Construction Bookkeeping Gold Coast

The Gold Coast construction industry is booming. New residential estates, commercial developments, infrastructure projects, and high-density builds are keeping builders, contractors, and tradies flat out across the region.

But busy does not mean profitable. And it definitely does not mean the books are under control.

Most construction businesses on the Gold Coast we talk to have the same problems. The books are behind. The BAS is stressful every quarter. Nobody really knows the margin on each job. TPAR is either being missed or being guessed at. And whoever is doing the bookkeeping does not really understand how construction accounting works.

Accounts Advantage is based in Loganholme, right on the doorstep of the Gold Coast. We work with builders, head contractors, subcontractors, and trade businesses across the Gold Coast, from Coomera and Pimpama in the north through to Coolangatta in the south. We understand how construction businesses work, not just the numbers but the whole operation.

Construction Bookkeeping Is Not Like Other Industries

A construction business has layers of complexity that most bookkeepers are not trained to handle.

You invoice in progress claims, not standard invoices. You hold retention on subcontractors and have retention withheld from your own payments. You track costs across multiple jobs running at the same time. You pay subbies and need to report that to the ATO. You deal with QBCC obligations if you are a head contractor on eligible commercial projects. GST on retention amounts is treated differently to everything else. And your cashflow is tied to payment schedules, not just when you invoice.

Put a generalist bookkeeper in front of a construction file and they will get it wrong. The miscategorisations are subtle. The GST errors build up quietly. The TPAR gets missed. And by the time the ATO or your accountant finds the problems, you are looking at a significant cleanup.

We specialise in construction. It is the industry we know best and the one we have worked in longest.

Job Costing – Know Your Margin on Every Job

This is the number one thing that separates construction businesses that grow from those that just stay busy.

If you do not know your margin on each job in real time, you are flying blind. You finish a job, invoice for it, and find out months later whether you made money. By then you have taken on ten more jobs priced the same way.

We set up Xero so every labour cost, material purchase, subcontractor payment, and plant hire charge is coded to the job it belongs to. You can see your actual cost against your contract value at any point during the job. You know your margin before you finish, not after.

Over time, this data tells you which types of jobs you are good at and which ones you consistently underprice. That changes how you quote and what you take on.

Progress Claims and Retention

Construction invoicing is nothing like sending a regular invoice.

You bill in progress claims tied to stages of work completed. Retention is withheld by the principal or head contractor and held until practical completion. You withhold retention from your own subcontractors on eligible jobs. Getting all of that into your books correctly is not straightforward.

We manage progress claims, progress payments and track head-contract retentions (HCVs) and subcontractor retentions (SCVs) so your books always reflect the real financial position of each job. You will know exactly what is owed to you, what is retained, and what you are holding for subbies.

GST on Retention – Getting It Right

This is where a lot of Gold Coast construction businesses are quietly paying too much GST.

When you raise a progress claim, standard accounting software calculates GST on the full invoice amount including the retention portion. But the ATO has a specific ruling that defers GST on construction contract retentions. You do not account for it until the retention is actually released and paid.

This applies even if your business is on an accrual basis for GST. Construction retentions are treated differently to normal accrual accounting and most bookkeepers do not know the rule exists.

We set up your Xero accounts to handle retention GST correctly from day one. You are not pre-paying GST on money you have not received.

QBCC Trust Accounts for Gold Coast Head Contractors

If you are a head contractor on eligible commercial construction projects on the Gold Coast, you have obligations under the QBCC trust account framework. Getting this wrong can cost you your licence.

Project Trust Accounts

A Project Trust Account is a dedicated bank account required for eligible commercial construction contracts. Money received from your client goes into the PTA first. Subcontractors are paid from the PTA. 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 operating expenses from the PTA, and failing to pay subcontractors from the correct account.

Retention Trust Accounts

If you withhold cash retention from subcontractors on a project that requires a PTA, those retention amounts must be held in a Retention Trust Account. Unlike the PTA, you only need one RTA as a business. That single account holds retention across all your eligible projects.

We help Gold Coast head contractors understand their obligations and keep their books structured correctly around the trust account framework.

TPAR for Gold Coast Construction Businesses

If 50 per cent or more of your income comes from building and construction services and you pay contractors or subcontractors, you must lodge a Taxable Payments Annual Report with the ATO by 28 August each year.

There is no minimum dollar threshold. Every payment to a subcontractor must be reported. That includes labour hire, sole trader subbies, and company contractors. Miss the deadline and the ATO issues penalties.

We track every subcontractor payment through the year as part of your regular bookkeeping. When August comes, your TPAR is ready. You do not have to think about it.

BAS Lodgement for Gold Coast Builders and Tradies

Your BAS is due every quarter. We prepare it, check the GST including correct retention treatment, and lodge it on time. We also make sure all your input tax credits are claimed correctly. Construction businesses have significant GST credits available on materials, plant hire, equipment, and vehicles. Every dollar of missed credits is money you should not be paying to the ATO.

If you are behind on previous lodgements, we can help you get current and manage the ATO communication.

Payroll for Construction Businesses

If you have employees on the Gold Coast, payroll is complex. You need to pay correctly under the right award, get super right at 12% from 1 July 2025, and report every pay event to the ATO through Single Touch Payroll in real time.

We manage complete payroll for construction businesses including pay runs, super calculations, STP reporting, and end of year payment summaries. If you take on new workers during a busy period, we get them set up correctly from day one.

Xero for Gold Coast Construction Businesses

We are a Xero Gold Partner and we run all our construction clients through Xero.

Xero handles job costing, progress invoicing, subcontractor tracking, payroll, and bank reconciliation in one place. Your bank feeds in automatically. You can send invoices from your phone on site. You can see your numbers from anywhere.

If you are currently on MYOB, QuickBooks, or a spreadsheet, we migrate you across as part of getting started. We set up Xero specifically for how a construction business works. Not a generic chart of accounts. A proper construction setup built around how you actually operate.

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.

Catch-Up Bookkeeping for Gold Coast Construction

A lot of construction businesses come to us behind. The work has been flat out and the admin has been ignored. Or a previous bookkeeper did not understand the industry. Or the file has just never been set up properly.

We go back through your transactions, reconcile your accounts, sort out retention amounts, fix up the GST, and get everything current. Once it is clean we keep it that way. You will always know where your business stands.

Common Questions

Do you work with residential and commercial builders on the Gold Coast?

Yes. We work with residential builders, commercial builders, head contractors, and specialist subcontractors across the Gold Coast. We also work with trade businesses across all construction disciplines.

Do I need a Project Trust Account for my Gold Coast projects?

If you are a head contractor on an eligible commercial construction project, 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 project is eligible, talk to us.

How does GST on retention work?

You do not pay GST on the retained portion of a progress claim until the retention is released and paid to you. The ATO has a specific ruling deferring GST on construction contract retentions. Most software does not handle this correctly by default. We set up your Xero to manage it properly.

Do I need to lodge a TPAR?

If 50 per cent or more of your income comes from building and construction services and you pay contractors or subcontractors, yes. There is no minimum dollar threshold per payment. We track subcontractor payments through the year and lodge your TPAR by 28 August each year.

Are you a registered BAS Agent?

Yes. Accounts Advantage is a registered BAS Agent as a firm. On top of that, many of our individual team members hold their own BAS Agent registration too. That means the person handling your books is qualified and accountable in their own right, not just covered under someone else’s licence. You get two layers of professional protection.

What does it cost?

It depends on your business. For childcare centres we offer a fixed monthly fee from day one. For all other businesses, we work on an hourly rate for the first three months. This gives us time to review your file, understand the scope of work, and catch up anything that is behind. By month three we know exactly how long your books take each month, and we move you to a fixed monthly price from there.

Do you work across the whole Gold Coast?

Yes. We work with construction businesses from Coomera and Pimpama in the north through Nerang, Robina, Southport, Broadbeach, and Burleigh Heads down to Coolangatta in the south. We also work with Gold Coast businesses that take on projects elsewhere in Queensland.

What if my books have never been set up properly for construction?

We sort it out. We go back through your file, restructure it for a construction business, fix up the chart of accounts, sort retention, and get everything reconciled. It is one of the most common things we do for new construction clients.

Can you help me understand job margins?

Yes. Job costing is one of the core reasons construction businesses come to us. We set it up in Xero and walk you through how to read it. Over time you will know your margins by job type, by client, and by project size.

Ready to get your Gold Coast construction business sorted?

Call our Loganholme office on 07 3209 8266 or 1300 400 105