Chicago Construction Tax Prep, Bookkeeping & Accounting
Job Costing, WIP, and the Right Tax Method, Handled by a Team That Understands How Contractors Actually Get Paid
Construction accounting is not like other businesses, and general accountants who treat it that way cost contractors real money. Between job costing, progress billing, retainage, work-in-progress schedules, subcontractor payments, and the tax method you use to recognize income, there is a lot that has to be handled correctly, and a lot of opportunity to plan around if someone knows what they are doing.
Heard & Associates LLC provides tax preparation, bookkeeping, and accounting built for Chicago construction contractors. We track your jobs accurately, keep your books clean and bondable, choose the tax method that works in your favor, and make sure your subcontractor and payroll filings are correct. You build. We handle the numbers behind it.
📞 Call (312) 810-3603 or Book Your Consultation Online today.
Who We Work With
We support construction businesses of every kind across Chicago, including:
- General contractors and construction managers
- Home builders and residential remodelers
- Commercial and specialty trade contractors
- Electrical, concrete, roofing, framing, and finishing contractors
- Excavation, site, and landscaping contractors
- Subcontractors working across multiple projects
Whether you run a small crew or manage several jobs at once, we scale to how your business operates.
What Our Construction Accounting Service Includes
We handle the full financial picture for your contracting business:
Job Costing: The Foundation of a Profitable Contractor
The difference between contractors who grow and contractors who guess is job costing. If you cannot see the true cost of each project, labor, materials, subcontractors, and equipment, you cannot know which jobs make money and which quietly lose it.
We set up your books so every cost is tracked to the right job, and we give you reports that show real profitability per project, not just a lump-sum bank balance. That visibility helps you bid smarter, catch overruns early, and stop repeating the jobs that drain you.
Choosing the Right Tax Method Can Defer What You Owe
This is where a construction-savvy accountant earns their fee, and where general preparers leave money on the table.
For tax purposes, long-term contracts, jobs that start in one tax year and finish in another, generally must use the percentage-of-completion method, which recognizes income as you build. But there is a valuable exception. Contractors whose average annual gross receipts fall under the inflation-adjusted threshold (around $32 million for 2026) and whose contracts are expected to finish within two years can elect other methods, including the completed-contract method, which defers income until the job is done and accepted.
For many small and mid-sized contractors, that choice is a real tax-deferral lever. Home construction contracts get their own exception as well. We evaluate your contracts, your receipts, and your WIP to put you on the method that legitimately keeps the most cash in your business.
WIP Schedules That Keep You Bondable
If you want bonding, financing, or larger contracts, your work-in-progress schedule matters as much as your tax return. Sureties and lenders read your WIP to judge whether you are managing jobs profitably and whether you are over- or under-billed.
We prepare accurate, professional WIP schedules that show steady, well-managed performance, so when you go for a bond line or a bank loan, your financials help you rather than hold you back. Clean WIP also surfaces problems, like an over-run job or an under-billing, while you can still do something about them.
Retainage, Draws, and Getting Paid
Construction cash flow is uniquely brutal. Money is held back as retainage, draws come on a schedule that rarely matches when your costs hit, and one slow-paying general can strain the whole operation.
We track your retainage receivable and payable, keep your progress billings organized, and give you the cash flow visibility to plan around the gaps. For accrual-basis contractors, there are also tax elections around retainage that can improve your timing, and we handle those where they apply.
Subcontractors, 1099s, and Staying Compliant
If you pay subcontractors, the IRS expects proper 1099 reporting, and getting it wrong brings penalties. We track your subcontractor payments through the year, collect the W-9s you need, and file your 1099s correctly and on time.
We also help you keep the worker classification line clear, employee versus subcontractor, which is a common audit trigger in construction. Getting it right protects you from reclassification headaches down the road.
Payroll & Certified Payroll for Public Projects
If you work on public or government-funded projects in Illinois, you know prevailing wage and certified payroll reporting are not optional, and the paperwork is unforgiving. A single misfiled report can hold up payment or jeopardize the contract.
We manage your payroll and handle certified payroll and prevailing wage reporting, so your public jobs stay compliant and your crew gets paid correctly.
A Note on Materials and Illinois Sales & Use Tax
Materials are a place Illinois contractors get tripped up. In general, Illinois treats a construction contractor as the end user of the materials it permanently incorporates into real property, which means you typically owe use tax on your material costs rather than charging your customer sales tax on them. The rules have real nuances depending on the work and the fixtures involved. We help you handle materials correctly so you are neither overpaying nor exposed to a use tax assessment later.
Equipment, Deductions & Year-End Planning
Construction is equipment-heavy, and how you handle those purchases has a big tax impact. Trucks, machinery, and tools can often be expensed or accelerated through Section 179 and bonus depreciation, but the timing should be planned, not accidental. We coordinate your equipment purchases with your overall tax picture and plan year-end moves around your open jobs and WIP, so large investments work in your favor rather than just landing wherever they fall.
Why Chicago Contractors Choose Heard & Associates LLC
Thank you, Heard & Associates, for handling my 2025 tax return with professionalism and care. I will definitely be a returning customer next tax season! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I always seem to have so many questions and Darrel always seems to have the answers.
If you are looking for a company and person that will be honest and get your taxes completed in a timely manner… he is it.
He was thorough and extremely knowledgeable. All questions were answered clearly, deadlines were met, and the entire process was seamless. I felt confident knowing my finances were handled with accuracy and care. I highly recommend his services.
They were extremely thorough and detail-oriented, making sure everything was accurate and done in my best interest. What I appreciated most was how stress-free they made the entire process — that alone is priceless. I walked away feeling relieved, informed, and confident about my finances.
I highly recommend Darrel Heard & Associates to anyone looking for an accountant they can truly trust.
He brilliantly solved long and short term issues with immense professionalism. I felt heard, I felt protected, and educated in the process. He was generous with his time and genuinely cared about the success of my company. The service was thorough and cost effective, he has my gratitude. I highly recommend them!
Always available to answer questions and explain everything clearly.
I highly recommend them for anyone looking for accurate, efficient, and trustworthy tax services.
I had such a great experience with Heard & Associates! Mr. Heard was professional, patient, and really took the time to explain everything in a way I could understand. The company made filing my taxes so easy and even helped me get my finances more organized for the future. You can tell they truly care about their clients. I’ll definitely be coming back every year and recommending them to my friends and family!
They helped me organize my business finances, maximize deductions, and develop a tax strategy that truly fits my goals. I really appreciate their attention to detail, quick communication, and how they make what could be a stressful process feel easy and efficient.
They’ve completely transformed how my business handles its financial records. Every transaction is tracked, categorized, and explained clearly, so I always know where my money is going and what my cash flow looks like. Their bookkeeping services are not only thorough but also easy to understand — they take the time to explain reports and help identify opportunities to save or scale.
What I appreciate most is their consistency and communication. They respond quickly, provide monthly updates without being asked, and make sure all my accounts are clean and compliant come tax time. It’s rare to find a team that combines deep expertise with such genuine care for their clients’ success.
If you’re looking for an accounting firm that truly treats your business like their own — especially when it comes to keeping your books in order — I highly recommend Heard & Associates. They’re reliable, transparent, and simply excellent at what they do.
Build on a Solid Financial Foundation
Whether you run a small crew or manage multiple projects, Heard & Associates LLC gives your construction business the job costing, clean books, and tax strategy it needs to stay profitable, compliant, and ready to grow.