Running the projects is your job. Keeping the back office running is ours.
Back office support for owner led contractors and remodelers. Bookkeeping, payroll, HR, invoicing and office administration, handled by experienced operators inside the tools you already use, so you get a full office team without hiring one.
Commercial, industrial or mechanical contractor? See commercial pricing →
Want your own office team instead? We hire and train them →
For residential, commercial, industrial and mechanical contractors nationwide. Based in Southwest Florida and the Florida Keys.
Unified Linc runs the back office for contractors. We handle bookkeeping, job costing, invoicing and collections, payroll, HR and subcontractor paperwork inside QuickBooks and the tools you already use, so you get your evenings back and can see which jobs actually make money.
We work with contractors nationwide and are based in Naples and Key West, serving Southwest Florida and the Florida Keys from Key Largo to Key West.
The office work you should not be doing at night.
Bookkeeping
Every receipt, bill and bank transaction recorded, reconciled and tied to the right job.
Payroll
Crew time reviewed, payroll run on schedule and year end forms filed, so your crew is paid right.
HR
New hire paperwork, onboarding, employee files and policies, kept organized and up to date.
Invoicing
Invoices out the day the work is done, payments applied and late payers followed up.
Office Administration
Subcontractor paperwork, employee files and the office tasks that pile up between jobs.
The work gets done. The paperwork does not.
When the owner is also the office manager, the job site never falls behind. The office does.
Receipts in the truck, books at midnight
Material receipts, fuel and supply runs pile up until tax time, and nobody can say which jobs actually made money.
Payroll that depends on one person
Time comes in on texts and paper, and payroll only happens because the owner or a spouse stays up to run it.
Subcontractor paperwork you chase every year
W-9s, insurance certificates and 1099s turn into a scramble every January.
Invoices that go out late
When billing waits until the weekend, cash waits too, and past due balances slip through the cracks.
Clear lanes. You run the jobs. We run the office.
- Bidding and winning work
- Your crews and your job sites
- Clients, change orders and schedules
- Approving pay, spending and invoices
- Bookkeeping and job expense tracking
- Payroll, from crew time to the final check
- HR, onboarding and employee files
- Invoicing and payment follow up
- Subcontractor paperwork and office administration
Back office services for construction companies.
Pick one service or bundle them. You stay the employer of record and keep your own accounts, and we do the work inside them.
Construction Bookkeeping and Job Expense Tracking
Categorizing, reconciliations and monthly close, with expenses tagged to each job so you can see what every project costs.
Construction Payroll Administration
Time review, payroll runs, new hire setup, deductions and year end forms, inside your payroll system or our partner platform.
Construction HR and Employee Administration
New hire paperwork, onboarding, employee files, handbook and policy upkeep, and tracking of safety training and certification records. Benefits administration is available through our benefits partner.
Project Invoicing and Payment Follow Up
Invoices sent on time, payments applied, past due follow up and a clear view of who owes you what.
Subcontractor Administration
W-9s collected, insurance certificates tracked so nothing lapses mid job, and 1099s prepared at year end.
Construction Office and Systems Support
Your accounting, payroll and office tools set up and kept clean, so information is not living in texts and notebooks.
Making money but no cash? Know what each job actually costs.
A profitable estimate does not always mean a profitable job. Labor posted to the wrong job, finished change orders that never get billed, material overruns and late subcontractor invoices can eat your margin long before a project closes.
What we track for each job
- Actual costs compared with your estimate
- Labor hours and payroll cost posted to the right job
- Materials, equipment and subcontractor costs
- Approved change orders recorded and billed, so extra work gets paid for
- Progress billing, retainage and what is still owed
- Monthly job cost reports you can act on
Find the leak while the job is still open
Most contractors find out a job lost money after it is finished. We review your job costs every month, so you can fix pricing, billing or crew allocation while there is still time to protect the margin.
You make the calls. We make sure the numbers in front of you are right.
Every package tags expenses to each job. Advanced job costing, WIP reporting and AIA billing with retainage tracking are add on services, confirmed in your written scope.
Real result: a residential service business with 25 years in the industry believed its new commercial work was profitable. When we tagged every cost to its project, each commercial job was losing 4%. The bids used a 20% overhead markup, but the real break even was 24%. The markup was corrected, and new commercial bids stopped losing money.
Read the full case study →We work inside the tools you already use.
No switching platforms, no entering the same information twice and no losing access to your own data. We streamline QuickBooks and your payroll system so they work together, and if you need a new system, we help you choose it and set it up.
Clear packages, priced for construction.
A monthly base, a per employee fee for the payroll and HR work your crew creates, and a one time setup. Your final price is confirmed in writing after a free consultation, before any work begins.
Construction Essentials
Books and payroll, handled
+ $15 per employee per month
$1,500 one time setup
- Bookkeeping and reconciliations
- Payroll administration
- Monthly financial reporting
- Job expense tracking
Construction Operations
The office, run for you
+ $25 per employee per month
$2,500 one time setup
- Everything in Essentials
- Onboarding and HR administration
- Project invoicing and payment follow up
- Subcontractor document tracking
- Job expense tracking with monthly job summaries
Complete Construction Back Office
Your whole back office
+ $35 per employee per month
From $4,000 one time setup
- Everything in Operations
- Vendor bills and accounts payable
- Systems and CRM support
- Operational workflows and reporting
- Broader administrative oversight
Example: a 15 person company on Construction Operations pays $1,650 plus 15 employees at $25, for a total of
$2,025/moAdd what your jobs need.
Some work adds complexity, so it is priced on top of your package. These are starting prices, and your exact price is confirmed in your written scope.
| Add on | What it covers | Starting price |
|---|---|---|
| AIA progress billing | G702/G703 pay applications prepared and submitted, with retainage tracking included | From $150 per pay application |
| Certified or prevailing wage payroll | Certified payroll reports for public or prevailing wage projects | From $75 per weekly report, per project |
| Advanced job costing | Labor, materials and overhead tracked against each job's budget | From $300/mo |
| Work in progress (WIP) reporting | Monthly WIP schedule showing billings, costs and earned revenue by job | From $250/mo |
| Catch up bookkeeping | Behind on your books? We bring them current before your package starts | From $300 per month of backlog |
Prices in USD. Each package includes a defined volume of transactions, active jobs and payroll runs, confirmed in your written scope. Add on services are priced on top of your package, starting at the prices shown above. Benefits administration is available through our benefits partner. Not in construction? Other small businesses are priced by quote.
Commercial Construction Back Office
For commercial, industrial and mechanical contractors running multiple jobs at once, often across several states. Pricing is a monthly base plus a fee per active job per month, with a monthly minimum and a one time setup fee. The job is the pricing unit, the same way the clinician is the unit on our healthcare staffing pages.
An active job is any job with costs or billing activity in that month. Finished jobs drop off automatically.
Bookkeeping + AP
Books closed and bills paid, by job
+ $75 per active job per month
- Categorizing and reconciliations
- Monthly close
- Vendor bills and accounts payable
- Costs tagged to each job
- Monthly financial reports
Billing + AR
Jobs invoiced and cash collected
+ $75 per active job per month
- Job invoicing
- Payment posting
- Aging reports
- Past due follow up
- Clear visibility into what is owed
Example: 17 active jobs on both services. Bookkeeping + AP is $1,000 plus 17 jobs at $75, or $2,275. Billing + AR is $650 plus 17 jobs at $75, or $1,925. Total before add ons:
$4,200/moAdd what your commercial jobs need.
Priced on top of your commercial services. These are starting prices, and your exact price is confirmed in your written scope.
| Add on | What it covers | Starting price |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced job costing | Labor, materials and overhead tracked against each job's budget.We post your payroll provider's register to each job, so labor cost lands on the right job instead of one lump sum. | From $300/mo |
| Work in progress (WIP) reporting | Monthly WIP schedule showing billings, costs and earned revenue by job | From $250/mo |
| AIA progress billing | G702/G703 pay applications prepared and submitted, with retainage tracking included | From $150 per pay application |
| Catch up bookkeeping | Behind on your books? We bring them current before your services start | From $300 per month of backlog |
Payroll stays with you
Payroll is not part of commercial construction services. You keep running payroll through your own provider, and with advanced job costing we post that register to each job.
Limits set in writing
Included transactions and active jobs are set in your written scope after a free consultation, before any work begins.
Your CPA and attorney
Tax filing and tax or legal advice stay with your CPA and attorney. We keep your books clean and ready for them.
Want your own office team?
If you would rather hire or train your own office staff, see Construction Talent and Training.
We can hire and train them for you.
Some contractors want the work run for them. Others want their own bookkeeper, payroll person or office administrator. We find people who already know construction office work, and train them inside your systems.
Source and hire
We source and screen for construction office experience, like job costing, certified payroll and subcontractor paperwork, then handle assessments, interviews and offer support. Includes a 90 day replacement guarantee.
20% of first year base salary, minimum $10,000. Sourcing only from 15%, minimum $7,500.
Hire and train
Everything in Source and Hire, plus hands on training in bookkeeping, payroll or job costing, and onboarding into your company's workflows, so your new hire is productive faster.
20% placement fee + $3,000 to $5,000 training and onboarding.
Train your existing employee
A hands on onboarding program, not a prerecorded course, covering construction payroll, job expense tracking, invoicing and subcontractor paperwork in your own systems.
Payroll $2,500 to $4,000. Bookkeeping and AR $2,000 to $3,500. Combined $4,000 to $6,000 per employee.
Training more than one person? A company license covers up to 3 employees for $7,500, or up to 5 for $10,000. Building a full office from scratch? We create the role profiles, hire each role and build out the office for $15,000 to $30,000 plus the placement fee per hire.
From first call to a running back office.
A clear onboarding process, so nothing falls through the cracks while you keep jobs moving.
Free consultation
We talk through how your office runs today and what you want off your plate.
Back office review
We look at your books, payroll and paperwork, then send a written scope and fixed price.
Setup
We organize your accounts, set up job tracking and build the monthly calendar.
Go live
We run your back office every month, with a check in so you always know where things stand.
Construction back office questions
Who do you work with?
Owner led construction companies, especially residential general contractors and remodelers, that have outgrown the owner or a family member doing the books, payroll and paperwork at night. We also support commercial, industrial and mechanical contractors running multiple jobs at once. See commercial pricing.
Do you work with contractors in Southwest Florida and the Florida Keys?
Yes. We are based in Naples and Key West and work with contractors across Southwest Florida and the Florida Keys, from Key Largo to Key West. Because the work happens inside your own systems, we also support contractors nationwide.
How can I spend less time on construction paperwork?
Hand the recurring office work to one team on a set monthly calendar: bookkeeping, invoicing, payroll, new hire paperwork and subcontractor documents. We run that work inside your systems every month, so you approve instead of doing it yourself.
Why am I making money but have no cash?
In construction, profit and cash split apart for a few common reasons: invoices going out late, retainage held back until the end of a job, finished change orders that never get billed, and materials paid for before the customer pays you. We keep invoicing on schedule, follow up on past due balances and show you what is owed by job, so you can see where the cash is.
How do I know if a construction job is profitable?
Compare each job's actual costs against its estimate while the job is still open: labor, materials, equipment, subcontractors and approved change orders. We tag every cost to its job and send monthly job cost reports. In one case, that showed a contractor's commercial jobs were each losing 4% because the bids used the wrong overhead markup.
How do I track labor costs by job?
Labor has to be coded to a job when the time is recorded, then posted to that job in your books. We review crew time, make sure hours carry the right job, and with advanced job costing we post your payroll register to each job, so labor cost lands on the right job instead of one lump sum.
What is the best way to collect employee timesheets from multiple job sites?
Use one method for every crew, ideally a mobile time option in your payroll system, with a job selected on every entry and a set weekly cutoff. We review time each week, follow up on missing or uncoded hours, and catch overtime before payroll runs.
How do I make sure change orders get billed?
Record every approved change order against its job as soon as it is signed, and add it to the next invoice or pay application. We track approved change orders by job and bill them with your progress billing, so extra work gets paid for.
How do I track retainage and AIA pay applications?
Track retainage as its own balance on each job so it is not forgotten at closeout, and keep a schedule of pay application dates. AIA progress billing (G702/G703) with retainage tracking is an add on service, from $150 per pay application.
How do I organize subcontractor paperwork?
Collect a W-9 and current insurance certificate before a subcontractor starts, log expiration dates, and keep one file per subcontractor. We do that through the year and prepare 1099s at year end, so January is not a scramble.
Do we have to switch software?
No. We work inside the systems you already use, like QuickBooks Online, Zoho Books, Gusto, ADP and Paychex. If something is not working, we help you choose a better fit.
Do you handle HR for our crew?
Yes. We handle new hire paperwork, onboarding, employee files, handbook and policy upkeep, and keep safety training and certification records organized. Benefits administration is available through our benefits partner.
How is pricing set?
Each package has a monthly base, a per employee fee and a one time setup. On your free consultation we confirm what is included, like transaction volume, active jobs and payroll frequency, then send a written scope with your fixed monthly price.
How is commercial construction priced?
A monthly base plus $75 per active job per month, with a monthly minimum and a one time setup fee. An active job is any job with costs or billing activity in that month, and finished jobs drop off automatically. Payroll is not included for commercial contractors, so you keep running it through your own provider.
Who is the employer?
You are. Your company stays the employer of record and keeps its own payroll, tax and bank accounts. We run the work inside them on your behalf.
Can you help us hire our own office staff instead?
Yes. We source, hire and train bookkeepers, payroll staff and office administrators who know construction office work, or train the people you already have. Placements start at 15% of first year base salary, and training starts at $2,000 per employee. See hiring and training options.
Do you replace our CPA?
No. We keep your books clean and ready so your CPA can focus on tax planning and filing. Tax and legal advice stay with your CPA and attorney.
Get back to the job site.
Book a free consultation and we will show you exactly what we would take off your plate, and what it would cost.
Not in construction? We also support other small businesses by quote. See all small business solutions. Unified Linc provides back office operations support. We are not a CPA firm, PEO or employer of record, and we do not provide legal or tax advice.