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Accounting and tax for contractors and trade businesses

In construction, profit lives at the job level, and a business can look profitable overall while losing money on specific jobs. Add equipment purchases, subcontractors, and payments that arrive well after the costs are paid, and accurate job costing becomes the difference between knowing your margins and hoping.

Two tradesmen welding a steel frame on a building facade

Where it gets complicated

  • Profit per job that only becomes clear after the job closes, when it's too late to correct the bid.
  • A large deposit hits the bank before the labor and materials are paid, so cash-basis numbers hide the real margin.
  • Subcontractor payments that require proper documentation and 1099s, or they create problems at filing.
  • Equipment bought without tax context, missing Section 179 or depreciation decisions that could have helped.

How we help

  • Job-level cost tracking built into the monthly close, so you see margin per job while you can still act on it.
  • Accrual-based visibility where it matters, so a big deposit doesn't make a thin job look rich.
  • Subcontractor payment records and 1099 handling kept clean through the year.
  • Equipment and depreciation planning timed to the tax benefit.

Talk to us about your construction & trades business

Bring your questions and your current numbers. We will tell you what we would do and what it would cost.