Electrical contractors: see what each job made — books, payroll and taxes done for you

Free tax review

Find out what we’d handle and what it costs

Thirty minutes by phone; you leave with one written price.

Each month we keep your books, show how much each job and service call made, run payroll and prepare the return. Bookkeeping starts at $375 a month, quoted as a flat fee in writing before we start. Based in Santa Clarita, we work with electrical contractors in any state.

What each job made, every month Payroll for your electricians Your return from the same books Same-day answers

Typical situations

Do you work with electrical contractors like me?

Yes. We take on electrical contractors who run service calls and install jobs with a small crew on payroll, in any state.

A two-van service shop billing time and material

Every call is paid on the spot, but parts come off the van and never get assigned to the call. The miss is not knowing what each call really cost. We code the van restocks and supply-house runs to the calls and jobs the parts went on, and show service and install margins side by side each month. Books plus the return, from $475 a month — how the monthly bookkeeping runs.

An EV-charger and panel-upgrade installer on deposits and progress payments

His install jobs bill by deposit and progress payments — the partial payments a job bills as the work moves along — so the month a deposit lands looks great and the next looks terrible. The miss is reading the bank balance as profit. We keep each deposit on its own install job and match progress payments to the work done on bigger jobs like a tenant-improvement rough-in, so the books show what each install earned. Monthly bookkeeping from $375 a month — the monthly bookkeeping service.

A contractor with two electricians and a helper paid on a 1099

The helper works set hours under the contractor’s direction, on licensed work, but gets paid like a sub. The miss is the paperwork: no license check, no W-9 — the form where a worker gives their name, business type and taxpayer ID number — and a 1099 for someone who may legally be an employee. We collect each person’s paperwork before the first check and set the crew up on payroll where the rules require it (the California rules sit in the California section). Payroll from $95 a month — how payroll runs.

An electrician whose supply-house bills mix fixtures and wire

His lighting and fixture orders land on the same supply-house bill as the wire and devices, and it all goes into one materials account, so each job’s cost is unclear. We split the fixtures from the wire and materials on each job, so the job report shows what each install actually used. What monthly bookkeeping covers.

A newly licensed C-10 contractor going out on his own

He just picked up his C-10 — the electrical license from the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) — and left a shop: first jobs, first van, no separate bank account yet, and the shop’s money starts mixing with his own from the first job. We set up the books, the job list and quarterly estimates from day one, and look at the entity question with him. The return from $650, or from $850 for an LLC or S-corp — what the return service includes and how we compare entity options.

A shop a year behind on the books

QuickBooks is half-kept and a glovebox of supply-house receipts is the filing system, so the return gets built on guesswork. We put the year back together from the bank statements, the tickets and the receipts, and the return comes off those numbers. Cleanup from $750 — how a catch-up project runs.

Profit by job

How do you see how much each job and service call made?

That’s what job costing is: we match every cost, from wire and van stock to your electricians’ hours, against what each job billed, and send you a report each month showing what every job made. Each job’s profit and each side’s margin show in the books every month.

What we do:

We set up your job list and cost codes in the system you already use — QuickBooks, Xero, or a spreadsheet — and maintain it there
We load separate hourly rates for journeymen, trainees and helpers with payroll taxes and benefits
We charge the wire and van stock to the job it went on, so parts stop disappearing into one materials account
We keep material cost apart from markup on every job

Each month we close the books with the electricians’ hours, supply-house purchases and sub bills coded to the call or job, and send a job report that compares estimated to actual costs and flags the misses. More: why contractors stay busy and still feel broke.

Subcontractors

What do I need from a sub before I pay them?

Before the first payment you need a signed W-9 and their license number.

Corporations generally don’t get one; any other sub you pay $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC, the year-end form that reports what you paid a sub, by February 1, 2027. The line was $600 for 2025.

What we do: we collect the W-9, confirm the license number is on file before the first payment, and keep one file per sub — the low-voltage crew on a tenant improvement, the trenching outfit that digs for the conduit run, the fire-alarm company. We match each sub’s invoice to its job, track what each sub is paid, and file the 1099s in January. More: when to give a 1099 to a contractor in 2026.

Getting paid

How should deposits, progress payments and retainage show up in my books?

Deposits, progress payments and retainage should each sit on their own job in the books, so you can see what each job has billed, collected and still has held back.

What we do: we hold each customer deposit on its job until the work is billed. We match each progress payment to the work done. On commercial jobs we carry the retainage a builder holds back — the slice of each payment held until the job is finished — as money still owed to you, job by job. We also flag the extras that haven’t been billed, like added circuits or extra fixtures on a tenant improvement.

Catch-up work

What does a catch-up look like when an electrical contractor’s books are behind?

When an electrical contractor’s books are behind, we rebuild the missing months, reconcile them, and prepare the return from the rebuilt books — a cleanup from $750, then the return from $650 and quarterly estimates from the reconciled numbers.

What we ask for

Bank and card statements, supply-house statements and parts receipts, service tickets and invoices, the contracts and progress bills for open install jobs, payroll reports, the sub list with W-9s, and last year’s return.

How the cleanup runs

We match supply-house statements and van restocks to the calls they went on, tie deposits and progress payments to their jobs, total what each sub was paid for the 1099s, and put the missing months back together from the bank and job records.

What you get

Reconciled books to a clean baseline, the P&L and balance sheet, a job report per open install, the return prepared from the rebuilt numbers, and a quarterly estimate plan going forward.

Cleanup is billed half to start and the balance on delivery — see how a cleanup project is scoped.

The monthly close

What do you check every month?

Each month we check that every account reconciles, every deposit sits on its job, and every cost of the shop landed where it belongs.

Every bill, part and labor hour coded to its job
Bank and card accounts reconciled to the statements
Van restocks and supply-house credits charged back to the job
Fixtures split from materials on each job
Billed to date against work done, per open install
Extras (added circuits, fixtures) logged and billed
Progress payments against the contract’s payment schedule
Retainage a builder is holding, by job
License check and W-9 on file before a new sub is paid
Payroll filings and quarterly estimate due dates on the calendar

Each month: the P&L, the balance sheet, the job report and a short note on what needs attention.

California

What’s different for an electrical contractor in California?

In California, four things change for an electrical contractor: who counts as a sub, who on the payroll may do electrical work, workers’ comp, and sales tax on what you furnish and install.

Who counts as a sub. A worker doing licensed work without holding that license is presumed to be your employee. We check each sub’s license and set anyone who belongs on payroll up on it. California also has its own sub report, the DE 542 to the EDD (the Employment Development Department) within 20 days, for an individual, sole-proprietor or single-member-LLC sub paid or contracted for $600 or more; we file it inside that window.
Who may do electrical work. Everyone who does electrical work for a C-10 contractor has to be a state-certified electrician, a registered electrician trainee, or an apprentice. We note each person’s status on the payroll file; we don’t certify anyone.
Workers’ comp. One employee is enough: an electrical contractor with any electrician or helper on payroll carries workers’ comp, the insurance that covers an employee hurt on the job, and CSLB needs proof of coverage. We set up payroll with your workers’ comp policy details.
Sales tax. Wire and conduit are materials, taxed when you buy them and part of the job’s cost; lighting fixtures and switchgear you furnish and install are taxed as a sale by you, not as materials. We keep fixtures and materials on separate job lines and flag fixture sales for sales-tax reporting. More: do you need a sales tax exemption for products you use on the job?

We handle the books, payroll and filing side of all four. This isn’t legal advice, and we don’t advise on licensing.

Pricing

How much does accounting for an electrical contractor cost in 2026?

In 2026, bookkeeping for an electrical contractor runs from $375 a month, books plus the year-end return from $475 a month, payroll from $95 a month, the return alone from $650 or from $850 for an LLC or S-corp with the owner’s personal return included, and a cleanup from $750. Each is a flat fee quoted in writing before we start.

Tracking what each job made, 1099 filing and license checks sit inside the quote; there’s no separate charge for them. Filing your subs’ 1099s on their own, without monthly service, starts at $95. What moves a quote: the service calls and open installs in a month, the crew on payroll and how often it runs, the number of subs, the bank, card and supply-house accounts, and how far behind the books are.

Books

from $375/mo

Reconciliations for every account
Service and install income on separate lines, parts and hours coded to jobs
Subs’ W-9s, license checks and 1099s
Monthly P&L, balance sheet, job report and a short note

Books plus the return

from $475/mo

Everything in the books
The year-end return prepared from your own books
Quarterly estimates from real numbers

The return alone

from $650

Schedule C — the business page of your personal return — from your records, with customer deposits and progress payments reconciled
From $850 for an LLC or S-corp — the owner’s personal return included
How we prepare the return

The quote is the price.

Book my free 30-minute call

How it works

What happens after you book?

The 30-minute call comes first, then the engagement letter, a portal invite and a short checklist geared to an electrical shop.

The 30-minute call

About six questions: how much of the work is service calls and how much is panel, EV-charger and remodel installs, who’s on payroll and whether any work goes to subs, how jobs are billed, and how far behind the books are. It ends with one price, in writing.

The engagement letter

Sent during the call and signed when you’re ready. Signing books a short onboarding call, and the secure-portal invite comes from that call.

Access and documents

The portal invite, read-only bank feeds or the QuickBooks file, your open-jobs list, your contractor’s license number and your workers’ comp certificate. We send a short checklist so nothing is missed.

Behind first, then monthly

If the books are behind, the cleanup comes first, then the first monthly close and job report.

You see the return before it’s filed

The return comes to you before anything is filed, and questions during the year go to the same team that keeps the books.

Communication

You’ll know where the books and the return stand.

The person who answers the phone is on the same team that codes your jobs and runs your crew’s payroll.

The same-day rule

Call or email during business hours and you’ll hear back the same day — all twelve months.

Electrical contractors are welcome

One van or five, service work or panel and EV-charger installs — the free call ends with a straight answer on whether we’re the right fit.

Admitted to practice before the IRS

Our team of IRS representation specialists is admitted to practice before the IRS. If an IRS letter shows up — one about a sub’s 1099, for example — forward it: how we handle IRS letters.

The N&T Tax & Advisory Group team

We close the books, code the jobs, run the payroll and prepare the return from the same set of numbers.

Bookkeeping · Profit by job · Payroll · Tax preparation · Tax planning · IRS representation · Direct line: (661) 554-4495

Reviews

Rated 5.0 on Google

★★★★★ Twelve reviews, every one five stars, every one verifiable. Read all of them on Google →

"Alex helped me resolve a complicated tax situation that had been causing me a lot of stress. He was extremely knowledgeable, responsive, and efficient throughout the entire process."

Kevin B. — via Google

"Working with Alex was straightforward. I hadn't looked at my books all year, but he made my life easy and handled the whole profit and loss at the end of the year so I could get my taxes done."

Levon B. — via Google

"I came to this company with previous tax years and bookkeeping that were done incorrectly. They're very knowledgeable about what they do and help me get everything in order at a very reasonable price."

Sayra A. — via Google

Where we work

Do you work with electrical contractors outside California?

Yes — we work remotely with electrical contractors in any state. We’re based in Santa Clarita, so shops in Los Angeles and the Santa Clarita Valley are local; everywhere else we work remotely.

Job paperwork comes in through the secure portal — service tickets, install contracts, supply-house statements and payroll reports — and the monthly job report goes over a call or screen share. If your work falls under another state’s rules, we cover that in your quote. If you also run whole jobs as a general contractor, see how we work with general contractors.

Santa Clarita Los Angeles San Fernando Valley Van Nuys North Hollywood Pacoima Sylmar Canoga Park Reseda Burbank Glendale Anywhere in the US

What we don’t do

We handle the tax and money side: the books, tracking what each job made, payroll, quarterly estimates and the returns. Job bids and estimates, writing or pricing change orders (signed add-ons to the contract), lien waivers, permits, chasing subs’ insurance certificates, legal advice on contracts or worker status, licensing or certification of workers, and reviewed, compiled or audited statements for bonding or banks are outside our work, and we don’t advise on them.

Worth reading

What can you read before you call?

Short articles from our blog on the money side of running a contracting shop.

Worker status

1099 vs W-2 for Contractors: Should Your Next Crew Member Be an Employee or a Sub?

Workers’ comp

Workers Comp Cost Contractors: What You Pay and When You Can Skip It

Vehicles

Your Contractor Vehicle Tax Deduction in 2026: Standard Mileage vs. Actual Expenses for Heavy Work Trucks

Equipment

Contractor Equipment Depreciation: Expensing vs. Depreciating That New Machine in 2026

Entity

LLC vs S-Corp for Contractors: Where the 2026 Tax Savings Actually Come From

FAQ

What do electrical contractors ask before booking?

Do I have to send 1099s to the subs I hire for electrical work?

Yes, for most subs: for payments made in 2026, any sub who isn’t a corporation and gets $2,000 or more from you is owed a 1099-NEC, and the sub’s copy and the IRS copy are both due February 1, 2027. For 2025 payments the line was $600. We keep a running total per sub and file the forms from the W-9 file.

Can my helper be paid as a 1099 sub?

Not always. Worker status is a legal question about how the work is run, and California adds its own license rule. We check each person’s license, certification status and W-9 and run payroll for anyone you put on it. This isn’t legal advice; gray cases go to an employment attorney.

How do I know if an install job made money before it’s finished?

The monthly job report shows cost to date against billed to date on every open job. When a panel upgrade or tenant improvement starts running over, it shows up while there’s still time to bill an extra or adjust the next progress payment — not after the final invoice. That report is part of the monthly bookkeeping, not an extra project.

Is a customer’s deposit income when I get it?

For tax, an advance payment is generally income in the year you receive it; if you’re an accrual-method contractor (income counted when it’s earned, not when it’s paid), you can elect to push it to the next year, but no further. In the books, a deposit stays attached to its job until the work is billed. We carry it on the job all year and reconcile the books to the return at year end.

My books are a year behind. Can you catch them up?

Yes — that’s a cleanup project from $750. We reconstruct the year from the bank records, service tickets, supply-house statements and payroll reports, then prepare the return (from $650) from those numbers.

Should an electrical contractor be an LLC or an S-corp?

Either can fit; the choice turns on how the business is taxed, and a California LLC owes $800 a year. We model both options on your figures before you form anything. Our entity-selection page shows how we compare them.

Ready to know which work actually pays?

One free 30-minute call about your shop — the service calls, the installs, the crew on payroll. You’ll leave knowing what we’d handle and what it costs — whether or not you hire us.