Restaurants, construction and trades
In-depth bookkeeping for restaurants, contractors and the trades
These businesses move a lot of money through thin margins, with tips, subs, supplies and seasonal swings. Generic books hide where the profit is. In-depth books show it.
Gold tier in Intuit's ProAdvisor program. See my Intuit listing
Matthew Coleman, QuickBooks ProAdvisor, accounting and finance degree. Cranford, NJ. Start with a free health check of your books. You get a quote after we review your books, before any work starts.
Keeping your own books? Tallyfinch does invoices, bank import and reports on your computer. See Tallyfinch
Restaurants and food
POS and delivery-app deposits matched to sales, tips and tip-outs, food and labor cost percentages, and sales tax tracked separately.
Contractors and construction
Job costing by project, subcontractors and their 1099s, deposits and progress billing, and retainage, so you see what each job really earned.
Salons, shops and service businesses
Booth rent or commissions, product inventory, tips and card fees, and appointment-software payouts tied to the bank.
Any other industry
Medical and dental offices, trucking, retail, nonprofits, agencies and professional practices all have their own quirks. If yours isn't listed, ask. We'll tell you plainly whether we're a fit.
What these businesses have in common
Thin margins, cash and card sales, daily timing swings and large costs that arrive in lumps. Small errors in categories, tips, job costs or inventory change the picture a lot.
Numbers worth seeing every month
Restaurants: food and labor cost as a share of sales. Contractors: profit by job after materials, labor and subcontractors. Shops and services: sales by item or service and gross margin. Our profit margin and markup calculator and cost of goods sold calculator help with the basics.
Related
- Cash flow crisis
- Payroll records out of sync
- Bookkeeping health check
- Bookkeeping guides
- Cost of goods sold calculator
- Break-even calculator
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with the agency, lender or your professional. Updated October 2026.
FAQ
Common questions
Do you take my type of business?
Almost certainly. Tell us what you do and we'll say honestly whether we're a fit.
Can you do job costing?
Yes, by project, class or location depending on your software.
Do you work with POS systems?
We work from their reports and deposits.
Do you set up job costing?
Yes. We set up classes or projects in your software so each job's income and costs are visible.
Can you handle tips and tip reporting?
We record tips in the books. Reporting rules are for your payroll provider and tax professional.
Tallyfinch
Books you keep on your own computer
Tallyfinch does invoices, bills, bank import, reconciliation and the main reports, in a file you own. $99 once, then $5 a month for updates; the app keeps working if you stop the plan. It does not do payroll or sales tax filing. The free download records up to 60 entries.
See Tallyfinch Download it free Compare the three apps