Construction bookkeeping services
Monthly bookkeeping for UK construction and trades firms, with your CIS and VAT (including the construction reverse charge) done too. Your accountant still does the year end. They get clean, up to date books, so there is less for them to sort out.
What does a construction bookkeeper actually do?
A construction bookkeeper keeps your records up to date every month. That means matching your bank to your receipts, working out CIS deductions, giving each subcontractor a statement, and preparing your VAT return, including the construction reverse charge. Your accountant still does your year end accounts and corporation tax.
What we do every month
Your bank, kept up to date
Every payment in and out matched and sorted, so the balance you see is the real one.
Receipts collected and matched
We pick up your supplier invoices and match each one to the payment that went out. Paper receipts can be photographed and emailed to us, so none stay in the van.
CIS worked out every month
Each new subcontractor checked with HMRC, the right deduction on the right amount, a statement prepared for each one to pass on, and your CIS return ready to send before the 19th.
VAT, including the reverse charge
Your VAT return prepared, checked and filed once you approve it. The reverse charge is the part that catches people out, and it is the part we specialise in.
Your business mileage, recorded
Fuel shows up as a card payment, but a journey leaves no record unless someone writes it down, and an unrecorded journey cannot be claimed. You record each journey on a mileage app on your phone, and we keep the log with your books, so your year end claim is based on records, not guesswork.
Your cash and your jobs
Each month you see your cash for the next thirteen weeks, and what each job has cost and brought in so far.
If you have staff, we run your payroll too, weekly, fortnightly or monthly, and tell HMRC on or before each payday. The monthly deadlines are the same as your CIS. Payroll for construction firms
What we do, and what we do not
We do
- Keep your books up to date every month, not in a rush at year end
- Work out your CIS deductions and prepare a statement for each subcontractor
- Prepare your monthly CIS return so it is ready for you to send
- Prepare your VAT return, including the reverse charge, and file it once you approve it
- Give you a fixed price before you commit, and keep it fixed
We do not
- Claim to be accountants. We are bookkeepers
- Do your year end accounts or corporation tax. Your accountant still does those
- Send anything to HMRC without your approval
- Send your CIS return for you. We prepare it and you send it, so nothing reaches HMRC that you have not seen
- Advise on employment status or IR35
Example: one subcontractor invoice
A registered subcontractor invoices you £2,000 for labour and £400 for materials. The CIS deduction comes off the labour only, never the materials. Because they are registered, the rate is twenty percent rather than thirty percent.
If the construction reverse charge applies, you do not pay them any VAT. Their invoice leaves the VAT off and says the reverse charge applies, and you account for the VAT on your own return instead. The rule is section 55A of the VAT Act 1994, explained in HMRC's VAT Notice 735. Getting this wrong is a common mistake with the reverse charge.
How the reverse charge works- Labour on the invoice
- £2,000
- Materials on the invoice
- £400
- Invoice total
- £2,400
- CIS at 20 percent, on the labour only
- -£400
- What the subcontractor is paid
- £2,000
The £400 deducted goes to HMRC. We prepare a statement showing it, which you pass on to the subcontractor so they can claim it back. They are due it within 14 days of the end of the tax month.
Try it with your own numbersWhen we are not the right choice
- You want one firm to do both your books and your year end accounts. We only do the books, so you would still need your accountant.
- You need advice on whether a worker is employed or self employed. That is employment status advice, and we do not give it.
Not sure which you need? Read our guide to bookkeeper or accountant.
Common questions about bookkeeping
Can I do my bookkeeping myself?
Yes, and with a few invoices a month and no subcontractors it is manageable. It gets harder once you pay subcontractors, because every one needs a deduction worked out and a statement each month. The VAT reverse charge adds more, because who pays the VAT depends on who you are invoicing. That is usually when it stops being worth your evenings.
How much is a bookkeeper per hour in the UK?
Hourly rates vary a lot, and paying by the hour means every phone call costs you, so you stop asking questions. We charge one fixed monthly fee instead, based on your turnover, how many subcontractors you pay, whether you are VAT registered and whether you need payroll. If you are behind, catching up is priced separately. The monthly fee only changes if the work changes.
How much should you pay someone to do your bookkeeping?
Enough for them to do the job properly, on a basis where asking a question does not cost extra. Compare what is included, not just the monthly price: a cheap fee with VAT, CIS statements and catch-up work all charged as extras is not cheap. Catch-up work should be priced separately, so you never pay a monthly fee for months that were not covered.
What are the three types of bookkeeping?
They are usually given as single entry, double entry and computerised. For a construction business, the choice that matters more is cash basis, where you record money when it moves, or traditional accounting, where you record it when the invoice is raised. That choice changes what your monthly figures show, and we can explain the difference. Which to use is a question for your accountant.
Which accounting software do you use?
We work in Xero, and the subscription is in your name, so your books stay yours if you ever leave. If you use something else at the moment, tell us and we will talk it through.
Can I move to you from my current bookkeeper?
Yes. Tell us where your books are up to and you get a fixed monthly price before you commit. The monthly work starts from the month you join. If anything before that is behind, catching it up is quoted separately, so you never pay a monthly fee for months we did not cover. Your accountant carries on doing your year end as before.
Primary sources and further reading
Everything on this page is drawn from HMRC's own published guidance.
Hand over your monthly bookkeeping
When you join, tell us about your business and where your books are up to, and we give you a fixed monthly price. Join the waitlist for 2027.