Bookkeeping for contractors & trades
Stakeville provides bookkeeping for contractors and trades (electrical, construction, HVAC, plumbing) including job-level costing, subcontractor and 1099 tracking, vehicle and equipment depreciation schedules, and S-corp-ready year-end workpapers.
Contractor books live or die on two things: knowing what each job actually cost, and getting subcontractor treatment right. Miscode subs into the wrong cost bucket and your QBI deduction changes; skip depreciation schedules and year-end becomes archaeology.
We set up job-level costing that matches how you bid, track subs with W-9s and 1099-ready payment histories, maintain depreciation schedules for vehicles and equipment, and deliver year-end workpapers (Schedule L, M-1, M-2, and shareholder basis support) your CPA can file from directly.
Where contractors & trades books usually break
No job-level visibility
Revenue in one bucket, costs in another, and no idea which jobs made money.
Subcontractor miscoding
Subs coded as labor vs. other costs changes wage-based deductions and 1099 exposure.
Year-end depreciation mess
Vehicles and equipment purchased mid-year with no schedules behind them.
How Stakeville handles it
Job costing
Income and costs tracked by job so bids get sharper every quarter.
Sub & 1099 tracking
W-9 collection and clean payment histories, 1099-ready every January.
Depreciation schedules
Vehicles and equipment tracked with schedules that tie to the return.
S-corp workpapers
Full year-end package: Schedule L, M-1/M-2, basis, and QBI-correct cost classification.
“The payroll clearing account had never balanced in four years. They found every unmatched entry and now it zeros out every single period.”
“They rebuilt our dealer books, set up the sales tax workflow, and found a revenue gap we didn't know existed.”
Services for contractors & trades
Contractors & Trades, common questions
Do you understand QBI and subcontractor classification?
Yes, how subcontractor costs are classified affects wage-based QBI limitations for S-corps. We code them correctly and document the treatment for your preparer.
Can you handle progress billing or retainage?
Yes, we structure AR to track progress invoices and retainage separately so cash expectations stay accurate.
Find out what your books need, free.
A 20-minute Books Health Check: we review your current setup and tell you exactly what it will take to get clean, decision-ready numbers. No pressure, no credentials requested.