Electrical Bookkeeping and Fractional CFO Services
Electrical contractors often find that residential, commercial and service work carry very different gross margins, yet they have been managing all three as one business. Job costing by division shows exactly where profit lives and where it is being diluted.
In person across Tampa Bay (Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Manatee, Sarasota). Remote for electrical contractors nationwide.
Problems Will fixes for electrical contractors
- Prevailing wage payroll creating complex accounting entries
- Project-level job costing for multi-phase commercial work not set up
- Equipment and vehicle assets not tracked against the jobs that use them
- Residential, commercial and service margins not tracked separately
Why a generalist bookkeeper isn't enough
Most bookkeepers record transactions, reconcile the bank and hand you a Profit and Loss statement once a month. Will reads your numbers the way a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) does: which service lines make money, where costs are drifting, what cash looks like 60 days out, and whether the books are telling you the truth.
Software Will works with
Electrical contractors using FieldPulse, Simpro or Vonigo, or running jobs directly in QuickBooks Online, often face prevailing wage requirements most bookkeepers have never handled. Will structures the chart of accounts and payroll accounting to capture prevailing wage correctly, and builds project-level job costing that follows multi-phase commercial jobs from permit to final inspection.
The numbers electrical contractors should watch every month
- Gross margin by division: residential, commercial, service
- Labor cost against estimate on each phase of commercial jobs
- Under-billings on open commercial projects
- Retainage receivable by job and age
Bookkeeping or fractional CFO?
Construction bookkeeping
Weekly books, job costing, monthly financials and a CPA-ready year-end, about $1,000–$3,500 a month. Best for companies up to roughly $5M. See the tiers.
Fractional CFO
Cash forecasting, WIP and bonding reports, budgets, pricing and growth strategy, typically $6,000–$12,000 a month. Best for companies from roughly $5M to $50M. Fractional CFO services.
Frequently asked questions
How does prevailing wage affect electrical contractor bookkeeping?
Prevailing wage jobs require certified payroll and specific wage and fringe rates. The accounting has to tie those costs to the right job so margins and compliance records are both accurate.
Do electrical contractors need a WIP schedule?
Any electrical contractor doing commercial or bonded work should have one. It shows over- and under-billings on each project and is what sureties and banks review.
When does an electrical contractor need a fractional CFO?
Typically when commercial work grows past about $5M, when bonding becomes a constraint, or when you are planning expansion or a sale.