01 · Access
Read-only bank feeds
We see transactions; we cannot move money. No signing authority, no card numbers stored on our side.
Bench 04 · 6:40 a.m.
Sample job card
Kitchen remodel, Manhasset
- Materials
- $8,420
- Labor
- $5,960
- Subs
- $2,100
- Job cost
- $16,480
- Billed
- $19,800
- Margin
- $3,320 · 16.8%
Bookkeeping & payroll for trade contractors · Port Washington, NY
6:40 on a Tuesday: the crew is on a Manhasset roof, and last month is already closed.
Dovetail Ledger runs monthly bookkeeping cleanups, job-costing setup and payroll administration for independent carpentry, electrical and HVAC contractors — every dollar of material, labor and sub cost coded to the job it belongs to, every engagement billed as one flat fee by invoice.
Kept for the people who are on the tools all day:
- Finish carpenters
- Two-van electrical shops
- HVAC install crews
- Sole proprietors with a helper
Service area
Three trades we speak fluently, worked out of Bayles Avenue.
On site across the North Shore
Cleanups happen at your tailgate or at our table at 30 North Bayles Avenue. We drive to Nassau County jobs and shops.
- Port Washington
- Manhasset
- Great Neck
- Roslyn
- Glen Cove
- Mineola
Trades, each with its own cost-code tree
Three trades: carpentry, electrical and HVAC.
Remote anywhere in New York State
Monthly books and payroll run by secure upload and phone. Texted timesheets are welcome; statements arrive as PDFs or read-only feeds.
Port Washington, NY
Engagements & flat fees
Priced per engagement, never per hour.
Bookkeeping cleanup
Twelve months of shoebox receipts, reconciled to the penny and coded to the job before your next estimate goes out.
From $685Flat per cleanup · covers up to 12 months · invoiced at hand-off · each extra month $48
- Bank and card accounts reconciled to statement ending balances
- Uncategorized and “ask my accountant” items cleared, with a written exception log
- Owner draws separated from personal spend
- Closed periods locked so history stops shifting
Job-costing setup
Every dollar of lumber, wire and refrigerant lands on a job, so you know the margin before the punch list is done.
$1,240Flat setup · typically two weeks · invoiced on delivery
- Job and class structure with cost codes for materials, labor, subs, permits and equipment
- QuickBooks Online items, estimate-vs-actual template and progress-billing setup
- Retainage tracked per job so held-back money is visible
- 90-minute walkthrough with you or your office person, then 30 days of email questions
Monthly bookkeeping
Books closed by the 10th: bank feeds matched, bills aged, and a one-page job margin report in your inbox.
$348 / monthFlat per monthly engagement · up to 4 accounts · invoiced on the 1st, net 14
- Monthly reconciliation and close by the 10th
- A/R and A/P aging with a collections call list
- Job profit report: estimate, cost to date, margin
- Quarterly estimated-tax worksheet for your CPA, and 1099-NEC prep each January
Payroll administration
Prevailing-wage rates applied, workers’ comp classes split by job, and every filing prepared before its due date.
$172 / monthFlat for up to 6 W-2 employees · each additional $17 · invoiced monthly
- Weekly or biweekly pay runs from texted or app timesheets
- Form 941 and NYS-45 prepared every quarter
- Hours by workers’ comp class and by job, ready for the premium audit
- Certified payroll (WH-347) on public jobs, $65 per report
The Dovetail Cleanup
Anatomy of a cleanup, tail by pin.
A dovetail holds because each tail seats into a pin with no gap between them. The same applies to your records: every bank line seats into a job, every job into a margin. Here is the sequence we cut it in.
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01Logged
Sweep the glovebox
Statements, supplier invoices, texted photos, the shoebox. Everything goes into an intake sheet by source, so nothing is counted twice or missed.
Your part: 20 minutes on a call, then upload.
-
02Balanced
Cut the tails: reconcile
Each bank and card account is reconciled to the statement’s ending balance. A difference becomes a line in the exception log, never a plug figure.
Output: reconciled accounts and a written exception log.
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03Coded
Cut the pins: code to jobs
Transactions are matched to jobs and cost codes using your invoices and supplier names: materials, labor, subs, permits, equipment.
Output: a job ledger that ties to the general ledger.
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04Tested
Dry fit: margin test
Actual cost is compared to each estimate. Any job running more than 8% over is flagged, with the cost lines that drove it.
Output: job margin report, estimate versus actual.
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05Locked
Glue-up: hand-off
Periods are closed and locked, the exception log goes to you and your CPA, and a 30-minute walkthrough shows how to keep it tight. The flat fee is invoiced.
Commitments in writing
The spec sheet, stated plainly.
- 12Months coveredof backlog inside one flat cleanup fee
- 10thClose datemonthly books closed by the 10th of the following month
- $0Hourly billingevery engagement is a flat fee, quoted before we start
- 4×Quarterly filingsForm 941 and NYS-45 prepared for every payroll client
Records, safeguards & what to bring
What sits in your file when the carrier’s auditor calls.
02 · First cleanupBring this
The glovebox list
Gather what you have. Messy is fine, gaps are fine.
- 12 months of bank and card statements (PDF is fine)
- Last statement or login for your lumber yard and supply house
- Open estimates and signed contracts
- Subcontractor W-9s and insurance certificates
- Latest payroll report and your last 941 and NYS-45
- The shoebox: photograph receipts flat, in any order
03 · Subs
Sub tracking: W-9s and COIs
Each subcontractor’s W-9 and certificate-of-insurance expiry date is logged, so a lapsed policy shows up before the job does. 1099-NEC prepared each January.
04 · PayrollAudit-ready
Workers’ comp audit file
Payroll hours split by classification code and by job, with the supporting pay registers, so the carrier’s premium audit takes an afternoon rather than a month of back-and-forth.
05 · Billing
Retainage and progress billing
What’s been billed, what’s held back at 5% or 10%, and what’s still owed on each job, on one page.
Before you hand it over
Questions contractors ask before they hand over the shoebox.
I haven’t reconciled since last tax season. Is that too far gone?
No. A cleanup covers up to 12 months for one flat fee; each additional month is $48. We start with the oldest unreconciled period and work forward, so your opening balances are right.
Do you need access to my bank account?
Only to view. We use read-only bank feeds or PDF statements you upload. We never hold signing authority and can’t move or withdraw funds.
Which accounting software do you work in?
QuickBooks Online first, Xero second. If you’re on QuickBooks Desktop, we convert the file to Online for a flat $120.
How and when do I pay?
By invoice, payable by ACH, check or card. Cleanups and setups are invoiced at hand-off. Monthly books and payroll are invoiced on the 1st, net 14.
Do you prepare my tax returns?
No. We keep the books and produce quarterly worksheets, 1099s and payroll filings. Your CPA files the return, and we hand over a clean, tied-out file so that work is quicker.
Mon–Fri 10am–5:30pm
You can’t price the next job from last quarter’s guess. Know the margin before the punch list.
Twenty minutes on the phone, your last three statements, and a flat quote in writing within one business day.