Construction bookkeeping: a month-end checklist for builders and bookkeepers
By Smart Way Builds ยท Updated
Construction bookkeeping connects two views: the builder needs to know how each job is tracking, while the bookkeeper needs complete and correctly treated company records. A project budget is useful, but it is not a replacement for the accounts.
Use this month-end checklist as a shared review agenda. Your accountant should decide the accounting, tax and revenue-recognition policies appropriate to your business.
1. Agree the reporting cut-off and basis
Record the month being reviewed, the tax basis and which statuses belong in each report. Invoice date, approval date and payment date can produce different totals. A timing difference needs explanation, not an automatic correction to force two reports to match.
Separate GST-inclusive cash reporting from the cost basis used for job-margin analysis. The ATO explains GST accounting methods; these do not by themselves determine every job-management report.
2. Clear missing and uncertain supplier records
- Look for missing source invoices and unallocated receipts.
- Review pending approvals with the person responsible for the work.
- Check possible duplicates, revised invoices and credit notes.
- Confirm job and cost-category allocations, especially mixed invoices.
- Ask about work completed but not yet invoiced.
Do not invent an invoice to fill a gap. Keep a separate documented estimate or accountant-reviewed accrual where appropriate, and distinguish it from approved actual costs.
3. Reconcile accepted costs and payments
Fictional AUD example on one consistent reporting basis: approved job invoices total $55,000 and recorded payments against those invoices total $42,000. The $13,000 difference is accepted unpaid costs in this simplified example, not a budget error or extra profit. Real reconciliations may also include partial payments, credits and other adjustments.
Check payments against trusted bank and accounting records. A job-cost total cannot prove a bank reconciliation is complete. Smart Way Builds uses approved allocations for budget actuals and paid records for payment reporting; those measures intentionally differ.
4. Review claims, receipts and variations
Distinguish contract value, claims submitted, amounts assessed and cash collected. Review unresolved variation requests separately from approved changes. Ask your accountant how the relevant revenue should be recognised rather than treating every issued claim as accounting revenue.
Our progress-claim checklist helps organise evidence. The variation-register guide keeps cost, price and approval status separate.
5. Explain the reconciliation differences
| Difference | Check |
|---|---|
| Cost in accounts but missing from job report | Project/code allocation and approval status |
| Cost in job report but not yet paid | Outstanding supplier balance |
| Same invoice appears twice | Source documents, revisions and duplicate entries |
| Different tax totals | Tax basis, source fields and accountant-approved treatment |
Keep an exception list with the amount, cause, owner and next action. Preserve the reviewed reports so a later change can be understood rather than silently replacing the previous month's picture.
6. Update the builder's forward view
Review remaining costs by trade and update expected customer receipts and upcoming payments. Historical accounts and a rolling cash forecast serve different purposes.
Keep records supporting tax reporting in line with applicable requirements; see ATO GST record guidance. This is not a claim that Smart Way Builds guarantees a specific archival period. Explore shared job finance tools and plans with no per user fees.