Contractors & Construction Accounting — Job Costs, Cash Flow & Profitable Bids

Margins disappear when job costs are fuzzy. At Take Flight Business Solutions, we help contractors and trades run on facts—clear job costs, predictable cash flow, and timely reports that match the field. Led by Brian Dela Cruz, CPA (MA), our team supports general contractors, tradesmen, remodelers, plumbers, HVAC, and painters who need books that keep up with reality: bids, change orders, retainage, subs, inspections, and seasonality.

What we do for contractors & trades (in plain English)

• Job-cost visibility: We set up cost codes and project tracking so labor, materials, equipment, subs, and overhead land in the right buckets—every time.
• Progress billing & retainage: Invoices align to schedules of values, with retainage tracked cleanly to avoid end-of-project surprises.
• Change-order control: Simple checkpoints ensure scope changes are captured, priced, and billed—no more profit leaks.
• WIP awareness: A monthly “percent complete” view so you can see where profit is made or lost before it’s gone.
• Cash rhythm: Forecast draws, materials, payroll, and debt service so you can add a crew (or pause) with eyes open.
• Equipment planning: Coordinate depreciation/§179 timing with cash and financing—not as a year-end guess.
• Documentation: Bank- and tax-agency–ready support files; licenses, COIs, and lien releases tracked alongside your numbers.

Who we serve (local + nationwide)

From our Florida base, we support Pensacola, Cantonment, Pace, Gulf Breeze, Milton, Navarre, Perdido, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, and Gulf Shores/Orange Beach, AL—plus contractors nationwide. We understand Gulf Coast realities: weather delays, storm-driven spikes, material lead times, permitting timelines, and tighter carrier requirements for certificates and lien releases.

The contractor cadence (how it actually works)

1. Baseline & targets — Map bid mix, crews, backlog, AR/AP, and cash needs; set targets for gross margin, AR days, cash runway, and WIP discipline.
2. Cleanup & setup (if needed) — Chart, cost codes, project tracking, retainage accounts, and vendor rules configured so reports mirror the field.
3. Monthly review — Close the month; review WIP, job margins, collections, and the next 1–3 actions (price, schedule, buy, hire).
4. Quarterly planning — Capex, staffing, marketing/leadflow expectations, and tax estimates—so busy months create cash, not chaos.

Common pains we fix (and our fix)

• “We’re busy but not profitable.” → Real job costs, change-order control, and margin targets by trade or service line.
• “Collections lag.” → Progress-billing rhythm and retainage tracking that keeps cash moving.
• “Payroll spikes scare me.” → Cash forecasts tied to schedules, not hope.
• “Bank conversations are rough.” → Bank-ready statements and a simple narrative lenders understand.
• “Too many callbacks/redos.” → Variance tracking and post-job reviews that protect margin on the next bid.

Why contractors choose Take Flight

• CPA (MA) oversight with plain-English recommendations
• On-time books that align with jobs, crews, and schedules
• Dashboards that matter—backlog, WIP, margin, AR, cash trend
• Transparent pricing—monthly cadence; one-off cleanups or rebuilds scoped separately

Local access. National consistency. Prefer milestone meetings around Pensacola/Cantonment (estimate season, pricing updates, year-end planning)? We’re nearby. Prefer fully virtual? You’ll get the same cadence via secure portal and short screen-recorded walkthroughs you can replay with foremen and office managers.

Your next step

Book a 30-minute fit call. We’ll run a job-cost baseline, confirm the top profit leaks by trade or service line, and provide a written scope with fixed monthly pricing. If historical cleanup is required, we’ll quote it as a time-boxed project so you start the next quarter with clean, decision-ready numbers.