Skilled Trades
Electricians, plumbers, HVAC techs, and welders keep LA running. We keep the books straight so you can focus on the work.
Two Sides of the Same Truck
Most skilled trades operators run two businesses out of the same truck. One day is a service call at a homeowner’s condo in Altadena where you diagnose the problem, fix it, collect payment, and drive off. The next week is a commercial buildout in Monrovia where you are subbed in under a general contractor, working off a scope of work, and waiting 45 days for the check to clear.
Both sides need to be tracked, but they do not look the same on the books. Service calls are quick in, quick out, and cash flow friendly. Commercial contract work has bigger tickets and better margins on paper, but the money lags and the paperwork piles up.
Who This Covers
Who This Covers
Licensed electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians, welders, and the fabrication shops that support them. Most of our trade clients run crews of two to ten and work a mix of residential service and commercial jobs across LA County.
The Friction
The Friction
Receipts from Home Depot, the supply house, and the gas station pile up in the cab of the truck. Invoices get cut in the evenings. The truck wrap renewal, the CSLB bond, and the general liability premium all hit at different times of year with no cash plan behind them.
What We Handle
We track your costs by job, not just by month. Materials from Ferguson, hours your tech spent rewiring the panel, and any sub help you brought in get tied back to the specific project. When the job closes, you see the actual margin, not a guess. This is the same project costing discipline Dennis built on the development side of real estate, adapted for a field crew running service vans.
We also handle the sub side of your business. If you are getting 1099’d by three or four general contractors in the area, we track those invoices against their pay applications and follow up on the slow ones. At year end, the income reconciles to the 1099s they send, and nothing gets missed.
Job vs. Service Tracking
Job vs. Service Tracking
Larger commercial jobs get full project costing. Residential service calls get tracked at a summary level so you can still see truck profitability without drowning in data entry for a $350 drain clear.
Vehicle & Equipment
Vehicle & Equipment
Trucks, trailers, and major tools get set up on a proper depreciation schedule. Small tools get expensed. You end up with a clean asset list and a realistic picture of what it costs to keep the fleet on the road.
Where It Gets Messy
California adds layers that trades in other states never deal with. CSLB license renewals, contractor bonds, workers comp audits, and the paperwork every GC asks for before they will cut you a check. When any of it lapses or goes missing, work stops. We keep the recurring costs visible so nothing sneaks up on you.
The other common mess is the workers comp audit. If you have crew on payroll, the insurance carrier will ask for a breakdown of wages by class code. If everyone is lumped under one code, or if you cannot produce subcontractor certificates of insurance, you will be reclassified to the highest rate and the premium adjustment can run into five figures.
Licensing & Insurance Costs
Licensing & Insurance Costs
CSLB renewal, bond premium, general liability, commercial auto, workers comp. We build these into your cost of doing business so your pricing actually reflects what it takes to keep the doors open.
Slow Pay From GCs
Slow Pay From GCs
When you are subbed in on a commercial job, the GC pays when the owner pays. We track aging on your contract receivables so you know when to call, when to follow up with a lien notice, and when to stop taking work from a slow payer.
Tools vs. Equipment
Tools vs. Equipment
A $400 impact driver is not the same as a $12,000 welding rig on the books. Categorizing these correctly affects your tax bill and your balance sheet. We draw the line in the right place.
1099s From Both Directions
1099s From Both Directions
You issue 1099s to your helpers. GCs issue 1099s to you. Both need to match what your books say. We keep W-9s on file year round so January is not a fire drill.
What Changes
You stop pricing jobs based on gut feel. After a few months of clean data, you know what a panel upgrade actually costs you to deliver, what a rooftop HVAC replacement nets after materials and crane rental, and which GCs are worth taking calls from and which ones are not.
The annual cycle of audits, renewals, and tax filings becomes routine instead of a scramble. When the workers comp auditor asks for payroll by class code, you send a report. When the CPA asks for your year end numbers, they are already reconciled. You spend your time on the work you trained to do, which is not staring at spreadsheets at the kitchen table.
Bid With Real Numbers
Bid With Real Numbers
Past job data tells you what similar work has actually cost. You stop undercutting yourself on commercial bids and you stop eating the change orders that never made it onto the invoice.
Grow the Right Way
Grow the Right Way
Adding a second truck or hiring another journeyman is a real decision with real numbers behind it. You know what revenue that new unit has to produce to cover itself, and you know whether the work is there to feed it.
Pasadena's Small Business Bookkeeper
The Next Step:
A 15-Minute Call
Tell us where your books stand today. We'll ask a few questions, share how we can help, and give you a clear quote.