WIP, job costing and retainage, every month
Construction accounting that shows job profit early.
Stop waiting until year-end to see what a job made. For contractors earning $1M to $50M, we cost every job by cost code, update your WIP schedule and percentage-of-completion revenue each month, and keep pay applications and retainage tied to the books. A licensed CPA reviews it all.
30 minutes with a licensed CPA · No card · No contract
Built forGeneral contractorsTrade contractorsFraming crewsBuilders
What changes
Four moments every builder faces, before and after our help.
Pick a moment to see what usually happens, and what happens when your books are run for construction.
Flagged mid-job: framing labor running 21 points ahead of progress. Estimated margin down from 20% to 13%. Change order raised.
Total held: $228,250, at 5% of billings. Release requests go out the week the condition is met.
The two terms that run construction books
What is WIP and percentage-of-completion accounting?
A WIP (work in progress) schedule lists every open job with its contract, estimated cost, cost to date and billings. Percentage-of-completion accounting uses it to recognize revenue as work is done: cost to date divided by estimated total cost. The gap between earned revenue and billings is your over or underbilling.
Try it on one job
Move the sliders. Revenue follows the work, not the invoices.
Illustrative job. Cost-to-cost method, the most common way contractors measure progress under ASC 606.
Swipe to see all columns →
| Job | Contract | Est. total cost | Cost to date | Complete | Earned | Billed | Over/(under) | Est. margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical office #231 | $1,850,000 | $1,480,000 | $962,000 | 65% | $1,202,500 | $1,295,000 | $92,500 | 20% |
| School addition #227 | $2,400,000 | $2,016,000 | $1,612,800 | 80% | $1,920,000 | $1,860,000 | ($60,000) | 16% |
| Retail shell #235 | $960,000 | $787,200 | $196,800 | 25% | $240,000 | $288,000 | $48,000 | 18% |
| Warehouse retrofit #219 | $1,320,000 | $1,148,400 | $918,720 | 80% | $1,056,000 | $1,122,000 | $66,000 | 13%Fade 7 pts |
| Total, 4 jobs | $6,530,000 | $5,431,600 | $3,690,320 | $4,418,500 | $4,565,000 | $146,500 |
Our WIP schedules link straight to your balance sheet, so over- and underbillings are booked monthly, not found at year-end.
What regular bookkeepers miss
What our construction accounting services do every month.
Construction bookkeeping and the accounting work building projects need, reviewed by a licensed CPA, with your WIP schedule and financials on your desk by mid-month.
Reports every month
What lands on your desk each month.
Budget spent, by cost code.
Each open job broken out by labor, materials, subcontractors and equipment, compared with how far along the job is. Our outsourced controller reviews it with your project manager each month.
Every retainage dollar, with a release date.
Retainage receivable by job, the condition for release and the expected collection date. Retainage you hold from subs is tracked the same way.
Pay apps that match the books.
G702 and G703 built from your schedule of values and checked against job cost, so billing and books tell the same story.
Ready before the underwriter asks.
WIP schedule, statements and completed-job results in the format sureties and banks expect, reviewed by a CPA.
Job is 80% complete. Labor is at 84% of budget, so it gets a closer look with the project manager this month.
Questions
Construction accounting questions, answered.
Still have a question? Call (336) 203-7399 or email info@acecpas.com. Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 6 PM ET.
Reviewed by Mubarak Shah, CPA · Updated November 2026
Ask a CPA directlyWhat is WIP accounting for contractors?
WIP (work in progress) accounting tracks every open job on one schedule: contract value, estimated total cost, cost to date, percent complete, revenue earned and amount billed. It shows which jobs are overbilled or underbilled and whether margins are holding. We update it every month, tie it to your balance sheet and deliver it by mid-month.
What is percentage-of-completion accounting?
Percentage of completion recognizes revenue as the work gets done, not when you bill or get paid. Most contractors measure progress by cost: cost to date divided by estimated total cost. Under ASC 606 this is the cost-to-cost input method for revenue recognized over time.
What are overbillings and underbillings?
If you have billed more than you have earned, the difference is an overbilling, a liability on the balance sheet. If you have earned more than you have billed, it is an underbilling, an asset. Large underbillings often signal cost overruns or missed billings, so sureties and banks watch them closely.
How do you track retainage?
We keep retainage receivable apart from regular receivables, by job, with the percentage held and the release condition. Retainage you hold from subcontractors is tracked the same way as a payable. You see what is collectible, when and what has to happen first.
Do you prepare AIA pay applications (G702 and G703)?
Yes. We prepare or review G702 and G703 pay applications from your schedule of values and tie each line to the job cost ledger, so your billing, retainage and books tell the same story.
Can you handle certified payroll for prevailing wage jobs?
No. Certified payroll stays with your payroll provider or your office. We take the payroll data after each run and code labor to jobs, so your job costs are complete.
Which accounting software do you work in?
We work in QuickBooks Online and set it up for job costing by job and cost code. If you use QuickBooks Desktop or another system, we move your file during setup at no extra charge.
How much do construction accounting services cost?
It depends on the number of open jobs, transaction volume, payroll and whether you need construction bookkeeping services only or the full accounting and WIP work. After a free 30-minute review you get a fixed-fee proposal with one monthly fee, before any work starts. No hourly billing.
Services contractors use
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Free 30-minute CPA review
Bring three months of statements. Leave with your first fix.
Thirty minutes with a licensed CPA. We tell you the first thing we would change, whether or not you hire us.
- 1Book a 30-minute callPick a time that works for you.
- 2Share three months of statementsOr read-only ledger access.
- 3Get a fixed feeOne price for the agreed scope, set before any work starts.
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