Construction Industry Accounting
Every project's finances,
properly accounted for.
Full-scope accounting built around how construction businesses actually operate — from the first pay application to the final project close.
What this service delivers
A financial picture that reflects your actual position — project by project.
When your books are organized around jobs rather than just the general ledger, you stop guessing and start making decisions with real information. You know which projects are returning what you expected, where costs are running ahead of budget, and whether your current billing position is where it needs to be.
That clarity shows up in better estimates, stronger cash management, and the kind of financial reporting that holds up when a bonding agent or lender takes a close look.
Per-project profitability
See where each job stands — not just the company balance.
WIP schedules on time
Delivered on your cadence, tied to actual completion data.
Retainage tracked cleanly
Both sides — receivable and payable — reconciled through closeout.
The challenge many contractors face
General ledger accounting wasn't designed for how you work.
Standard bookkeeping can tell you whether the company made money. It rarely tells you which jobs did — or why one project is draining cash while another is performing exactly as estimated.
Construction finances have a different shape. Costs accumulate in stages. Billing follows completion percentages, not calendar dates. Retainage sits in a separate bucket for months. Subcontractors have their own payment schedules. Getting useful numbers out of that structure requires accounting that was built around it.
Without that structure, most contractors rely on estimates, gut feel, and a general sense that the bank account looks okay. That works until it doesn't — and by then, the problem is already a few months old.
Cost reports that are weeks behind by the time they reach project managers.
WIP schedules assembled manually, often with inconsistencies that raise questions at year-end.
Retainage balances discovered at closeout rather than tracked throughout the job.
Compliance documentation scrambled together when a bonding application arrives unexpectedly.
Our approach
Accounting structured around projects from the start.
Stonewick's Construction Industry Accounting service sets up your books the way construction finance actually works — with each job as its own financial unit, and company-wide reporting built from the project level up.
Job-Level Cost Coding
Every cost entry — materials, labor, subcontractors, equipment — is coded to the right job and category. The result is a cost ledger that's readable by your field team, not just your accountant.
WIP Schedules & Reconciliation
Work-in-progress schedules prepared on your cadence. Over-billings and under-billings surfaced with context, tied back to completion percentages rather than guesswork.
Retainage Management
Retainage tracked separately on both receivable and payable sides throughout the project lifecycle. Releases scheduled so they're recognized correctly and on time.
Progress Billing Reconciliation
Pay applications reconciled against actual cost data and contract amounts. Discrepancies identified early, before they become billing disputes at month end.
Working together
What the working relationship actually looks like.
We work quietly in the background. You don't manage us — you receive output. Here's how the process runs after we get started.
We learn your project structure
We start by understanding your cost codes, subcontractor relationships, billing schedules, and the reporting cadence that actually helps your team make decisions. We work around your setup — not the other way around.
Costs are coded as they come in
Invoices, payroll entries, subcontractor payments — each one allocated to the right job and cost category in real time. Nothing accumulates in a holding account waiting for manual sorting at month end.
Reports arrive on your schedule
Job cost summaries, WIP schedules, and company-wide financials delivered at the intervals that are useful to you. Formatted for your team — not just for an auditor reviewing documents after the fact.
Service investment
A monthly engagement, priced for what you get.
Construction Industry Accounting is structured as a monthly retainer. That means ongoing accounting support — not a one-time cleanup followed by radio silence.
The investment covers your full accounting workload: job cost tracking, WIP preparation, retainage management, progress billing reconciliation, and company-wide financial reporting. You're not paying per report or per project — it's one monthly engagement that covers everything across your active project portfolio.
Monthly investment
$750 USD/month
Suitable for general contractors and specialty trades with three or more concurrent projects.
What's included
Full job-level cost tracking across all active projects
WIP schedule preparation and reconciliation on your cadence
Retainage tracking on both receivable and payable sides
Progress billing reconciliation and pay application support
Company-wide financial summaries alongside per-project reporting
Budget-to-actual comparisons formatted for project managers
How this works in practice
A methodology built around construction realities.
Construction accounting isn't a variation on standard bookkeeping. It requires a specific set of practices, applied consistently across every project in your portfolio.
Approach
Percentage of completion
Revenue and cost recognized based on actual project completion — the method that gives the most accurate view of where each job stands financially at any point in time.
Reporting cycle
Monthly reporting minimum
Job cost reports and WIP schedules prepared at least monthly. Many clients prefer a weekly job cost summary alongside the monthly close. We work around what's useful, not what's easiest.
Visibility
Dual-layer reporting
Every financial package includes both per-project detail and a company-wide summary. So you see the full picture and the individual job picture at the same time, without reconciling two separate reports.
Realistic expectations
2–3 weeks
Typical onboarding and setup period before your first reporting cycle
Monthly
Standard reporting cadence — adjustable based on project pace
3+ projects
Minimum portfolio size for this service to be structured effectively
Our commitment to you
We do consistent, careful work — and we stand behind it.
Accounting services are built on trust. You're handing us visibility into your project finances, and that comes with a responsibility to be accurate, timely, and straightforward about what we're seeing.
If something in your financials doesn't look right, we'll tell you what we found and how we'd approach correcting it. We don't smooth over discrepancies to avoid a difficult conversation.
No-obligation initial consultation
We'll talk through your project portfolio and current accounting setup before you commit to anything. If this service isn't the right fit, we'll say so.
Clear communication throughout
We respond within two business days. If we see something in your numbers that warrants a conversation, we'll initiate it rather than wait for you to ask.
How to get started
The path forward is straightforward.
Getting set up with Construction Industry Accounting doesn't require a lengthy process. Here's what happens from your first message to your first monthly report.
1
Send us a message
Tell us about your project portfolio and what you're working with currently. No forms to fill out beyond the basics.
2
We have a conversation
We'll ask about your cost code structure, current accounting setup, and what's not working. Two business days for a response.
3
We set up your books
Onboarding takes two to three weeks. We set up job-level ledger structures and align everything with your existing chart of accounts.
4
Reporting begins
Your first reporting cycle starts. Monthly closes, WIP schedules, and job cost summaries arrive on the schedule we agreed on.
Get started
Tell us about your project portfolio.
Share how many active jobs you're running, your current accounting setup, and what's getting in the way. We'll get back to you within two business days.
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