You bid a foundation job in November based on a price per yard that made the margin work. By the time you pour in March, the ready-mix price has gone up $8 a yard. Multiply that across 600 yards and your margin just shrunk by nearly five grand on one job.
Concrete contractors deal with material cost swings that can turn a profitable bid into a break-even project between the time you submit and the time you pour. Your books need to track those cost movements in real time, not surface them three months after the job is done.
What Concrete Contractors Need From Their Books
Material cost tracking by job. Ready-mix, rebar, wire mesh, form materials, sealers. Every material cost allocated to the correct job so you see the real cost per yard on every pour. When ready-mix prices move, you’ll know exactly how it hit each project.
Weather delay cost impact. Rain days and freeze delays don’t just push your schedule. They cost money: crews standing by, equipment idle on site, overtime to catch up when the weather breaks. We track weather-related costs separately so you can see the true impact on job profitability and use that data in future bids.
Retainage management. Concrete contractors on commercial work often have retainage held for months after the work is complete. We track retainage as a separate receivable, monitor aging, and make sure it’s not distorting your cash flow picture or your AR aging.
Job costing by work type. Flatwork, structural, decorative, precast. Each type of concrete work has different labor requirements, equipment needs, and margin expectations. We set up your cost codes so you can compare profitability across the types of work you do.
Equipment and fleet tracking. Concrete pumps, finishing machines, buggies, trucks. Your equipment costs are a significant portion of your overhead and need proper depreciation tracking and allocation to jobs.
Seasonal cash flow planning. In most markets, concrete work is weather-dependent. That means heavy revenue months in summer and fall, with slower winter periods. We build cash flow projections that account for your seasonal patterns so you’re not caught short in February.
The Problems We Solve for Concrete Contractors
Concrete contractors come to us when material cost increases ate their margin and they didn’t realize it until the job was closed. When retainage from six projects is sitting on their books as regular receivables and the cash flow picture looks better than it actually is. When they’re trying to get bonded and their financials aren’t structured to show a surety what they need to see.
We also work with concrete contractors who are growing and need to understand their real cost per unit. Knowing your actual cost per yard of placed concrete, broken out by labor, material, equipment, and overhead, is the difference between bidding to win and bidding to lose money.
Common Questions From Concrete Contractors
How do you handle material price increases mid-project? We track actual material costs against estimated costs at the job level. When prices move, the variance shows up in your job cost report immediately so you can adjust billing or negotiate with the GC.
Can you track cost per yard across different job types? Yes. We break down your fully loaded cost per unit, including labor, materials, equipment, and allocated overhead, by job type so you can see exactly what each type of concrete work costs you.
What about pump truck and equipment allocation? We track equipment costs per job, including owned equipment allocation and rented equipment charges, so your job cost reports reflect the true cost of the equipment used on each project.
Let’s Review Your Numbers
We’ll look at your current books, your job costing setup, and how you’re tracking material costs. If concrete-specific bookkeeping would change how you see your business, we’ll show you what that looks like.