Construction bookkeeping that keeps every job's numbers current
Construction bookkeeping has to follow each job, because month-end totals alone will not show which jobs make money. Our managed team codes every cost to the right job and keeps pay applications, retainage and your WIP schedule current.
- Misallocated job costs
- Bills and receipts coded to overhead or the wrong cost code leave your job reports unreliable when you bid the next project.
- Retainage out of sight
- Retainage your customers hold back and retainage you hold from subs sit untracked until closeout, when release requests and sub payments come due.
The books
What makes construction books different
Construction books follow the job, so every entry below ties back to a contract, a cost code or a pay application.
| Area | What it involves | What the team does |
|---|---|---|
| Job costing | Every bill, timesheet and receipt is coded to a job and cost code, so estimate versus actual reports reflect real job costs. | Codes costs as they arrive, flags uncoded items and asks your project manager before guessing. |
| Progress billing | Monthly pay applications, often on AIA G702 and G703, billed against the schedule of values, including stored materials and approved change orders. | Drafts each pay application from your project manager's percent complete, ready for your review and signature. |
| Retainage | Retainage held on your pay applications and retainage you hold from subs, both tracked by job until release at closeout. | Keeps receivable and payable on separate accounts and lists what is due for release. |
| Change orders | Approved changes adjust contract value and budget, and pending ones need tracking so they are billed once signed. | Logs each change order's status and updates contract and budget once you approve it. |
| WIP schedule | Compares cost to date, estimated cost to complete and billings on every open job to show over and under billings. | Builds the monthly WIP from your project managers' estimates for you and your CPA to review. |
| Subcontractor paperwork | W-9s, certificates of insurance and lien waivers matched to payments, tracked per sub for year-end 1099s and job closeout. | Tracks expiry dates, requests missing documents and flags payments without a waiver before you release them. |
| Certified payroll | On prevailing wage jobs, a weekly certified payroll report, often on DOL form WH-347, with a signed Statement of Compliance. | Prepares each weekly report from your payroll records for your signature. |
What the Velorus team handles
- Job cost coding by job, phase and cost code
- Accounts payable, sub invoices and lien waiver matching
- Pay application drafts, including AIA G702 and G703
- Retainage receivable and payable tracking by job
- Bank, card and loan reconciliations every month
- Payroll journal entries and certified payroll report preparation
- Monthly WIP schedule and job profitability reports
- Subcontractor W-9, certificate of insurance and 1099 records
What stays with you and your CPA
- Cost-to-complete estimates, percent complete and which change orders you approve
- Signing pay applications, lien waivers and certified payroll statements
- Applying wage determinations and classifying workers on prevailing wage jobs
- Tax returns, 1099 filing and revenue recognition method, with your CPA
- Reviewed or audited statements for your surety or lender, with your CPA
- QuickBooks Online
- QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Contractor
- Foundation Software
- Sage 100 Contractor
- Procore
- Buildertrend
The team works inside your accounting system and your project software, such as Procore or Buildertrend, with the logins you provide, and follows the job and cost code structure you already use.
Want the books closed on schedule every month?
Tell us where your books stand and which software you use. We will come back with the team, the close calendar we would start from, and what the first month looks like.
The calendar
Your month, closed
- Daily and weekly
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Costs coded, certified payroll prepared
Bills, receipts and timesheets coded to job and cost code, sub invoices matched to waivers, and certified payroll reports prepared for prevailing wage jobs.
- Month end
-
Pay apps, reconciliations and WIP
Bank and card accounts reconciled, pay application drafts ready by your billing date, retainage tied out and the WIP schedule updated for your review.
- Quarter
-
Surety and lender schedules ready
WIP, job profitability and backlog schedules assembled for your CPA to review before anything goes to your surety or bank.
- Year end
-
1099 records and closed jobs
W-9s and payment totals per sub prepared for your 1099 filing, closed jobs reconciled, and a clean year-end file handed to your CPA.
Every week
What your weekly report tracks.
A named Velorus manager reviews the work against the standard you signed off, and sends you one report.
-
Estimate versus actual by job
Shows which jobs are drifting over budget while there is still time to act on crews, buyout or change orders.
-
Over and under billings
Under billings can mean you are financing the job yourself, and over billings are cash received ahead of the work.
-
Retainage receivable and payable
Shows what customers still hold back and what you owe subs, so release requests go out on time at closeout.
-
Missing waivers and expiring certificates
Lists the subs who should not be paid under your rules until their paperwork is in.
Your options
A managed team, compared.
| Velorus managed team | In-house bookkeeper | Bookkeeping firm | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay apps and WIP | Drafted monthly by a managed team, reviewed weekly against your written standard | Close to your jobs and crews, with coverage resting on one person | Construction-focused firms often include these; generalist firms may need them scoped |
| Who does the work | Trained specialists under a named Velorus manager | One employee you hire and manage | Staff the firm assigns, which can change |
| When someone is out | The team covers and the close stays on schedule | The work waits, or you cover it | Depends on the firm |
| Reporting | A weekly report plus the monthly close package | Whatever you set up | Monthly statements, depending on the package |
Questions
What construction companies and contractors ask first.
What does construction bookkeeping cover that general bookkeeping does not?
Construction bookkeeping follows each job. Costs are coded to jobs and cost codes, customers are billed through pay applications against a schedule of values, retainage is tracked on both sides, and a WIP schedule compares earned revenue with billings. General bookkeeping tracks income and expense by month and can miss whether a single job is making money.
Where is the team based and what hours do they work?
Your specialists are based in the Philippines and work US hours, so they are online when your office and project managers send questions about a bill, a pay application or a sub's lien waiver. A named Velorus manager owns the output and reviews the work every week against the standard agreed at scoping.
Can the team work in Procore or Buildertrend as well as QuickBooks?
Yes, with the logins you provide. Many contractors track budgets, commitments and change orders in project software and keep the general ledger in accounting software. The team works in both as your setup requires and reconciles them, so the job cost report in your books matches what your project managers see.
Who sets percent complete and prepares statements for our surety?
You and your CPA. Your project managers estimate cost to complete, and your CPA sets the revenue recognition method and prepares any reviewed or audited statements your surety or lender asks for. The team keeps the job cost detail, WIP schedule and reconciliations those statements are built from, so your CPA starts from clean records.
Get job costs and pay apps on schedule
Tell us your accounting software, your project software and how you bill customers, and we will scope the work together. Book a call to start.