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Constructing an office block, a home, or an apartment is only part of what it takes to be a productive contractor. If the contractor cannot regulate the financial flow, no matter how talented the firm is on the line, it will collapse. As a result, a contractor should devote attention and time to analyzing reports.

QuickBooks is a commonly used business software application for a wide range of organizations. Many construction firms use it because of its simplicity of use and inexpensive cost. It charges between $25 and $90 monthly. QuickBooks Online allows you to stay up-to-date on your accounting and finance reports from anywhere.

It is a generic corporate accounting program, not one designed exclusively for the construction sector. Even their industry-specific application, QuickBooks for Contractors, is inappropriate for every construction company. It simply means that if you do decide to utilize it, you must be aware of a few potential hazards.

This article provides five task reports that will be very useful to contractors. Those might be able to assist you in keeping your project and business on a solid foundation.

5 QuickBooks Reports for Profitable Contractors

 Let’s start with five perks of QuickBooks building accounting software for contractors and organizations.

1.  Job Estimate vs. Actual Detail

Every construction company should use job costing to calculate income and expenses on each project. Fortunately, QuickBooks makes creating customers and jobs a breeze. You’re done after filling out a couple of screens. For contractors, this is the most widely used and useful report.

This analysis could assist the contractor in seeing the discrepancies between what was anticipated and what is in practice by presenting both estimate and actual cost and estimate and actual income.

Job Estimate vs. Actual 
Detail covers all job-related data in chronological sequence. As a result, the contractor will be able to see the comparison line by line. This report’s information is also utilized to calculate WIP (Work-In-Progress) reports. You may run job costing statistics that rapidly inform you if a job is over budget if you add or import your job estimates into the program.

It could even show you which parts of the job are more expensive than others. The pre-built reports are highly useful and simple to read, and it is simple to drill down in a report to view the details that make up each statistic.

2.  Time by Job Detail

Contractors can use QuickBooks to track each person’s time spent on a project. As a result, they may run the Time by Job Detail report to discover how much time each person spent on a project. They could then adjust or improve working hours and efficiency if necessary.

3.   Job Progress Invoices vs. Estimate

If the contractor uses Progress Invoicing, which is suggested, they should be aware of the difference between Job Progress Invoices and Estimate Report. This report displays if the estimate is active or not. By reviewing this report, the contractor may keep track of the overall amount of the estimate, the amount that has been billed, and the proportion of the estimates that have been invoiced in progress invoicing. 

4.  Job Profitability Reports

Job Profitability reports are ideal examples for contractors who simply want to see the variances between the amount of money they paid and were paid. Job Profitability Reports come in two flavors:

Job Profitability Summary, which highlights the profits earned by the company from servicing each construction customer over a given time period, and Job Profitability Detail, which operates in the same way but for a specific job. The “difference” column is an essential indicator in both reports. Based on the report, contractors can see their financial position in the whole business.

5.  Items Estimate vs. Actual

A contractor can offer a wide range of services. This report might assist them in determining how accurate the company’s cost and revenue estimates were for each item and development phase. The contractor can utilize the report to keep the firm moving in the right direction by monitoring, regulating, and deciding.

Successful contractors do not require a degree in accounting or financial management, but they must be more cautious in their financial judgments. Paying attention to the five job reports will help you get your company moving on the right path.

Conclusion

Take a closer look at QuickBooks reports for your business and successfully use them for your financial planning. When most construction enterprises are just getting started, QuickBooks is a good, dependable accounting system to use.