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A practical construction WIP report
A work-in-progress schedule brings project costs, estimates and billing into the same discussion. Its usefulness depends on current job information and candid review of what remains to be done, rather than a spreadsheet that simply repeats last month’s assumptions.
This guide describes common bookkeeping practice, not a legal or regulatory requirement.
Last reviewed:
General information, not legal or tax advice.
Assemble a consistent job snapshot
Choose a common reporting cutoff for the active jobs. A practical worksheet can include contract value, approved changes, costs recorded, estimated costs remaining and billings to date. Keep supporting job reports with the worksheet so the reviewer can see where each amount came from.
Review the estimate to finish with the field team
Ask the project manager what work, purchases and subcontractor commitments remain. Record changed assumptions and unresolved change orders separately. An updated cost-to-finish estimate helps explain why a job’s expected margin moved even when the contract value did not.
Compare progress with billing as a management exercise
As common bookkeeping practice, compare the progress assessment with amounts billed and identify jobs where billing appears ahead of or behind the work. Use those differences to prompt questions about billing timing, missing applications or revised estimates. This worksheet does not decide revenue recognition or tax treatment.
Use software detail to investigate the differences
Intuit describes phase filtering for Estimate vs. Actuals and WIP reports in QuickBooks Online Advanced with the Construction add-on and in Intuit Enterprise Suite. Where that feature is available, phase detail can help locate the work behind a changed estimate. Check the actual setup before relying on a report name.
Sources: QuickBooks Online support: Learn about project phases
Agree on the report’s purpose with the CPA
The IRS accounting-methods publication points readers elsewhere for long-term contract tax methods. Keep the management worksheet distinct from tax-method decisions and ask your CPA which adjustments belong in the financial statements. If a lender or surety requests a schedule, obtain its requested format instead of assuming a universal template.
Sources: IRS: accounting periods and methods
Sources: WIP software and accounting context
Make job schedules easier to review
Tidwell organizes job costs and billing support for project review, working alongside your CPA on accounting decisions.