Bookkeeping for construction.
FigureWise keeps construction books job-costed and current: every transaction coded to a job and cost code, retainage tracked as its own receivable, and progress billings reconciled on a monthly WIP report.
The numbers to watch.
| # | Metric | |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Gross margin per jobThe single clearest signal of whether your estimating and field execution are working. Company-level margin hides the one job type that consistently loses money. | The single clearest signal of whether your estimating and field execution are working. Company-level margin hides the one job type that consistently loses money. |
| 02 | Over/under-billings (WIP)Shows whether you are borrowing from future work or financing jobs out of pocket. Bonding agents and lenders read this schedule before they read anything else. | Shows whether you are borrowing from future work or financing jobs out of pocket. Bonding agents and lenders read this schedule before they read anything else. |
| 03 | BacklogContracted-but-unbilled work is your forward revenue. Tracking it monthly tells you when to hire, when to buy equipment, and when to push sales. | Contracted-but-unbilled work is your forward revenue. Tracking it monthly tells you when to hire, when to buy equipment, and when to push sales. |
| 04 | Days to collect (AR days)Construction cash cycles are long by design. Watching how long pay apps take to turn into cash tells you how much working capital each new job really requires. | Construction cash cycles are long by design. Watching how long pay apps take to turn into cash tells you how much working capital each new job really requires. |
Where construction books go wrong.
01
Job costing that actually matches reality
A company-wide P&L can look healthy while two of your five jobs are losing money. Without every material invoice, sub payment, and labor hour coded to a job and cost code, you find out which projects bled you only after they close.
02
Retainage tied up and easy to lose track of
When 5-10% of every invoice is held back until project completion, that money is earned but not billable. If retainage is not tracked as its own receivable, it quietly disappears from your working picture of what you are owed.
03
Progress billing and over/under-billing
Billing ahead of costs feels like cash flow but is really a liability; billing behind costs means you are financing the job yourself. Most contractors cannot see either without a monthly work-in-progress schedule comparing billings to costs incurred.
04
Subcontractor paperwork and 1099s
Dozens of subs, lien waivers, insurance certificates, and year-end 1099s create a compliance pile that grows all year. Miss a form and you are chasing tax IDs in January instead of bidding work.
What we put in place.
- Job-costed bookkeeping: every transaction coded to a job and cost code, so you see margin per project, not just a blended company number.
- Retainage tracked as a separate receivable so earned-but-held money never drops out of view.
- A monthly WIP report comparing billings to costs, so over- and under-billings surface before they become cash problems.
- AI flags miscoded job costs and duplicate subcontractor invoices; your bookkeeper reviews every flag before the close.
- Subcontractor payments tracked all year, so 1099 season is a report we run, not a scramble you dread.
Construction, answered.
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A free, no-commitment review of your construction books.