Construction bookkeeping in Spokane: get your job costs and records organized.
You have receipts piled up in your truck, progress billings that don't quite match your actual project costs, and retainage that is sitting somewhere on a spreadsheet you can't quite trust. You are great at building, but the backend of your construction business — the job costing, the retainage tracking, the certified payroll records — is feeling like a second, unpaid full-time job.
You shouldn't have to choose between managing your projects and keeping your books accurate.
What does construction bookkeeping include?
Construction bookkeeping goes beyond standard accounts payable and receivable. It requires precise job costing to track labor, materials, and subcontractor costs against specific projects. It means tracking retainage receivable and payable separately, maintaining detailed records for certified payroll, and preparing data for a work-in-progress (WIP) schedule. Avenue Bookkeeping keeps your records organized, categorized, and current in QuickBooks® Online, providing the monthly financial statements you need to see exactly where your business stands.
Why precise job costing is your business's backbone.
Job costing is the mechanism that measures whether a project is actually profitable. It involves recording every dollar of labor, equipment, materials, and subcontractor cost against a specific job, categorized by cost code. When these costs are accurately categorized in QuickBooks® Online, you can compare your estimated costs against your actual results as the project progresses.
Without this, you are guessing at your margins. Accurate job costing allows you to identify where you are hitting your estimates and where costs might be slipping, giving you the control to make informed decisions on future bids.
The work-in-progress (WIP) schedule.
The WIP schedule is widely described as the single most important report in construction accounting. It provides a snapshot of your active projects by detailing contract value, cost to date, estimated cost to complete, percentage complete, earned revenue, billings to date, and over- or under-billing. Your sureties, bankers, and lenders rely on this report to evaluate the health of your contracting business.
Avenue Bookkeeping's role is to keep the underlying cost and billing data current in your books, so the figures feeding your WIP schedule are current and ready for review.
Tracking retainage receivable and payable.
Retainage — the percentage of each pay application withheld until substantial completion — is a standard part of the construction industry, but it can quickly complicate your books if not handled correctly. It must be tracked separately from standard accounts receivable. We ensure retainage receivable is tracked by project with expected release dates, and retainage withheld from your subcontractors is accounted for as retainage payable. For Washington public-works projects, we also keep the 5% cap (RCW 60.28.011) in mind as we structure your project tracking.
Organizing your prevailing-wage and public-works records.
Handling public-works projects requires keeping meticulous records to satisfy your reporting obligations. Contractors are responsible for filing a Statement of Intent to Pay Prevailing Wages before starting and an Affidavit of Wages Paid upon completion through the My L&I portal. Furthermore, weekly certified payroll reports must be filed online at least once a month for all Washington public-works projects (RCW 39.12.120).
Avenue Bookkeeping does not file these reports or provide compliance judgments — those are your responsibilities. Instead, we keep your payroll records organized, structured, and ready to meet those obligations. Certified payroll records must include employee names, addresses, trades and occupations, actual rates paid, hourly benefit rates, hours worked (including daily and weekly overtime), itemized deductions, and the signed affirmation page. We maintain these records in your system, keeping them organized for the required three years from project acceptance. As a QuickBooks® Online Payroll Certified professional, Melody keeps your payroll records clean and ready to support your filings.
Why construction bookkeeping is specialist work.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that construction is the second-largest employer of bookkeeping clerks in the U.S., accounting for 8% of the occupation and paying them the highest industry median wage. This reflects a reality you likely already know: construction books are specialized work that requires a specific approach to categorization and reporting.
Avenue Bookkeeping is a solo practice owned by Melody Gerlitz. Melody holds three Intuit-recognized credentials: QuickBooks® Online Certified — Level 1, QuickBooks® Online Certified — Level 2, and QuickBooks® Online Payroll Certified. With 20 years of experience managing operations and books inside small businesses, Melody brings a disciplined, calm approach to financial organization.
Born and raised in the Spokane area, she understands the local business landscape and works with contractors across Spokane and Coeur d'Alene. Avenue has helped dozens of small businesses get their finances organized, cleaned up, and tax-ready. We hold a 5.0 rating on Google and prioritize clear, prompt communication.
Signs your construction books are falling behind.
If your receipts are still in your truck, your bank accounts haven't been reconciled in months, or you are scrambling to reconstruct 1099s in January, your books are likely holding you back. You shouldn't be spending your evenings entering data from the last quarter.
Avenue Bookkeeping offers full cleanup services for contractors. Whether you are behind by a few months or a few years, we assess the scope of your records and get you caught up. In Melody's words: “One client called me on April 1st with two years of backlogged books and a tax deadline breathing down his neck. I worked through Easter weekend and had his books clean within a week and a half.”
“Melody's communication was clear and very prompt, she didn't leave me questioning anything. I was in a really stressful situation coming into tax deadline and the experience I had was absolutely incredible! More stars need to be available for extra credit, she deserves it.”
Levi Brischle — Google
Getting started: our process.
We do not publish flat rates because every construction file has a different level of complexity. We assess the scope of your specific bookkeeping needs first and provide a quote before starting any work.
1. Free Consultation
We discuss your current bookkeeping setup and your biggest pain points.
2. Scope Review
We review the state of your QuickBooks® Online file to understand the volume of work and the level of cleanup required.
3. Quote and Start Date
We provide a clear quote for the ongoing work and schedule your start date.
Choose the bookkeeping support your construction business needs.
Construction bookkeeping FAQs.
Can construction bookkeeping be done in QuickBooks Online?
Yes, QuickBooks® Online is a powerful tool for construction bookkeeping when it is set up correctly. With costs categorized by job with consistent cost coding, transactions categorized monthly, retainage tracked by project, and reporting built to hand to your CPA at tax time, you can track job-specific income and expenses, manage retainage, and keep your projects organized and ready.
How is retainage tracked in the books?
Retainage must be tracked separately from your standard accounts receivable and accounts payable. We set up your QuickBooks® Online file to record retainage receivable by project, ensuring the amounts withheld by owners are clearly identified. Similarly, retainage withheld from your subcontractors is tracked as retainage payable, allowing you to see what is due to them upon project completion.
Do you handle certified payroll records for public-works jobs?
Avenue Bookkeeping keeps the payroll records that public-works jobs require organized and ready, but we do not file reports or provide compliance advice. We keep your payroll data in QuickBooks® Online complete with the details those reports call for — such as trade classifications, hours worked, and benefit rates — so that the contractor has clean, accurate records ready for filing with L&I.
My books are months or years behind — can you catch me up?
Yes. We specialize in bookkeeping cleanup for contractors. We assess the scope of the work needed, categorize your backlogged transactions, reconcile your bank and credit card accounts, and bring your books up to date so they are ready for tax filings and business review.
How much does construction bookkeeping cost?
Avenue Bookkeeping does not have a set price list, as every business has different needs and volumes of transactions. We assess the scope of your bookkeeping file first and provide a quote before starting. We invite you to book a Free Consultation to discuss your specific needs.