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24 Feb QuickBooks Online for Contractors

Posted at 19:00h in Blog by

In the past several issues of Ed Talks, I have been discussing software features only available in QuickBooks Online Advanced.  In this issue, I will talk about how QuickBooks Online can be configured to satisfy many of the features needed by the construction industry.  

I presented the techniques in this article at the 2025 Green Industry Winter Forum sponsored by the Massachusetts Nursery and Landscape Association (MNLA).  Siegel Solutions will also have a booth next month at the annual Northeast Hardscape Expo sponsored by the New England Concrete Manufacturers Association (NECMA).  I have presented “QuickBooks for Contractors” education sessions at this show in past years.

By “contractors”, I am referring to businesses such as home builders and remodelers, landscapers, plumbers, electricians, roofers, HVAC, house painters, concrete, excavation, and other trades.  Here are some key features required by these industries:

  • Job Costing: Track costs and revenues for individual projects to monitor profitability. This helps you understand which projects are profitable and which need attention.
  • Progress Invoicing: Bill clients incrementally based on project milestones to maintain cash flow.  This is particularly useful for long-term projects.
  • Expense Tracking: Keep track of all bills and business expenses at the job level, essential for measuring job profitability and ensuring accurate financial management.
  • Labor Job Cost: Simplify payroll processing for both employees and subcontractors, making it easier to allocate labor costs to jobs.  Labor can be a significant component of total job costs.
  • Integration with Construction Management Tools: Seamlessly integrate with popular tools like Buildertrend and Knowify to streamline project management.
  • Customizable Reports: Generate detailed financial reports to gain insights into your business performance and make informed decisions.
  • Mobile App: Manage your construction business from anywhere with the QuickBooks mobile app, allowing you to track money in and out, get alerts, and run your business on the go.

 

Setting up QuickBooks Online for Contractors involves several steps to ensure you can effectively manage your construction business:

1. Open the correct QuickBooks Online edition:

  • Choose the QuickBooks Online plan that best fits your business needs – you need at least QBO Plus or QBO Advanced for these contractor features.  You can start with a 30-day free trial if you’re new to QuickBooks.

 

2. Activate Progress Invoicing:

  • From Account and Settings > Sales, turn on Progress Invoicing to enable creating multiple invoices from one Estimate.  Think of the Estimate (or “Quote” or “Bid”) to be your job budget.

 

 

3. Set Up Projects:

  • Turn on the Projects feature from Account and Settings > Advanced to create and manage individual projects. This allows you to track income, expenses, and profitability for each project.

 

 

4. Create Estimates and Invoices:

  • Use the “Products and Services” feature to create job code items for your estimates and invoices.  For each item, enable job cost codes to be used on Sales and Purchase transactions.  With QBO Advanced Estimates, you can enter your costs and specify a markup to calculate the customer price:

 

 

5. Track Expenses to Projects:

  • In Account and Settings > Expenses, turn on “Track expenses and items by customer”.  Use the Item tab on expenses, checks, and bills and select the job name for all project expenses for materials and external labor (i.e. subcontractors).

 

 

6. Track Labor Costs to Jobs:

  • Use the timesheet feature to specify hours by job and cost code.  An add-on time keeping app, like QB Time, can be essential here.  If you have Intuit payroll, actual employee costs and company payroll taxes will be allocated to the jobs.  If you don’t have Intuit payroll, set the Employee Cost rate (including tax and overhead burden) in Project Settings.

 

 

7. Generate Reports:

  • Use the “Reports” feature to generate financial statements, cash flow reports, and job profitability reports. 
  • QBO Advanced has an “Estimates to Actuals” report to show project performance to date.  
  • The Project Center displays Profit Margin by job and has a Job Profitability report.

 

8. Integrate with Other Tools:

  • Integrate QuickBooks Online with other construction management tools like Buildertrend, Knowify, and QB Time to streamline your workflow.

 

These features help contractors streamline their accounting processes, enhance project tracking, and improve overall financial management.  Companies with field workers also need a Field Service Management add-on to handle scheduling and dispatching of remote work.  We recommend Results, Method, or ServiceM8 for field service apps – see us for details.

At Siegel Solutions, we have consultants who are certified in Buildertrend and Knowify software as well as other 3rd party add-ons that can help you through the process and set you off on the right track.  If you have any specific questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask!

Resources: QuickBooks.com/construction

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Kimberly Mitchell
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Kim is a Partner Development Manager with 10 years of experience working with Strategic Partners. As a 19-year veteran with Intuit and a history of driving growth and sales results within the QuickBooks echo system Kim, brings a wealth of knowledge to our team by assisting us with sales and marketing initiatives while helping us strive for the highest net promoter (clients satisfaction) scores. Kim is passionate about creating and nurturing new partnership opportunities through the relationships she has built over the past 25 years of sales experience.

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Gabor Terebesi
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Gabor Terebesi is an Account Manager with the Payments Team of Intuit for over 15 years. He works in the partner division for Intuit payments to ensure Intuit partners along with any clients of theirs are in the most suitable and financially cost-effective solution accepting payments through eCommerce, QuickBooks, mobile payments, or any other options necessary for their business.

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Aimee joined Siegel in 2022 as the Accounting Manager overseeing the accounting and bookkeeping team. Aimee brings 18 years of experience with increased responsibility with privately and publicly held companies. Her experience lies with SaaS-based companies as well as in healthcare, consulting, education and nonprofits. Prior to joining Siegel, she held accounting leadership positions with Waban Projects, Elastic Path, Moltin, and Ned Davis Research. Aimee loves partnering with business owners to establish financial reporting and results that promote growth and expansion. When Aimee is not working, she loves spending time with her family and friends and exploring all New England has to offer. She is also an avid Red Sox fan and enjoys going to Fenway Park when she can.

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Jeffrey Siegel
CPA, CEO

Jeff has spent the last twenty years working providing solutions to emerging growth businesses. After graduating from Northeastern University, he spent five years working with two multinational CPA firms in an auditor capacity building a foundation for understanding how business work. He later went on to work in various controller and CFO roles before starting Siegel & Associates (previously Siegel Financial Group) in 2000. In those roles, he sold a company to ADP, raised funds for a major expansion of a large regional IVF clinic, and helped set up accounting and financial structures for dozens of companies. Since starting Siegel & Associates, Jeff has worked with hundreds of clients providing accounting system solutions. Those solutions include setting up QuickBooks in a single-user environment putting in QuickBooks Enterprise in a 30-user environment and integrating various add-ons including inventory, CRM, and e-commerce. He is a Certified Public Accountant, a QuickBooks Pro Advisor, a QuickBooks Advanced Pro Advisor, and an Intuit Solution Provider certified in Enterprise Solutions, Point of Sale & QuickBase. Jeff is also a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer

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Lori Swartz
Client Support Manager

After graduating from Boston University, Lori spent eight years working in various managerial positions for two national companies. In those positions, Lori developed the skills necessary to manage multiple projects, clients, and resources. She later went on to work for a management company that handled over 25 real estate properties with multiple tenants. Lori joined Siegel Solutions in 2003 as a client services manager where she utilized her skills developed to manage multiple clients and multiple staff. She recently moved into the client support manager role where she is responsible for meeting with and onboarding new clients, managing and maintaining our technology stack along with QuickBooks setups, conversions, training, and consulting.

In her free time, Lori enjoys spending time with her family. She loves to travel, music, and theater.

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Janet Jodoin
Bookkeeping Associate

Janet joined Siegel Solutions in May of 2022 as an Associate Bookkeeper. In her younger years, while raising her family, she completed her degree in Business and she spent 20 years in the trades as a custom designer. Janet also has 16 years in corporate management. Her strong team support, training, and development led her to support and manage Human Resources. Janet's desire to change careers has led her to return back to bookkeeping at Siegel Solutions. In Janet's free time she enjoys spending time with her growing family. Her personal favorite is creative landscaping in her yard. She also enjoys working alongside her partner in construction and remodeling.

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Tricia Gullage
Associate

Tricia Joined Siegel Solutions in 2022 as a bookkeeper and works with our clients to keep their day-to-day bookkeeping in order. Tricia has 12 years of bookkeeping experience working for a large construction company for 10 of those years handling all their accounting and Payroll. She met Jeff our CEO while working there and decided she wanted to join our team.

When not working Tricia enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She recently moved up to the lakes region in NH and loves going to concerts, enjoying her time boating and snowmobiling.

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Ed Jaworski
Professional Services Manager

With over 21 years of corporate experience at PeopleSoft Consulting, Sun Life Financial, and KPMG, Ed brings a big business approach to small business solutions. Prior to joining Siegel Solutions in 2022, Ed helped small businesses get the most out of QuickBooks for 21 years as a co-founder of SMB Partners and the founder of Solutions for Office Software.

Ed is an Advanced Certified QuickBooks® ProAdvisor, a Certified QuickBooks® Point of Sale ProAdvisor, a Certified QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions ProAdvisor, and a Certified SOS Inventory Consultant. Ed holds an MS in Computer Information Systems from Bentley University and a BS in Business Administration from Northeastern University.

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Debby Mono
Firm Administrator

Prior to joining Siegel Solutions in March 2023, Debby had been working in administrative and executive assistant roles for many years in various fields. Her extensive background in these positions has provided her with a range of skills and knowledge that are valuable in her new role as a Virtual Administrative Assistant. She graduated from Suffolk University with a Bachelor's Degree.

Outside of work, Debby can be found at football fields or dojos cheering for her sons. She also enjoys hikes with her dog, Sawyer, reading, sports, and live music. She and her husband also love to entertain family and friends.

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Letitia Cote
Senior Associate

Letitia has an accounting degree and has been working in the Accounting/Bookkeeping industry for over 25 years. Tish is also an Acumatica Business Consultant. Outside of work, Tish has 4 grown children and 5 grandchildren, she loves to ski, hike, bike, and be outdoors. Tish has worked with Jeff for over 10 years.

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Andrea Alencar
Associate

Andrea graduated from Bridgewater State with a Bachelor's degree in Accounting. Andrea joined Siegel Solutions in 2022. Andrea has gained accounting experience working in various industries including a CPA firm, legal, hospitality, and telecommunications. Before coming to Siegel Solutions Andrea previously worked as a bookkeeper and staff accountant.

Andrea has 4 kids which keep her busy. Outside of work, Andrea enjoys spending time with her kids, being outside, cooking, and going to softball/baseball games.

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Mike Derrico
IT

I started my career in 1983 when I designed and built a device to share a computer program, written by the president of a local bank and his son, running on an Apple Lisa computer. The device allowed the large and expensive Lisa's computer to be shared with bank employees. With this program, and with my device, we started a company to market this unique solution to banks. At this point, computer networks were just starting to be used in businesses. I transitioned my efforts to providing support for migrating banking terminal/mainframe functions to the emerging Personal Computer networking platform. For the next decade, I worked with, and beta tested, numerous technologies to integrate the banking functions from dumb terminals into the now smart desktop computers. After working with a few small consulting firms, I started my own company focusing on providing I.T. support to SMBs. More recently I am now doing the exact opposite by helping customers migrate their PC applications and data from their local computers to The Cloud. A few years ago, I joined Siegel Solutions to add my years of I.T. experience to their firm.

In my spare time, I like to travel, fly my drone and, most importantly, spend time with my family. I also still enjoy tinkering with technology.

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Pat Jaworski
Associate

After spending most of her corporate career in the insurance industry, Pat joined a QuickBooks consulting firm providing bookkeeping services to several small companies. Late in 2022, that firm merged with Siegel Solutions, Inc., bringing Pat and her clients to the group. She provides services to clients in a variety of industries: fitness, construction, beauty, equine care, and medical billing, to name a few. She enjoys supporting her clients by keeping their financial records in good shape and allowing them to focus on growing their respective businesses.

Pat resides in the 495/MetroWest area with her husband Ed, daughter Abby and Duffy, their lovable, energetic golden retriever.

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DeeAnna Keyes

Sales and Marketing Associate

DeeAnna Keyes, has been our Sales and Marketing Associate since December 2023. She brings a wealth of experience, having worked at Intuit with a focus on Quickbooks Online and Quickbooks Desktop. With a robust sales history and a license as a real estate agent in Virginia, DeeAnna is a versatile professional. Outside of work, she cherishes family moments, indulges in camping with friends, and finds joy in entertaining at home with her husband and four children.

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Janice Kats

Associate

Janice Kats graduated from Carl Sandburg College with an Associate Degree in Accounting in 1992 and has been working in the accounting field ever since in various jobs doing AR, AP, payroll, office management, and bookkeeping before joining Siegel Solutions in late 2023.

In 2022, she made the decision to branch out on her own and started her own bookkeeping business, working from home.

She is a mom to 3 grown children and a grandmother to 5 grandchildren and enjoys spending time with her husband and two dogs and following her grandchildren in all of their sports.

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Olga Shteynberg
Administrative Assistant

Olga joined our team as our in-office Administrative Assistant this past January, bringing with her valuable past administrative and customer support experience.

She resides in Natick with her fiancé, two daughters, and a dog. Originally from Russia, Olga relocated to the States at the age of ten with her parents and an older sister.

Outside of work, Olga enjoys spending quality time with her family, traveling, and reading. She also practices yoga and meditation, helping her stay grounded when she’s not in the office.

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