Simple books for a flooring contractor: weekly cash sheet and job costing

Choose the condition that matches the next cash decision, then follow that branch. A weekly cash sheet shows when money is expected to come in or go out; job costing shows which work used it. Keep receipts, payroll records and supplier paperwork connected to job numbers as you update both views.

If the coming weeks may show a cash gap

Build a week-by-week cash view when the closing balance alone cannot show which payment might fall short. Enter opening bank cash, receipts by job using expected collection timing, and scheduled payroll and material commitments. Pay attention to the first week below zero, since that is where a decision is needed.

Set upcoming weeks across the top and use one row for each source of cash. Refresh opening bank cash, customer receipts, payroll, material orders, disposal and consumables, recurring vehicle and fixed costs, and the resulting closing amount. Update fixed costs monthly and the other lines weekly.

Read the first negative week, rather than relying only on the final total. Seeing a gap well before it arrives gives you time to consider a start-date change or invoice follow-up. Seeing it only when due can leave fewer choices about the payment causing it.

• Rule of thumb: Find the first week below zero and act on the payment or receipt behind it.

A worked cash sheet (illustrative figures)

The closing line is opening cash plus receipts, minus payroll, material orders, disposal and consumables, and vehicle and fixed costs. Deposits held are already in the bank balance, so they stay a memo line and are not added again.

Suppose week 1 opens with $12,000. Receipts are $4,800 from one finished job. Payroll is $5,200, materials $6,100, disposal and consumables $450, and vehicle and fixed costs $900. Closing cash is $12,000 + $4,800 − $5,200 − $6,100 − $450 − $900 = $4,150.

Week 2 opens with that $4,150 and expects no receipts, with $5,200 of payroll due. Closing cash is −$1,050. Week 2 is the first negative week, so the decision is due now: move a start date, chase an invoice, or delay a material order.

If payment is due after the punch list

Send the final invoice when the punch list is complete, then make an initial collection call to confirm it arrived. For the next cash update, use your own collection history alongside invoice dates. Printed payment terms alone do not show when the funds are likely to reach the bank.

Compare the expected receipt date with payroll and material commitments. Separate labor into wages, payroll taxes and insurance so you can calculate a loaded crew rate for the job. If collection is expected after payroll is due, consider whether a start date can move or an invoice needs attention.

A cash plan should reflect the timing you have experienced, not simply the date printed on an invoice. Confirm receipt first, then follow up on the balance. Where the expected payment lands after a scheduled outflow, review the timing before that outflow becomes a cash shortfall.

• Rule of thumb: Invoice promptly, confirm delivery, and compare likely payment timing with scheduled costs.

If materials must be paid for before the customer's balance arrives

Set the deposit with the immediate material order in mind when you need to pay a supplier before collecting the customer's balance. That keeps funds collected for the job aligned with the purchase rather than assuming the contract total is already available cash.

Check what your state contractor licensing board allows for deposits and how funds must be held. Some states cap deposits on home-improvement contracts; California, for example, limits a down payment to 10 percent of the contract price or $1,000, whichever is less. Requirements vary by jurisdiction, so review state licensing rules before changing collection practices. Then consider supplier terms deliberately, since they affect how long business cash is committed to the order.

• Rule of thumb: Match the deposit to the materials being ordered, and check local requirements first.

If preparation work could hide a job's real cost

Give tear-out, disposal, floor preparation, repairs and installation separate revenue and cost lines when those activities are part of the work. One square-foot installation price can obscure the labor, disposal fees and dumpster days that occur before installation. A separate price breakdown makes those costs easier to see.

Follow the job from deposit and material order through tear-out, disposal, preparation and installation, while recording payroll as it is paid. After the punch list, payment may arrive later than expected. If a callback follows (the complaint handling guide covers the process), post its cost to the original job number rather than losing them in general expenses.

• Rule of thumb: Separate cost-heavy activities and charge later corrections to the job that caused them.

A job-costing sheet (illustrative figures)

Give every job one row, or one small block, with the same columns each time:

Suppose job 214 has a $9,600 contract and a $400 signed change order, so revenue is $10,000. Material is $3,900, tear-out and disposal $650, preparation and repairs $500, and installation labor 60 hours at a loaded $38 an hour, or $2,280. Total cost is $7,330, gross profit is $2,670, and the margin is 26.7 percent.

If a $300 callback follows, post it to job 214. Total cost becomes $7,630, gross profit $2,370, and the margin 23.7 percent. Left in general expenses, that callback would never show on the job that caused it.

If you cannot trace an entry or trust a payment change

Keep the paperwork behind each entry if you cannot trace its amount to a source. Retain receipts, payroll records and asset records so income and expenses can be checked.

IRS Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records, is a reference for organizing business records, not a substitute for retaining the documents behind your own entries.

For stored financial records, use separate accounts for each person, multi-factor authentication on email and banking, and a backup that has been restored at least once. A compromised mailbox can be used to send altered payment instructions. Follow CISA business email compromise guidance and confirm changed bank details by calling a number already on file.

The FCC's small-business cybersecurity guidance covers further basics. Questions about wage law, estimated tax payments and startup costs belong with an accountant or adviser, and they do not alter the basic task of tying each book entry to paperwork.

• Rule of thumb: Keep proof for each entry and verify changed payment details through a known phone number.

If job totals do not match the work or cash movement

Check whether each cost belongs to the job that used it when the cash figures are correct but a job result still looks wrong.

Move materials bought for one job to the job that consumed them, and charge callbacks to the original job number. That keeps repeated problems visible in the cost history.

Use the software and KPI guide to connect job costs with the systems that hold them. Equipment purchases, service and depreciation belong in the equipment setup records; match consumables to crew use with the crew equipment checklist. Review local market conditions when considering seasonal cash patterns.

Ask an accountant about business structure, tax treatment, and whether cash or accrual accounting suits your circumstances. Whichever method you use, connect operational costs to job numbers. The U.S. tax forms relevant to your business also depend on its circumstances, so ask for advice there too.

• Rule of thumb: Reconcile each cost to the work that used it before judging a job's result.