Bookkeeping for Richmond contractors and trades

Richmond jobs often start below grade, with weeks of site work before anything goes up. We keep your books job by job, so every draw, holdback and crew hour lands where you can see it.

Get an estimate

From $225/month

Progress draw 2

Example

Forming and placing, warehouse slab-on-grade

Billed this draw
$86,400.00
Held back, 10%
−$8,640.00
Paid to you
$77,760.00
Holdback waits on the jobPayable 55 days after completion

Amounts before GST.

Building on the Fraser delta

Richmond sits on silt and peat over Fraser River deposits, with groundwater close to the surface. The City says dewatering is often needed to build here. For the trades, that means foundation and site work that can run for months before a building rises, and early draws that are large.

The work leans industrial and commercial: warehouses and distribution space near YVR and along the river, and mid- and high-rise buildings in the City Centre along the Canada Line. Piling and concrete subs, mechanical and electrical contractors and the finishing trades all bill those jobs in stages.

  • Early draws carry the weight

    When a job spends months on preload, piles and pile caps, the first draws are big and so are the holdbacks on them. Each one stays a receivable against its job, so it is still on the list when the building is finished.

  • Equipment charged to the job that used it

    Pumps, excavators and shoring rented for a few weeks are costed to that job, so its margin includes them instead of hiding them in overhead.

  • One licence for six cities

    A trades contractor with a City of Richmond business licence can add the Metro West inter-municipal licence, which covers Burnaby, Delta, New Westminster, Richmond, Surrey and Vancouver.

    Source: City of Richmond

The rules on every BC job

The same in Richmond as anywhere in the province, and kept in your books every month.

  • 10%

    Holdback on every draw

    Whoever pays you on a contract or subcontract keeps back 10% of each payment. We record it as holdback receivable against the job, not as revenue you lost, and you keep 10% from your own subs as holdback payable.

    Source: BC Laws
  • 55 days

    Until a holdback can be paid

    The holdback period ends 55 days after a certificate of completion, or after the head contract is completed. The Construction Prompt Payment Act, not yet in force, will shorten it to 46.

    Source: BC Laws
  • $500

    A T5018 slip per subcontractor

    If construction is more than half your business income, payments to a subcontractor over $500 in the period (before GST) are reported on a T5018, due six months after the calendar or fiscal year you report on.

    Source: CRA
  • PST

    Paid on materials, not charged on install

    Contractors pay PST on materials bought for a job, lump sum or time and materials, and generally don't charge it when those goods become part of the building. That PST is part of the job's cost; only the GST comes back as an input tax credit.

    Source: Province of BC
  • Before and after

    A WorkSafeBC clearance letter for each sub

    If a sub you hired doesn't pay its WorkSafeBC premiums, you can be liable for them. A clearance letter addressed to you, before and after the work, is what protects you.

    Source: WorkSafeBC
  • 1.5×

    Overtime for hourly crews

    Time and a half after 8 hours in a day or 40 in a week, and double time after 12 in a day, unless an averaging agreement applies. Payroll is run from the timesheets.

    Source: Province of BC
  • 5 days

    To issue an ROE after a layoff

    On a weekly, biweekly or semi-monthly payroll, an electronic Record of Employment is due within 5 calendar days after the end of the pay period in which someone's earnings stop.

    Source: Service Canada

Kept by someone from the trade

Liam keeps these books. Before Tallyforth he spent his career in concrete construction as a detailer, surveyor, estimator and quantity takeoff specialist, so a draw schedule, a holdback and a back-charge read to him the way they read to you.

What it costs

Monthly bookkeepingReconciled, closed and reported every month
$225/month
PayrollHourly crews, remittances, T4s and ROEs
$100/month and up
Year-end, corporationsT2 prepared and filed by a licensed CPA
$1,325/year

A contractor with a crew and a holding company

$1,950 to $2,438/month

An example estimate from our pricing page.

Estimates only, confirmed after we review your books. Plans have a 3-month minimum, and prices are before applicable sales taxes.

Get an estimate

Questions from contractors in Richmond

We spend weeks dewatering and prepping a site before we pour. How does that show in the books?

As costs of that job from the first day. Equipment rentals, fuel, labour and materials for the site work are tagged to the job, so its profit includes the slow start and not only the pour.

Can we see what a job made before it's finished?

Yes. Draws, holdbacks, materials, subs and crew hours are recorded against the job as they happen, so profit by job is a report you can open in any month, not a surprise at year end.

Does a Richmond business licence cover jobs in Vancouver or Surrey?

Not on its own. A trades contractor holding a valid City of Richmond business licence can apply for the Metro West inter-municipal business licence, which also covers Burnaby, Delta, New Westminster, Surrey and Vancouver. The City of Richmond can confirm whether your work qualifies.

More for contractors

Sources