WHEN QUICKBOOKS STOPS BEING ENOUGH.
QuickBooks stops being enough once job costing needs outpace what it can structure, usually somewhere between $3M and $8M in revenue, when managing multiple simultaneous jobs requires real per-project cost tracking that QuickBooks wasn't built to handle at that scale.
QuickBooks is a capable general accounting tool, and plenty of small subcontractors use it well below $3M in revenue. The software isn't failing outright. What happens is that the construction specific work, job costing by cost code, WIP schedules, and retainage tracking, starts to need workarounds, and those workarounds get more fragile as the business grows. At some point, usually when several jobs are in progress at once with real complexity, the workarounds cost more time and bring more risk than switching would.
Want it set up for you? Onboarding only, from $3,000 one time. Books migrated and job costing built, then your own team keeps it up.
WHAT IT MEANS.
The point where QuickBooks stops being enough is the point where job costing by cost code, WIP schedules, and retainage tracking all need workarounds that cost more time and bring more risk than a construction specific platform would.
HOW YOU KNOW YOU ARE PAST IT.
Sign 01, job costing requires manual workarounds
If tracking cost by job means spreadsheets outside QuickBooks, or manual class tracking that doesn't scale, the software's job costing structure has been outgrown. The number still comes out. It comes out late, it comes out manually, and it comes out differently depending on who built the sheet. That's the earliest of the three signs and the easiest one to talk yourself out of.
Sign 02, WIP schedules are built manually
QuickBooks doesn't natively support percentage of completion WIP schedules well. If your WIP schedule is a manual spreadsheet reconciled against QuickBooks data every month, that's a sign of outgrown infrastructure. The monthly reconciliation is where the errors get in, and those are the errors a surety or a banker reads first.
Sign 03, multiple jobs create reporting delay
If pulling a real job cost report takes days instead of minutes because of how the data is structured, project managers stop trusting the numbers. Once they stop trusting them, they stop using them, which defeats the purpose of tracking cost at all. Reporting speed is a job costing feature, and it decides whether a PM can act in week two.
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 | $1,000 |
| $1M to $3.5M | $2,600 | $4,100 | $5,300 | $1,500 |
| $3.5M to $6.5M | $3,800 | $5,900 | $8,300 | $3,000 |
| $6.5M to $9.5M | $5,100 | $7,600 | $11,800 | $4,500 |
| $9.5M to $12.5M | $6,100 | $8,900 | $14,900 | $6,000 |
| 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 $3,000, 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.
FREQUENTLY ASKED.
