Specialty Contractor Accounting service calls to full projects.
For electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing, concrete, and other trade contractors who run service work and project work out of the same shop.
Specialty contractor accounting has to handle two businesses at once. Service work moves fast, with many small tickets, truck stock, and technicians paid by the hour, flat rate, or commission. Project work runs on bids, progress billing, and retainage, much like a general contractor's. TreeStar separates the two in your books so you can see which side earns its keep, tracks materials from supplier invoice to job, and calculates what each truck and piece of equipment costs to run. We also run technician payroll with job coding, so labor cost on every ticket and project reflects real wages and burden.
Where it gets complicated
- 01 Service versus project
When service and project revenue share one income line, a strong service division can hide a losing project, or the reverse. Each side needs its own margin.
- 02 Materials and truck stock
Materials bought in bulk, stocked on trucks, and pulled for jobs are easy to lose track of. Material cost that never reaches a job quietly erodes margin.
- 03 Trucks and equipment
Vehicles, lifts, and tools are a major cost that rarely gets charged back to the work. Without an hourly or daily rate, bids can undercount true cost.
- 04 Technician pay plans
Flat-rate, commission, and incentive pay raise overtime and rest-period questions, particularly in California. Errors multiply across every technician and pay period.
- 05 Service agreements
Prepaid maintenance agreements are earned over the agreement term, not when the customer pays. Booking them as instant revenue overstates profit in the months they are sold.
How TreeStar helps
We structure your chart of accounts and job tracking so service and project margins report on their own.
→ inventory_accounting Track materials to jobsWe set up purchasing and material tracking so supplier costs land on the right ticket or project.
→ processing Run technician payrollWe process payroll for field and shop staff, coding hours to jobs and applying the pay plans you use.
→ performance_kpi_analysis Measure division performanceWe report gross margin, labor efficiency, and equipment cost by division each month.
→What you can expect
Service and project margins reported separately
Material and truck costs charged to the work
Technician pay coded to every job
Common questions
How should we build truck and equipment costs into jobs?
We total each vehicle's or machine's ownership and operating costs and turn them into an hourly or daily rate. That rate can then be charged to jobs and built into bids.
Do we need inventory accounting for truck stock?
It depends on how much material you carry and how you buy it. We help you choose a tracking approach that matches your volume, from charging materials directly to jobs to a perpetual inventory.
Can you handle flat-rate or commission technician pay?
We can set up and process those pay plans in payroll and flag overtime and rest-period issues for review. Legal questions about plan design go to your employment attorney.
Need a referral?
We work alongside the attorneys, consultants, and other specialists your industry relies on. Tell us what you need and we will make an introduction.
Bonding capacity, bid bonds, and performance bonds.
→ request_referral Construction attorneyContracts, liens, disputes, and licensing questions.
→ request_referral Contractor insurance brokerGeneral liability, workers' comp, and builder's risk.
→ request_referral Contractor licensing consultantLicense applications and classifications.
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