing. The key is tracking everything properly and categorizing costs correctly.
Read answerWhat sales tax do contractors need to collect in Utah?
Most Utah contractors don't collect sales tax from customers on construction work. Instead, contractors pay sales tax when purchasing materials because Utah considers them the end consumer of materials incorporated into real property.
Read answerHow do I run job profitability reports in QuickBooks?
In QuickBooks Online, search Reports for Job Profitability Summary or Profit and Loss by Customer. In Desktop, look under Reports > Jobs, Time & Mileage. The harder part is making sure your costs are properly assigned to each job so the numbers actually mean something.
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