CONSTRUCTION CHART OF ACCOUNTS FOR SUBCONTRACTORS.
A construction specific chart of accounts separates true cost of goods sold, meaning direct labor, materials, equipment, and subcontracted work, from overhead, and it includes the WIP accounts that percentage of completion accounting requires: costs in excess of billings and billings in excess of costs. A generic small business chart of accounts has neither distinction built in.
The chart of accounts is the foundation everything else in the financial system is built on, which is why getting it wrong is expensive to discover later. A generic chart built for a retail or service business doesn't separate direct job cost from overhead the way construction accounting needs, and it has nowhere to put the WIP entries. So the WIP position either doesn't get tracked in the accounting system at all, or it gets rebuilt manually outside the system every month. Structuring the chart correctly is what makes accurate job costing and WIP reporting possible in the first place.
Rather talk it through first? Book a 20 minute call. Nothing gets sold on this call.
Want it set up for you? Onboarding only, from $4,500 one time. Books migrated and job costing built, then your own team keeps it up.
WHAT IT MEANS.
A construction chart of accounts is the account structure that separates true cost of goods sold from overhead and includes the WIP accounts percentage of completion accounting requires.
WHERE IT GOES WRONG.
Assuming the software template is enough
The chart that comes with your accounting software was built for general small businesses rather than for construction. It typically doesn't separate true job cost from overhead correctly, and it doesn't include the WIP accounts that percentage of completion accounting requires. It will produce a clean looking P&L that can't answer whether a job made money.
Tracking WIP in a spreadsheet outside the books
Tracking the WIP position outside the accounting system creates a reconciliation risk between the spreadsheet and the financial statements. The two drift apart, and then nobody can say which one is right. Building the WIP accounts into the chart keeps both in sync by construction rather than by somebody remembering to tie them out every month.
Treating blended overhead as a minor issue
It's not minor. Blended overhead and job cost is one of the most common reasons gross margin looks inconsistent from job to job in ways that have nothing to do with how the jobs performed. Once overhead is mixed into COGS, both the job margin and the overhead rate are wrong, and every estimate built off them inherits the error.
THE TWO DISTINCTIONS THAT DO THE WORK.
True cost of goods sold for a subcontractor is direct labor, materials, equipment costs tied to a specific job, and subcontracted work. Those are the costs job costing and gross margin depend on being isolated cleanly from general overhead. Overhead, meaning office staff, general admin, and equipment not tied to a specific job, is in its own category so it doesn't distort job level gross margin, and so it can be allocated to jobs deliberately rather than blended into COGS by accident.
Percentage of completion accounting requires two balance sheet accounts most generic charts don't include: costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings, which represents underbilling, and billings in excess of costs and estimated earnings, which represents overbilling. Without those accounts built into the chart, the WIP position either doesn't get tracked in the accounting system or it gets rebuilt outside it every month. Both routes risk a WIP schedule that won't reconcile to the financial statements.
THE OUTPUTS, NAMED.
FLAT MONTHLY FEE. NO SURPRISES.
Three tiers, priced by your trailing twelve month revenue. Which one you're in depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. No hourly billing. No payroll. The one-time onboarding fee is right here in the table.
Built for subs doing $1M to $12M. Above $12.5M we quote.
| Last 12 months revenue | Core | Strategic | Platinum | One-time onboarding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $1M | $1,900 | $3,100 | $3,300 | $2,500 |
| $1M to $3.5M | $2,600 | $4,100 | $5,300 | $4,500 |
| $3.5M to $6.5M | $3,800 | $5,900 | $8,300 | $6,000 |
| $6.5M to $9.5M | $5,100 | $7,600 | $11,800 | $7,500 |
| $9.5M to $12.5M | $6,100 | $8,900 | $14,900 | $9,000 |
| Above $12.5M | Quoted | Quoted | Quoted | Quoted |
The onboarding fee covers migrating your books back to the start of your last taxable year and getting you fully operational in 60 days. It's billed once, with your first invoice. It's the same for all three tiers, and it moves with your revenue band. Your first month is prorated, and your monthly engagement starts on the first of the first full month.
Just want the setup? Onboarding only is the same onboarding work with no monthly service after it, one time, at the onboarding fee plus $2,000. Start a monthly engagement later and $2,000 counts toward it. It starts at $4,500, and the price for every band is on the pricing page.
The three tier columns are the whole price. Which one fits depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. No payroll. No hidden line items. The onboarding fee is right here in the table.
- Online software only: QuickBooks, Sage, Viewpoint and similar. No VPN or hosted desktop.
- Not in any tier: payroll, pay applications, collections on receivables.
- Pricing valid through 2027.
CFO work. Your own bookkeeper keeps doing the books.
You stop guessing.
You get the CFO work. Job costing built against the way you estimate, a 13 week cash forecast, monthly WIP, and a meeting every month that ends in decisions and never in a report.
Your bookkeeper still does the books.
Core, plus bookkeeping and bank reconciliations, plus job costing and WIP software set up and managed for you. Use your own online accounting software or we supply it, one price.
Every job shows its margin while it is still open.
Everything in Core, plus the bookkeeping and bank reconciliations done for you, and the job costing and WIP software set up, loaded with your cost codes, and managed every month. Use your own online software, or move to ours and we cover it.
A bookkeeper we choose does the books and reconciliations. No payroll.
Strategic, plus a controller who handles payables and receivables the way an in-house controller would. You approve every payment.
You approve, and the money side gets handled.
Everything in Strategic, plus a controller we choose who handles your bills and receivables for you the way an in-house controller would. They call vendors, pay the bills and keep the accounting current. We plan the cash flow first, and you approve every payment because it is your money.
A controller we choose does the payables and receivables. No payroll, no pay applications, no collections.
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