Bookkeeper for Construction Companies
Construction bookkeeping is not like bookkeeping for any other industry.
You have progress claims. Retention. Job costing. Subbies to pay. TPAR to lodge. Work in progress that never sits still. A generic bookkeeper does not understand any of it and that causes expensive problems.
Accounts Advantage specialises in bookkeeping for construction companies across Queensland. Our Managing Director has deep experience in construction operations, including implementing Cheops, a specialist construction ERP used by large builders. We conduct operational reviews for construction businesses and understand the sector from the inside out.
Why Construction Bookkeeping Is Different
Most bookkeepers are set up for simple service businesses. A construction company has a completely different financial structure and the bookkeeping needs to reflect that.
Here is what makes construction bookkeeping unique.
Job costing
Every project is its own profit centre. You need to know what each job costs you, what you invoiced for it, and whether you actually made money on it. Without job costing built into your books, you are flying blind. We set up job tracking in Xero from day one so you always know your margin per job.
Progress claims and invoicing
Construction invoicing follows the job, not the calendar. Progress claims need to be tracked against the contract value. We manage your progress billing so nothing gets missed and your cash flow stays predictable.
Retention
Retention is money that is withheld until practical completion. It sits on your balance sheet as money owed to you but it is not in your bank. We track retention correctly so your financial position always reflects reality.
Subcontractor management and TPAR
If your business earns 50 per cent or more of its income from building and construction services, you must lodge a Taxable Payments Annual Report with the ATO by 28 August each year. All payments to contractors and subcontractors must be reported. There is no minimum dollar threshold. We track every subcontractor payment through the year and lodge your TPAR on time. Every year.
Employee versus subcontractor classification
This is one of the most common and costly mistakes in construction. Misclassifying a worker as a subcontractor when they are legally an employee creates ATO liability, super obligations, and potential penalties. We help you get this right from the start.
What We Do for Construction Companies
Here is what a typical monthly construction bookkeeping service with us looks like.
- Bank reconciliation every month so your records are always current.
- Coding all transactions to the correct job and expense category.
- Processing subcontractor invoices and managing payments.
- Running payroll for site workers correctly.
- Tracking progress claims, retention balances, and trust account obligations.
- Preparing and lodging your quarterly BAS as registered BAS agents.
- Producing a monthly report showing your revenue, costs, and margin by job.
- Lodging your annual TPAR.
Xero for Construction
We run all our construction clients through Xero.
Xero has specific features that work well for construction including job tracking, progress invoicing, and integration with construction-specific apps like Buildxact.
We configure Xero for construction from the ground up. Not a generic setup. A construction setup. The chart of accounts, the job codes, the GST settings, the payroll configuration. All built for how a construction business actually works.
QBCC, Project Trust Accounts and Retention Trust Accounts
If you are a head contractor on commercial construction projects in Queensland, you have obligations under the QBCC trust account framework. Getting this wrong can cost you your licence.
Project Trust Accounts (PTA)
A Project Trust Account is a dedicated bank account required for eligible commercial construction contracts. The purpose is to protect subcontractor payments. Money received from your client goes into the PTA first. Subcontractors are paid from the PTA. You cannot move funds in and out as you please.
A separate PTA is required for each eligible contract. You cannot use one PTA across multiple projects.
The most common mistakes we see are head contractors not setting up the PTA before the first subcontract is signed, paying expenses from the PTA that should come from their operating account, and failing to pay subcontractors from the PTA when they should.
Retention Trust Accounts (RTA)
If you withhold cash retention from your subcontractors on a project that requires a PTA, you must hold those retention amounts in a Retention Trust Account. The RTA keeps retention money separate and protected until it is due to be released.
Unlike the PTA, you only need one RTA as a business. That single account can hold retention amounts across all your eligible projects.
GST on retention amounts
This is one of the most misunderstood areas in construction bookkeeping right now. Most accounting software will process a progress claim invoice and calculate GST on the full invoice amount, including the retention component that has been withheld. That means you could be paying GST to the ATO on money you have not received yet.
The ATO has a specific ruling that defers GST on retention amounts in construction contracts. You do not account for it until the retention is actually released and paid to you. This applies even if your business is on an accrual basis for GST. Retention in construction contracts is treated differently to normal accrual accounting.
The problem is that most software does not handle this automatically. The bookkeeper needs to know the rule and set up the accounts correctly. We do.
Who We Work With
We work with all types of construction businesses across Queensland.
- Residential and commercial builders.
- Civil and earthworks contractors.
- Electricians and electrical contractors.
- Plumbers and plumbing companies.
- Concreters and concreting businesses.
- Tilers, painters, and specialist trades.
- Subcontractors working for principal contractors.
Whether you are a sole trader subbie or a builder running a team of 30, we have a service that fits.
Based in Loganholme, Serving Queensland
Our office is in Loganholme, right in the heart of the Logan and Yatala industrial corridor. This is one of Queensland’s biggest construction hubs. We are not a virtual service. We are a real firm embedded in the construction community of this region.
Krish Ravipati, Managing Director of Accounts Advantage, served as Treasurer of the Logan Chamber of Commerce for two years. He knows the local construction and trades community personally.
At Accounts Advantage, our Managing Director is CPA qualified and all our team members hold a Certificate IV in Bookkeeping. Many of our team members are registered BAS Agents in their own right, in addition to the firm itself being a registered BAS Agent. That means you get qualified, accountable professionals handling your books. Not just someone who learned on the job.
Common Questions
Do I need a Project Trust Account?
If you are a head contractor on an eligible commercial construction project in Queensland, yes. A PTA is required when the contract value meets the threshold, at least one subcontractor is engaged, and more than 50 per cent of the contract value is project trust work. Private sector contracts of $10 million or more and Queensland Government contracts of $1 million or more are currently captured. If you are unsure whether your contract is eligible, talk to us. Getting it wrong is not worth the risk.
What is the difference between a PTA and an RTA?
A Project Trust Account holds progress payments for a specific project. All money in and out of that project flows through the PTA. A Retention Trust Account holds the cash retention amounts you withhold from subcontractors. You need a separate PTA for each eligible project but only one RTA across all your projects.
Do I need a separate trust account for every project?
Yes for the PTA. Each eligible contract needs its own Project Trust Account. You cannot reuse a PTA from a previous project or combine two projects into one account. The RTA is different. One RTA can hold retention amounts across all your eligible projects at the same time.
What happens if I pay from the wrong account?
Paying from the wrong account is a breach of your trust obligations under the Building Industry Fairness Act. The QBCC can investigate, issue fines, and in serious cases take action against your licence. It is not treated as a simple accounting error.
When do I claim GST on retention amounts?
Not when you invoice. When the retention is released and paid to you. The ATO’s ruling defers GST on construction contract retentions until the money is actually received. Most software does not handle this correctly by default, which means many builders are pre-paying GST on money they have not received. We set up your books to handle this the right way.
Do I need to lodge TPAR every year?
Yes, if your business earns 50 per cent or more of its income from building and construction services. Once that threshold is met, all payments to contractors and subcontractors must be reported. There is no minimum dollar threshold on the payments themselves. Every contractor payment counts. The TPAR is due by 28 August each year. We lodge it for all our construction clients.
How do I know if my workers are employees or contractors?
The ATO has a multi-factor test that looks at control, independence, tools, and risk. It is not as simple as whether someone has an ABN. We help you work through the classification correctly for each person on your team.
Can you fix construction books that are already a mess?
Yes. We do construction catch up bookkeeping regularly. We go back through your records, rebuild the job costing, sort out the subcontractor payments, and get everything up to date. Then we move you to a clean monthly service.
What does it cost?
We work on an hourly rate for the first three months. This gives us time to review your file, get across your job structure, and make sure everything is set up correctly. By month three we know what your books take each month and we move you to a fixed monthly price. Most construction clients have a busier first couple of months because the books need tidying up. Once things are clean, the hours settle and your fixed price reflects that.
Ready to sort your construction books?
Call our Loganholme team today. We work with builders and tradies every single day. We know your industry and we know what you need.
Call our Loganholme office on 07 3209 8266 or 1300 400 105