Bookkeeping for excavation contractors
An excavator bids site work by the job, runs machines that burn fuel by the hour, and hauls dirt and stone by the load. Mispar ties machine time, fuel, hauling and materials to each job, tracks progress billings, and prepares monthly books in your own QuickBooks Online or Xero file. Plans start at $229/mo.
Best for: Site work and grading contractors, septic and foundation diggers, demolition-adjacent earthmovers and small land clearing outfits.
By job
Job costs
Tracked
Machine time
Itemized
Hauling
Listed
Progress billing
Where excavation contractor books usually go wrong
- Equipment time, fuel and trucking not tied to jobs.
- Retainage recorded as cash received.
- Fill, stone and disposal costs not coded.
How Mispar keeps your excavation contractors books clean
Industry-specific accounts and categorization, with the reporting scope agreed before work starts.
Machine ownership and rentals
Track owned equipment loans and repairs apart from short-term rentals, so the cost of each machine is visible.
Fuel and hauling
Keep fuel, hauling and dump fees in their own accounts, matched to the job or the day.
Progress billings and retainage
Record each stage billing and any amount a customer holds back, so the open balance per job is listed monthly.
Materials delivered to site
Match stone, pipe and geotextile invoices to the job that used them.
Subcontracted trucking and drilling
Record specialist subs by job with the paperwork your CPA needs at year end.
Seasonal standby
Show idle winter weeks as a cost of the season, planned from real months.
Erosion control and compliance
Record silt fence, inspections and site compliance costs against the job that required them.
Weather standby time
Show idle stretches as a cost of the season so wet weeks are not mistaken for weak pricing.
Reports an excavation contractor can use
- Job profit with equipment, labor and materials.
- Retainage owed by project.
- Equipment loans and maintenance.
A simple, predictable process
From kickoff to your first clean close, here is exactly what happens.
Map jobs and machines
We list jobs, machines and how customers are billed.
Set up job and unit tracking
Jobs and machines get tags so costs line up with billings.
Reconcile each month
Payments, supplier and hauling bills, fuel and crew wages are reconciled against the bank statement and tagged to each job.
Deliver monthly statements
Monthly statements arrive ready for your CPA with an open-items list.
Illustrative example
A grading job bills in three stages over two months. Each billing is matched to the job, and the fuel, machine time and stone for that job sit beside it, so the margin is clear before the last invoice goes out. This is an illustration of the method, not a customer case or a guarantee.
Excavation Contractors bookkeeping — your questions
Can you track profit by job?
When bills and pay can be tied to a job by invoice, ticket or tag, yes. Shared items are split on a rule we agree with you.
How do you handle retainage?
Amounts held back stay on the books as receivable until the customer releases them.
What do you need each month to keep excavation contractor books?
Invoice and payment exports, supplier and hauling bills, fuel statements, payroll reports and access to your bank feeds.
Can you track each machine separately?
Yes, by unit, when fuel, repairs and loans identify it.
Do you give tax advice? (excavation contractors)
No. We keep the books and hand them to your CPA.
Can you track change orders on site work?
Yes. Extra work is billed as its own line on the job with the amount and date agreed.
Can you track equipment cost by job?
Yes. Equipment time is tied to each job.
Can you show what idle machines cost?
Where hours and fuel are logged by unit, standby weeks are visible in the monthly statements.
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