Construction & Contractor Accounting - Ontario
Job-costing, holdback accounting, and HST for Ontario construction and trade businesses.
Construction profit hides at the project level. A company can look healthy overall while losing money on individual jobs, and holdbacks distort cash and revenue if they are not accounted for properly. The books have to follow the work, job by job.
SHARP & Associates provides accounting and tax for Ontario construction and trade businesses, with job-costing and holdback accounting at the centre - plus the WSIB, T5018, and HST realities that come with the trade.
Common Challenges We Solve
Job-level blindness
Company-wide numbers can mask a losing project. We cost by job so you know where you are actually making money.
Holdback distortion
Holdbacks misread cash and revenue if mishandled. We track holdback receivable and payable so your statements reflect reality.
How SHARP & Associates helps
We set up job-costing so profitability is visible project by project, track holdbacks correctly, handle WSIB and T5018 sub-contractor reporting, and manage HST on labour versus materials - then plan year-end corporate tax.
Accounting that works job by job
Construction profit is made and lost on individual jobs, not just across the year, and accounting that cannot tell you how a project performed is missing the point. We set up job-level tracking so you can see real margin per project - where you made money, where you bled it, and what to price differently next time.
Schedule a CallThe contractor's cash-flow puzzle is timing: holdbacks retained until completion, progress billings that lag the work, and material costs paid up front. Accounting that ignores this paints a misleading picture of both profit and the cash actually available. We handle these realities so your statements reflect the true state of the business.
Trades businesses run on subcontractors, and that brings specific obligations - correct treatment, documentation, and the T5018 contract-payment reporting the CRA expects. We keep that side clean so a routine area does not turn into a compliance headache.
The contractors who consistently make money are the ones who know what their last jobs actually cost - not what they estimated, but what they spent on labour, materials, equipment, and subs. Job-level accounting turns that knowledge into better bids. We set up your books so each project's true profitability is visible, which over time sharpens your pricing and tells you which kinds of work are worth chasing.
Construction cash flow is uniquely punishing: you pay for materials and labour up front, bill on progress, and wait on holdbacks until completion. Accounting that does not model this makes a profitable job look like a cash crisis and vice versa. We keep the picture accurate so you can see the difference between a timing gap and a real problem, and plan around the holdbacks rather than being squeezed by them.
Construction rarely moves at a steady pace, and a strong stretch can mask a thin one if the numbers are not kept current. We keep your financial picture up to date through the swings, so a busy quarter and a quiet one are both understood for what they are - and so year-end planning reflects the full arc of the year rather than a snapshot taken at the wrong moment.
Related Services
Construction & Contractors Questions, Answered
If your question is not covered here, we are one call away.
Ask Us AnythingYes. We set up job-costing so you can see profitability project by project, not just company-wide.
We track holdback receivable and payable separately so your cash flow and revenue consider the impact of holdbacks.
Yes. We prepare T5018 contract payment reporting and handle WSIB calculations.
Yes. The initial call is free and has no obligation.
Schedule a Call
Call (905) 491-7043 or email info@sharppc.ca to schedule a call. We will review your current situation, explain our approach, and confirm the right next step before any work begins.
Let's Connect
The first call is free and there is no obligation - we will review your situation, explain our approach, and confirm the right next step before any work begins.
