23 tagged with "Construction"
Accounting practices for construction businesses including job costing, WIP schedules, and retainage
Job Costing for Contractors: Labor Burden, Cost Codes, and Committed Costs
Job costing assigns every dollar of cost to the job that caused it. Fully burdened labor runs 30 to 50 percent above base wage, overhead is applied with a predetermined rate, and committed costs reveal a budget overrun before the invoices arrive — read the variance column weekly.
Surviving the Workers' Comp Premium Audit: A Small Employer's Field Guide to NCCI Class Codes, Officer Elections, Overtime Carve-Outs, and Subcontractor Traps
Workers' compensation premium is recalculated every year using your actual payroll, and unprepared small employers routinely owe five-figure true-ups. This guide walks through the NCCI premium formula, the standard exception rules, the overtime carve-out math, owner and officer exclusion forms, the subcontractor COI rules that trigger the largest audit hits, and how to dispute a Final Audit Statement.
The Construction WIP Schedule: Percentage-of-Completion Accounting Under ASC 606
How construction contractors use the work-in-progress schedule and ASC 606 percentage-of-completion accounting to surface overbillings, underbillings, profit fade, and the financial signals sureties and banks actually read.
Surety Bonds for Construction Contractors: Miller Act, SBA Guarantees, and the Books That Build Bonding Capacity
How bid, performance, and payment bonds work in 2026 for small construction contractors — the Miller Act's $35K and $150K federal thresholds, the SBA's 80–90% guarantee covering contracts up to $14 million, and the working-capital and WIP discipline that decides which builders get bonded for the largest jobs.
Surety Bonds for Construction Contractors: How the Miller Act and SBA Guarantee Program Open Public Works to Small Builders
Public construction contracts above the FAR $150,000 threshold require performance and payment bonds under the Miller Act, with state Little Miller Acts setting thresholds from $25,000 to $500,000. The SBA Surety Bond Guarantee Program—which guaranteed $10.6 billion in bonds for 2,200+ small businesses in FY2025—lets approved sureties write bonds for small contractors by absorbing 80–90% of loss risk.
AIA Pay Applications, Retainage, and WIP Schedules: How Construction Billing Ties to GAAP Revenue Recognition
AIA G702 and G703 pay applications, schedules of values, retainage, WIP schedules, and over/underbilling reconciliations are what tie construction billing to GAAP revenue recognition under ASC 606. Here is how each piece works, why a $312 line error can delay a $1.4M wire by 41 days, and the patterns that rattle sureties.
Section 47 Historic Tax Credit: A 2026 Field Guide for Developers and Their CPAs
Section 47 of the Internal Revenue Code lets developers claim a 20 percent federal tax credit on qualified rehabilitation expenditures for certified historic structures, claimed ratably over five years since the TCJA. This guide walks through NPS three-part certification, the substantial rehabilitation test, what counts as a QRE, five-year recapture rules, and how syndication is structured under the Rev. Proc. 2014-12 safe harbor.
Section 179D Before the Sunset: How Architects and Engineers Claim the Energy-Efficient Buildings Deduction by June 30, 2026
Section 179D lets architects, engineers, and contractors claim up to $5.94 per square foot in federal tax deductions on energy-efficient projects for tax-exempt building owners — but new claims sunset for projects starting construction after June 30, 2026 under the OBBBA.
Percentage of Completion vs Completed Contract: A Contractor's Guide to Construction Revenue Recognition
A side-by-side comparison of the Percentage of Completion (PCM) and Completed Contract (CCM) methods for construction revenue recognition, with worked examples, ASC 606 over-time criteria, the IRC Section 460 small contractor exception (~$31M for 2026), WIP schedule mechanics, and the overbilling/underbilling traps that wreck contractor cash flow.
The Change Order Playbook: How to Handle Scope Changes Without Losing Money or Clients
A change order is a written, signed amendment to a contract documenting changes in scope, price, or timeline. This guide covers what every template should contain, when to issue one, and the four habits that turn paperwork into enforceable agreements for service businesses.
Construction Accounting: A Complete Guide for Contractors and Small Builders
Learn the essentials of construction accounting including job costing, revenue recognition methods, WIP schedules, retainage tracking, and change order management. A practical guide for contractors and small builders.