CONSTRUCTION JOB CLOSEOUT ACCOUNTING.
Closeout is where construction profitability finally gets measured, and where most accounting errors surface. A job that looked profitable the whole way through can produce a surprise loss at closeout, usually because late costs came in after everyone stopped watching. A systematic closeout catches those problems before the job is closed, makes sure every dollar is collected, and produces accurate historical data the estimators can use on the next bid.
Two things go wrong at closeout and they cost different money. The first is retainage that nobody collects, which is pure working capital held in somebody else's account. The second is the estimate against actual comparison that never gets done, which costs you nothing today and costs you the same mistake on every future bid. The first one is a collections problem with a deadline. The second one is a compounding problem with no deadline at all, which is why it gets skipped.
WHAT IT MEANS.
Job closeout accounting is the process of finishing a job in the books: final billing submitted, all costs in, estimate reconciled against actual by cost code, retainage requested, and the job closed so it stops distorting WIP.
Open jobs aren't harmless. A job that finished months ago and is still open in the accounting system produces inaccurate WIP, inflates your active job count for a surety, and obscures the true profitability of the work. Costs keep trickling in, final invoices stay unsubmitted, retainage stays unreleased, and the job just stays there being counted.
WHERE CLOSEOUT FALLS APART.
Jobs stay open long after the work is done
Most subcontractors have open jobs in their accounting system from projects that finished months ago. Costs still trickle in, final invoices haven't been submitted, retainage hasn't been released, and the job just stays there. Open jobs produce inaccurate WIP, inflate the active job count a surety reads, and obscure what the work really earned.
You don't reconcile estimate against actual at closeout
Most closeouts amount to submitting the final billing and calling the job done. The systematic comparison of estimated cost to actual cost, by cost code, by phase, and by labor classification, rarely happens at all. That means the lesson from every job goes unlearned and the next estimate repeats the same mistake at a larger contract value.
Retainage gets left on the table
Final billing goes out, the GC pays everything except retainage, and then the follow up falls through the cracks. On a $1M job with 10 percent retainage, that's $100K held by the GC that nobody is actively pursuing. Multiply that across the portfolio and retainage becomes a material working capital problem rather than an administrative one.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN DOLLARS.
On a $1M job with 10 percent retainage, $100K stays with the GC after final billing. That's money you've already earned and already spent the cost of, held by somebody else while your line of credit funds the next mobilization. Multiply it across every finished job in the last year and the total is usually larger than the owner expects.
THE CLOSEOUT CHECKLIST.
Final billing submitted within 5 days of substantial completion. All change orders approved and billed. Punch list items documented with their costs tracked separately. Final cost reconciliation, actual against estimate by cost code, completed and filed. Retainage release request submitted with documentation. Job closed in ControlQore and WIP updated. Lessons documented for estimating. Nothing proceeds to the next step until the current one is done.
Every closeout includes an estimate against actual comparison by cost code. Where actual cost exceeded estimate, by how much, in which cost codes, and on which phases, becomes part of the permanent job record rather than a conversation nobody wrote down. That data improves estimating accuracy and identifies systematic estimating errors before they repeat across dozens of jobs.
Every job's retainage release status gets tracked through closeout as submitted, approved, pending, or overdue. When retainage isn't released inside the contractual period, the escalation process starts without anybody having to remember to start it. Retainage status stays on the monthly WIP schedule until every dollar is collected.
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.
| Last 12 months revenue | Monthly fee | One-time onboarding |
|---|---|---|
| Under $1M | $1,900 to $3,300 | $1,000 |
| $1M to $3.5M | $2,600 to $5,300 | $1,500 |
| $3.5M to $6.5M | $3,800 to $8,300 | $3,000 |
| $6.5M to $9.5M | $5,100 to $11,800 | $4,500 |
| $9.5M to $12.5M | $6,100 to $14,900 | $6,000 |
| $12.5M to $15.5M | $7,400 to $17,650 | $7,500 |
| $15.5M to $18.5M | $9,400 to $22,400 | $9,000 |
| $18.5M+ | Quoted individually | Quoted individually |
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. Your first month is prorated, and your monthly engagement starts on the first of the first full month.
Range reflects the three tiers below. Which one you're in 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.
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.
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.
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.
FREQUENTLY ASKED.
