Accounting for concrete contractors — driveways to foundations.
Job costing for concrete work where materials swing 8% per quarter, labor is heavy, and one bad pour can erase the margin on three good ones.
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Concrete contracting is a margin-thin business. Cement and aggregate prices move with diesel and natural gas. Pumping costs add up. Labor is heavy and weather-dependent. Most concrete shops we audit are pricing off cost data that's 6–12 months stale, which means they're bidding jobs at numbers that no longer reflect reality.
We work with residential driveway/patio specialists, foundation pour contractors, and commercial decorative concrete shops. The accounting framework is the same: tight job costing with current material rates, real labor burden allocation, and cash flow planning that survives weather delays.
What we handle for concrete contractors
- Job costing with materials, pump rental, labor (with burden), equipment, and overhead per job.
- Materials volatility tracking — quarterly review of your blended cost per yard so estimating stays current.
- Equipment depreciation on trucks, mixers, pumps, vibrators — Section 179 timing.
- Payroll for crews with weather-day handling and per-job allocation.
- Subcontractor 1099s for finishers, pumpers, and rebar crews.
- Sales tax on materials sold separately vs incorporated into a contract.
A residential driveway specialist was bidding off a $148/yard installed cost. Actual blended cost was $171. Three months of jobs at the old number erased a quarter of margin. Quarterly cost review would have caught it the first month.
If you do residential under $200K, monthly bookkeeping is enough.
If you mix residential and commercial, job costing per project is required.
If you carry equipment over $50K in book value, depreciation timing matters more than most owners realize.
Job-level margin, current materials cost, real equipment math.
From $500/month for small concrete shops. Built for the way the work actually prices.
Frequently asked questions
How do you handle weather-day payroll?
We code rain/snow days to a separate "weather time" account. Crews still get paid (per company policy or state rule), but the time is not allocated to a job. The result: job-level labor cost reflects actual productive time, not unproductive standby.
Section 179 on a concrete pump?
Yes — most pumps and pump trucks qualify for Section 179 immediate expensing in year 1. We model the multi-year impact before the purchase since pumps are typically $80K–$300K and the deduction timing matters.
Sales tax on broken-out concrete materials?
Colorado treats it as contractor-with-resale on most repair/replace work, contractor-only on new construction. We set your invoicing to handle the distinction so you neither over- nor under-collect.
Can you do bonded job WIP reporting?
Yes. For commercial work that requires bonding or progress invoicing, we run WIP schedules monthly with earned vs billed analysis.