By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor | Construction Cost Accounting | (949) 889-3283 Most construction contractors know their direct costs — materials, labor, subcontractors, equipment rental on a specific job. The number they often do not know with the same precision is their overhead: the cost of keeping the business running regardless of which projects are active. Construction overhead costs are the indirect expenses that must be recovered across every job you complete —

By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor | Construction Cost Accounting | (949) 889-3283 Disclaimer: Construction Cost Accounting is a bookkeeping firm, not a CPA firm or law firm. The information in this post reflects general bookkeeping practices used in the construction industry and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute accounting, tax, or legal advice. Readers should consult a licensed CPA or attorney for guidance specific to their situation. Th

By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor | Construction Cost Accounting | (949) 889-3283 Bookkeeping for construction companies is not the same as bookkeeping for a retail store, a law firm, or a marketing agency. The construction industry has accounting requirements that simply do not exist in other businesses — job costing that tracks every dollar to a specific project and cost code, WIP schedules that calculate overbilling and underbilling across every active job, retainage a

By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor | Construction Cost Accounting | (949) 889-3283 Disclaimer: Construction Cost Accounting is a bookkeeping firm, not a CPA firm or law firm. The information in this post reflects general bookkeeping practices used in the construction industry and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute accounting, tax, or legal advice. Readers should consult a licensed CPA or attorney for guidance specific to their situation. As

By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor | Construction Cost Accounting | (949) 889-3283 Job costing is the most important accounting method in construction — and the one most often done wrong. When job costing is set up correctly and maintained monthly, a contractor knows exactly how much every active project has cost to date, how that compares to the original budget, and what the projected margin is at completion. When it is not set up correctly, a contractor knows their bank

By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor | Construction Cost Accounting | calendly.com/tammycca/30min Every month, construction business owners receive a set of financial statements from their bookkeeper or accountant. Most of them look at two numbers — revenue and net income — and move on. The rest of the report sits unread. This is one of the most expensive habits in construction accounting, because the numbers that actually tell you whether your business is healthy are not th

By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor | Construction Cost Accounting | calendly.com/tammycca/30min Ask most construction owners about their creditors, and you will get a general answer — the subs, the suppliers, the equipment rental company. Ask them which creditors are past due right now, by how many days, and on which specific jobs, and the answer gets a lot less clear. This is one of the most common and most expensive gaps in construction bookkeeping. Creditors are the bus