Frequently Asked Questions

A bookkeeper helps keep your financial records accurate, organized, and up to date. That includes properly categorizing transactions, reconciling bank and credit card accounts, reviewing your books for accuracy, and preparing financial reports. For contractors and field service businesses, bookkeeping may also include tracking income and costs by job so you have better information about where your money is going and how your business is performing.

Contractors and field service businesses have accounting needs that can be different from many other small businesses. You may have materials, labor, subcontractors, equipment costs, multiple jobs in progress, and other expenses that need to be tracked properly. Good bookkeeping goes beyond recording income and expenses. Your books should be organized in a way that helps you understand your business and gives you useful information for making decisions.

Job costing means tracking the income and direct costs associated with individual jobs. Depending on your business, those costs may include labor, materials, subcontractors, equipment, and other job-specific expenses. When these costs are tracked consistently, you can compare the revenue from a job with what it actually cost to complete. This gives you better information for evaluating profitability and making future estimating and pricing decisions.

Yes. When your bookkeeping and job costing are set up properly, you can compare job revenue with the direct costs associated with completing that job. Instead of looking only at how much you invoiced, you can see what was left after labor, materials, subcontractors, and other direct costs. This information can help you identify patterns and ask better questions about your estimating, pricing, and operations.

At a minimum, I recommend becoming familiar with your Profit & Loss Statement and Balance Sheet. A Profit & Loss Statement shows your income and expenses over a period of time, while the Balance Sheet provides a snapshot of what your business owns and owes. Depending on your business, job profitability and cash flow information may also be useful. The goal isn't just to receive reports—it's to understand what the numbers are telling you.

Profit and cash are not the same thing. Your Profit & Loss Statement measures income and expenses for a period, while your bank balance reflects the actual cash available at a particular time. Loan payments, equipment purchases, owner draws or distributions, accounts receivable, and the timing of customer payments can all contribute to the difference. Accurate bookkeeping helps you see the bigger picture and identify where your cash is going.

Yes. Catch-up bookkeeping is designed for businesses that have fallen behind on their books. I can work through the outstanding months, categorize transactions, reconcile accounts, and bring your QuickBooks Online records up to date. How much work is required depends on how far behind the books are and the condition of the existing records. I review the account first so we can determine what needs to be done.

Catch-up bookkeeping generally means bringing books that haven't been completed for recent months up to date. Cleanup is different because the bookkeeping may have been done, but there are errors or inconsistencies that need to be corrected. Sometimes a QuickBooks account needs both. I review the existing books first to determine what needs attention before recommending the appropriate service.

Yes. If your QuickBooks Online account has become disorganized or wasn't set up correctly, I can review the account and identify areas that need attention. This might include the chart of accounts, transaction classifications, bank reconciliations, or other bookkeeping issues. The goal is to create a cleaner, more useful bookkeeping system that fits your business and makes your financial reports easier to understand.

Yes. I specialize in QuickBooks Online and use it for my bookkeeping services. Keeping my practice focused on one accounting platform allows me to provide consistent processes and support for my clients. If you aren't currently using QuickBooks Online, I can help set up your account and organize it around the needs of your contracting or field service business.

A bookkeeper and a CPA often serve different roles. My role is to help keep your day-to-day financial records accurate, organized, reconciled, and ready for reporting. A CPA or qualified tax professional may provide tax preparation, tax planning, audits, or other services outside the scope of bookkeeping. When appropriate, I can work with your CPA or tax preparer to provide the financial records and reports they need.

My bookkeeping services can be provided remotely using QuickBooks Online and secure online tools. You don't have to be located nearby for us to work together. We can communicate by phone, email, or video meeting, and many records can be accessed electronically. This allows me to work with contractors and field service businesses regardless of location while still maintaining regular communication about their books.