Skilled Trades
You learned a trade, not accounting. We keep your books clean and current so you can focus on the work that actually pays.
You're Great at the Work
You spent years learning your trade. Apprenticeship, licensing exams, working under someone until you knew enough to go out on your own. Then you started your business and realized that half the job has nothing to do with the actual trade.
Invoicing customers, tracking materials, running payroll, figuring out quarterly taxes. None of that was covered when you earned your license. The bookkeeping gets pushed aside because the real work always comes first. That is where we come in.
Who This Is For
Who This Is For
Electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians, welders, and other licensed tradespeople running their own shops around Jacksonville and Northeast Florida. Whether you have a crew of ten or work solo out of your van, the financial side still needs to be handled.
The Pattern We See
The Pattern We See
You started strong. Kept up with the books for a few months, maybe even a year. Then things got busy and the books fell behind. Now you are looking at a backlog and not sure where to begin. That is exactly where most of our trades clients start with us.
What Gets Complicated
Trades businesses have a mix of quick service calls and bigger installation projects. The service call might be a $200 repair that takes an hour. The project might be a $12,000 system install that stretches over a week. Tracking both in the same system without it becoming a mess requires some structure that most tradespeople never had time to set up.
Then there are the materials. You are running to the supply house multiple times a week. Some purchases go on a house account, some go on a credit card, and some come out of pocket. If those purchases are not recorded and tied back to the right job, you lose sight of what each job actually cost you.
Material and Job Tracking
Material and Job Tracking
Every trip to the supply house needs to connect back to a job or a customer. We categorize those purchases so you can see what materials are doing to your margins on a per-job basis. This is the difference between thinking you made money and knowing you did.
Payroll and Workers Comp
Payroll and Workers Comp
Field crews mean overtime, varying hours, and workers comp classification. When audit season comes around, clean payroll records are not optional. We help you get a payroll system set up properly and keep the records organized so that audit is a non-event.
The Backlog Problem
This is the most common situation we see with trades businesses. You meant to keep up with the books, but January turned into June and now you are staring at a year or more of unreconciled transactions. The longer it sits, the bigger the mountain feels and the easier it is to keep ignoring it.
The real cost of that backlog is not just the mess. It is the unfiled tax returns, the estimated tax penalties, and the complete inability to know whether your business is actually profitable. You cannot make good decisions about hiring, equipment, or pricing when you do not know where you stand financially.
Catch-Up Work
Catch-Up Work
We specialize in cleaning up months or years of backlog. We go through the bank statements, credit cards, and whatever receipts exist to rebuild your books from scratch if needed. This is honestly what we do best. Once it is done, we coordinate with your CPA to get any outstanding tax filings handled.
Staying Current
Staying Current
Once we get you caught up, we keep you current with monthly bookkeeping. Transactions categorized, accounts reconciled, and reports ready. The goal is to never fall behind again so that tax season is routine instead of a scramble.
What You Get Back
You get clarity. You know what you made last month. You know which types of jobs are profitable and which ones you have been underpricing. You can look at a number and actually trust it. That changes how you run your business day to day.
You also get your time back. The hours you spent staring at QuickBooks or stuffing receipts into a folder are gone. That time goes back to running calls, training your crew, or being home with your family at the end of the day instead of doing paperwork at the kitchen table.
Pricing Confidence
Pricing Confidence
When you know your true costs including overhead, insurance, fuel, and materials, you stop underbidding. You quote jobs based on real numbers and real margins instead of what the other guy down the street is charging. That is how a trades business stays profitable long term.
Growth Readiness
Growth Readiness
Whether you want to hire another technician, buy a new service van, or take on bigger commercial work, clean books are the foundation. Lenders want to see organized financials. So do bonding companies. When the opportunity shows up, you will be ready for it.
The First Coast's Trusted Bookkeeping Partner
The Next Step:
A Free Discovery Call
Tell us where things stand with your books. Whether you're months behind or just looking for reliable bookkeeping going forward, we'll give you an honest assessment and a clear price.