For the trades
Books set up for how contractors get paid
Draws, holdbacks, subs, trucks and crews. Construction books need a few things most bookkeeping skips. Here's what we track, and what lands on your accountant's desk at year-end.
Job costing
Every cost lands on a job
Each job gets its own number in the books. Materials, labour hours, subcontractors and equipment rentals are tagged to it as they come in, so you can see what a job has cost against what you quoted while there's still time to act on it.
- Costs split by job, with overhead kept separate
- Labour from payroll assigned by the hours your crew logs
- Change orders tracked against the original quote
- A job report when a job closes, for quoting the next one
Holdbacks and progress billing
Money that's yours, just not yet
On most contracts your client keeps back part of each progress draw until the work is done. We track every holdback by job and remind you when one is ready to be released.
| Progress draw | Billed | Holdback kept | Paid to you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Draw 1 · Framing | $24,000 | $2,400 | $21,600 |
| Draw 2 · Rough-in | $32,000 | $3,200 | $28,800 |
| Draw 3 · Finish | $24,000 | $2,400 | $21,600 |
| Holdback still owed to you | $8,000 |
Paperwork
The forms that come with the trade
T5018 slips
We keep what you pay each subcontractor through the year, collect their business numbers as they start, and prepare the T5018 slips and summary each February.
WCB reporting
Insurable earnings kept by worker as payroll runs, so the numbers for your WCB annual return are ready when it comes around.
Progress billing
On the Contractor package we keep a billing schedule for each job, so every draw goes out on time and matches what's been done.
Vehicle logs
Fuel, repairs and insurance kept by truck, with a simple monthly log of business and personal kilometres for each vehicle.
Year-end
What goes to your accountant
We don't prepare tax returns or year-end statements. We hand your accountant books that are already reconciled, with the paperwork they usually ask for.
- Trial balance and general ledger
- Bank and card reconciliations for every month
- GST returns filed during the year
- Payroll summary and T4 slips
- T5018 summary and subcontractor list
- Holdbacks owed to you and by you, by job
- Equipment and vehicle purchases
- Vehicle logs for each truck
Tell us your trade and crew size
We call back on a weekday, ask a few questions about accounts and crew, and suggest the package that fits. Nothing starts until you say so.