WIP
5 articles
Construction Accounting Software: What a Contractor Actually Needs It to Do
QuickBooks will not tell you your percent complete, and most contractors do not need a full ERP either. The question is not which product. It is which of five jobs you need the software to do.
Financing a Contract Business: Why Bonding Capacity and Borrowing Capacity Are Not the Same Thing
A contractor has two credit limits, and most only manage one. A bank lends against your balance sheet. A surety underwrites your work-in-progress schedule. The same good year can move one and not the other.
Why Profitable Contractors Run Out of Cash: Retainage, Growth, and the Gap Nobody Adds Up
Your WIP says the jobs are profitable. Your bank account disagrees. For a commercial contractor the gap between the two is usually retainage, underbillings, and the working capital that growth quietly consumes.
The Four Numbers Every Commercial Contractor Should See Every Month
Most contractor reporting is a P&L nobody reads and a bank balance everybody watches. The four numbers that actually run a contract business are percent complete, retainage, contract margin against estimate, and cash against profit.
Accounting Methods for Contractors: Percentage of Completion, Completed Contract, and Why It Decides Your Tax Bill
Cash or accrual is the wrong question for a contractor. On long-term contracts the method that matters is how you recognise revenue on jobs that cross a year end, and it moves when you pay tax.