Construction bookkeeping for Inland Empire contractors

Short answer: Construction bookkeeping in the Inland Empire puts a job tag on every material, labor and sub cost, so you know which jobs make money before the next bid. It tracks progress billing, retention receivable by job and change orders. Subcontractor W-9s stay on file for 1099-NEC totals in January, and each month you get a job report.

The problem with one big bucket

Most contractors start with one checking account and one expense list. Lumber, rebar, fuel, the sub on the Fontana tilt-up, the sub on the Temecula remodel: all of it lands in the same place.

That works until you want to know why the bank balance is low in a busy month. Without job costing, a losing job hides inside the jobs that paid. You find out at tax time, or not at all.

What contractor books need

• A job or project tag on every material, labor and sub cost
• Progress billing that matches your schedule of values
• Retention receivable tracked by job, so held money is not forgotten
• Subcontractor W-9s on file and 1099-NEC totals ready in January
• Equipment and vehicle costs split from overhead
• Change orders recorded as revenue when they are billed, not lost in email
• Credit card receipts matched to the job they belong to

How the work runs

1. Look at the books A bookkeeper reviews your QuickBooks or Xero file and your bank and card accounts, and lists what is missing or miscoded.
2. Set up jobs Your active jobs become projects or classes. Open jobs get their costs to date moved in.
3. Catch up Past months are reconciled to the bank. Sub payments are tagged for 1099s.
4. Close each month Every month the accounts are reconciled and you get a profit and loss with a job report next to it.

Public works and certified payroll

Some IE contractors bid school, city and county work. California public works jobs come with prevailing wage rules and certified payroll reports filed with the Department of Industrial Relations.

Bookkeeping does not replace your payroll provider or your DIR filings. Clean books make them easier: labor costs per job match the payroll records, so an audit question has a clear answer.

Prevailing wage and certified payroll rules come from the California Department of Industrial Relations. Check DIR for your project.

Retention is money you already earned

Most commercial jobs hold back part of each progress payment until the work is accepted. On a long tilt-up or school job, that held amount can grow into one of the largest numbers on your balance sheet.

If the books only record what the GC paid, retention disappears. You forget to bill it at closeout, or you bill it late. A retention receivable account, tracked by job, keeps it visible until the check clears.

Overhead versus job cost

Your shop rent, office staff, insurance and the owner's truck are overhead. Lumber on the Corona job is a job cost. Mixing them makes every job look better or worse than it is.

Once they are split, you can see your real overhead per month. That number tells you how much margin each bid needs to carry, and it gives you a firmer floor when a GC pushes your price down.

The numbers to watch each month

Where we work

We keep books for businesses across Riverside County and San Bernardino County.

• Chino
• Corona
• Fontana
• Moreno Valley
• Murrieta
• Ontario
• Rancho Cucamonga
• Redlands
• Riverside
• San Bernardino
• Temecula
• Upland

Questions