Construction accountant for builders and contractors.
A construction accountant who works with builders and contractors every week, not a generalist who sees one construction return a year. We handle tax, bookkeeping and project accounting for construction companies the way the work actually runs, from custom-home builders in Whitby, Oshawa and Ajax to commercial GCs and developers across the GTA, all from a chartered professional accountant (CPA, CA) with 20+ years in the construction industry.
Construction accounting follows the project.
Most general accountants treat a construction company like any other small business. It isn't. Revenue should follow percent-completion, not the cash that lands in the bank. Holdbacks sit on the books for months and change when HST is payable. Your trucks, tools and equipment depreciate across several different CCA classes. Pay a sub-contractor for construction services and the CRA wants a T5018. And bonded work means your financial reporting has to satisfy a surety underwriter who reads every line.
So yes, construction companies genuinely need a construction accountant, not a generalist learning on your file. We've handled tax planning, bookkeeping and construction accounting for builders, contractors and developers across Durham Region and the GTA for over 20 years. The patterns are familiar, the compliance traps are predictable, and the work of keeping project margins honest is the same one job to the next.
Construction accounting services, the full picture.
One firm for tax, bookkeeping, payroll and advisory. One point of contact, one consistent set of advice, and nothing falls between your accountant and your bookkeeper because they are the same person, so you can stay on the job instead of chasing your numbers.
Personal and corporate tax
Your personal T1 and your construction company's T2 filed together, planned together, and on time every year, with the salary and dividend mix set for tax efficiency.
Project accounting and WIP
Percent-completion revenue recognition, work-in-progress and deferred revenue tracked every month, so you know the real margin on each job and the budget-to-actual gap before a project closes, not after.
Holdbacks and HST
Holdbacks tracked from the progress invoice to release, with the HST on the holdback recognized on the right date so you never remit tax on money you have not collected.
Monthly bookkeeping and financial reporting
Materials, labour, sub-contractors and equipment reconciled to your project-management software and your bank every month, with financial statements that show the real cash flow of the business.
Payroll, T5018 and contractor billing
Payroll for your crew with the right T4s at year-end, plus the annual T5018 information return on every sub-contractor you pay for construction services, filed on time.
Bonding and lender statements
Compilation and review engagements with WIP and backlog schedules, presented in the format your bonding company and your bank actually want to see.
Four things most accountants miss.
These are the questions that come up almost every time a construction company changes accountants. Worth knowing whether or not we end up working together.
Holdbacks have their own HST timing
When a customer holds back part of your invoice under the Ontario Construction Act or a written construction contract, the HST on that holdback is not payable when you issue the progress invoice. It becomes payable on the earlier of the day the holdback is actually paid out and the day the holdback period expires. Get the timing wrong and you either remit HST on money you have not collected or fall behind on what you do owe. For income tax, the holdback generally is not in your income, or deductible to the payer, until it becomes receivable or payable under the contract or the lien rules.
WIP is not optional for accurate margins
If you only know a project's profit at year-end, you are flying blind for eleven months, and your tax position is wrong because revenue should follow percent-completion, not cash. WIP tracking that runs monthly tells you which jobs are making money while you can still do something about it. We set it up so the budget, the cost-to-complete and the margin are in front of you every month.
T5018 sub-contractor filings catch a lot of GCs offside
If construction is more than half your business income and you paid sub-contractors for construction services, you have to file an annual T5018 information return for amounts over $500 per sub-contractor. The reporting period can be your calendar year or your fiscal period, and the return is due six months after that period ends. Most GCs who self-prepare miss this entirely until a CRA letter arrives. We track the payments through the year and file on time.
Equipment, vehicle and leasehold CCA classes
Tools under $500 are Class 12 at 100%, while power tools, compressors and heavy equipment like excavators sit in Class 8 at 20%. Most work trucks are Class 10 at 30%, a passenger vehicle over the 2026 limit of $39,000 goes in its own Class 10.1, computers are Class 50, and leasehold improvements are Class 13 written off over the lease. Put an item in the wrong class and you lose years of tax deferral. We sort the classification once, apply the accelerated first-year CCA where it is available, and run depreciation cleanly from then on.
Three kinds of construction clients.
Residential builders
Custom homes, additions and renovations. We handle the corporate tax, the project accounting and the monthly bookkeeping that keeps margins honest as the build runs.
Commercial GCs
General contractors on commercial projects with bonding requirements and complex sub-contractor arrangements. We coordinate with your surety underwriter and your bank, and keep the construction accounting consistent across every project.
Specialty trades and sub-contractors
Sub-contractors who primarily work for other GCs. We handle the T5018s coming in and going out, the labour and equipment costing, and the corporate side.
You'll work directly with Elena.
EK CPA Pro is owner-operated. When you call, you're talking to the CPA, CA who's actually doing the work, not a junior who hands the file off at year-end. Elena has been working with owner-operated businesses across Durham Region since 2009, and is a graduate of CPA Canada's In-Depth Tax Program.
Questions builders ask first.
Do construction companies really need a specialized accountant?
Most do. A construction company runs on percent-completion revenue, holdbacks with their own HST timing, equipment spread across several CCA classes, T5018 reporting on sub-contractors, and financial statements a bonding company actually reads. A general accountant can miss all of it. A construction accountant has seen the patterns before, which usually means cleaner books, honest project margins, lower tax and fewer audit surprises. That is the whole reason construction accounting exists as its own thing.
What does a construction accountant actually do?
More than file a return. A construction accountant sets up percent-completion and WIP so you know the real margin on each job, tracks holdbacks and the HST timing on them, handles payroll and the T5018 filings, sorts your equipment and vehicles into the right CCA classes, and prepares the bonding and lender statements. Done properly, it ties your project budgets to your actual costs and keeps you onside with the CRA, so the construction accounting supports the business instead of just recording it.
How does construction accounting differ from general accounting?
The timing is the big difference. In general accounting, revenue more or less follows the invoice. In construction accounting, revenue follows percent-completion across projects that can span fiscal years, WIP and deferred revenue have to be tracked every month, and holdbacks delay both the cash and the HST. Add T5018 reporting, job-level labour and equipment costing, and statements built for a surety underwriter, and you have a discipline a generalist rarely handles well.
Are my sub-contractors actually employees in the CRA's eyes?
It depends on the facts, not on what the contract calls them. The CRA looks at the whole relationship, who controls the work, who owns the tools, who carries the chance of profit or risk of loss, and how integrated the worker is into your business. Label someone a sub-contractor when they function as an employee and you can be reassessed for source deductions, CPP and EI. We review the arrangement, document it, and tell you where you actually stand.
What does my bonding company want to see?
Most surety underwriters want a compilation engagement at minimum, sometimes a review or audit engagement, with WIP and backlog schedules and personal financial statements for the principals. They are reading for working capital and how your projects are tracking. We prepare statements in a format underwriters accept, with the WIP done properly, and coordinate with your broker if needed.
How do you bill?
Fixed-fee, quoted up front. You will know the cost of your year-end, your tax filings, your monthly bookkeeping and your bonding statements before we start. No surprise invoices, no hourly billing.