One blended margin
All revenue in one line, all costs in another. The kitchen reno that lost $6k and the panel upgrade that made $9k average out to "fine," and you keep bidding both.
Margin by job, every month
Electrical · plumbing · HVAC · GC · renovation
Job costing that tells you which jobs made money.
A busy year with nothing left in the account usually means one thing: some jobs quietly lost money and the books couldn't tell you which. We code materials, subs, labour and site costs to each job as they happen, keep holdbacks and progress billing straight, and handle the T5018 and WSIB paperwork that comes with running crews.
QuickBooks ProjectsJobberServiceTitanHousecall ProDext
Where trade books go wrong
Three ways profitable trades go broke on paper.
Busy is not the same as profitable. These are the three gaps that hide the difference.
Holdbacks in limbo
10% of every billing sits unpaid by design. Untracked, it's revenue you forget you're owed, and HST that gets remitted in the wrong period, or twice.
Holdbacks receivable, HST timed right
Subs with no paper trail
E-transfers to subcontractors all year, then a scramble when the T5018 return is due and WSIB asks for clearance certificates you never collected.
Sub payments tracked all year
The number that changes your bidding
One job, costed honestly.
When every receipt, sub invoice and crew hour lands on the right job, the P&L stops being a mystery. You see which job types, which customers and which price points actually carry the business, while there's still time to bid differently.
We set this up in QuickBooks Projects and keep it fed from your bank, supplier invoices and payroll, no extra admin on your side.
Talk through your job mix →Job 24-117 · basement retrofit
Contract price · incl. two change orders$84,000
Materials-$31,200
Subcontractors-$18,400
Crew labour + payroll burden-$14,850
Equipment & site costs-$3,900
Job profit$15,650 · 18.6%
Holdback note: $8,400 of this contract sits in holdback until lien expiry. It's tracked as its own receivable, with the HST timed to when it's payable.
What we handle
The full trade back office.
One flat monthly price, sized to job volume and crew size.
Job costing
Materials, subs, labour and site costs coded to each project as they happen, with margin by job on every monthly report.
Progress billing & holdbacks
Billings tied to contracts and change orders; the Construction Act 10% tracked as its own receivable with HST timed to release.
Subcontractor management
Payments tracked by sub all year, WSIB clearance habits, and the annual T5018 information return filed without a shoebox hunt.
HST & ITCs
Returns from verified numbers with input tax credits captured on materials, fuel and equipment, filed on time every period.
Crew payroll & WSIB
Payroll with the full burden visible per job, source deductions remitted on schedule, WSIB premiums accrued and reported, T4s at year-end.
Catch-up & cleanup
A season behind? We rebuild from bank, supplier and payroll records, quoted flat in writing, then the monthly close keeps you current.
What it costs
Most Toronto trades land between $400 and $900 per month, flat, including QuickBooks with project tracking, reconciliation, HST filing and job-cost reporting. Crew payroll adds $150 end to end.
Trades FAQ
Asked by every contractor we meet.
If construction is your main business and you pay subcontractors, the CRA requires an annual T5018 information return reporting what you paid each one. We track sub payments all year, so the slips are a button-press, not an archaeology project.
Ontario's Construction Act lets customers hold back 10% of each billing until lien periods expire. It's earned revenue you can't collect yet, and the HST on it generally isn't collectible until the holdback becomes payable. We track holdbacks as their own receivable so the cash and the HST both land in the right period.
Yes, that's the point. Costs are coded to each job as they happen, so every month you see margin by project, not one blended number. Bidding gets easier when you know which kinds of jobs actually make money.
Most trades land between $400 and $900 per month flat depending on job volume, sub count and payroll. QuickBooks with project tracking, reconciliation, HST filing and job-cost reporting are included.
Keep reading
Related reading & services.
Bring one finished job.
We'll cost it in front of you.
The free 30-minute review takes a job you just closed and shows you what it really made after materials, subs, labour and holdbacks. Findings in writing, yours either way.
On a call or in person · no passwords · findings are yours either way