Trade Contractors
Trade contractors need to know which jobs make money. We track labor and materials by project so you can bid future work based on real numbers instead of guesses.
The Industry
Trade contractors specialize. An electrician doesn’t frame walls. A plumber doesn’t install ductwork. But that specialization doesn’t mean the books are simple. Every job needs tracking. Materials from the supply house, hours your crew worked, the sub you brought in for a specific task. Each project has its own cost structure, and if you’re not capturing it at the job level, you’re flying blind.
The cash flow timing is its own challenge. You finish the rough-in on Thursday. The general contractor doesn’t pay until the draw comes through, which might be 45 or 60 days out. Meanwhile, you have payroll on Friday and materials on your supply house account. You’re essentially financing someone else’s project while waiting to collect.
Who This Covers
Who This Covers
Electricians, plumbers, HVAC contractors, framers, drywallers, painters, tile installers, concrete contractors, and welders. Anyone working as a specialized trade on construction projects throughout Northern New Mexico.
The Friction
The Friction
Receipts pile up. The supply house account gets reconciled when someone finds time. Figuring out whether you actually made money on the Rodriguez job requires digging through weeks of transactions that were never tagged to anything specific.
What We Handle
Job costing is the core of what we do for trade contractors. Every expense gets tagged to a specific project. The copper fittings from the supply house, the hours your apprentice worked, the permit fee. We move you past a generic “Materials” expense category to show what each job actually cost to complete. When you look at your books, you see profitability by project, not just a monthly total.
GRT compliance matters here in New Mexico. Different services get taxed at different rates in different locations. Construction has its own rules around deductions and exemptions. We handle the monthly or quarterly GRT returns and make sure you’re charging and reporting correctly. Getting this wrong means penalties or overpaying, neither of which helps your bottom line.
Job Profitability
Job Profitability
We track revenue and expenses by project. You see which jobs hit your target margin and which ones came in thin. This gives you real data for pricing future work instead of gut feelings about whether a job type is worth pursuing.
GRT Returns
GRT Returns
New Mexico’s gross receipts tax has location-specific rates and construction-specific rules. We prepare and file your returns accurately and on time. One less thing to think about, one less way to get a letter from the state.
Common Problems
Trade contractors who don’t track by job can’t bid accurately. You finished 15 residential projects last year but have no idea which ones actually made money. That custom home in Eldorado felt profitable, but did you account for the three callbacks and the extra materials for the change order that never got invoiced? Without job-level data, every estimate is an educated guess at best.
GRT mistakes compound quietly. You’re charging the wrong rate for labor in one jurisdiction, or you missed that the job site in a different county has different rules. These small errors stack up over months and years. When you finally notice or get audited, you’re filing amended returns and probably paying penalties and interest.
Pricing Without Data
Pricing Without Data
You think you’re making 25% margin on commercial work. But overhead doesn’t get allocated. Your truck, insurance, tools, and the hours you spend on estimates and admin aren’t factored in. Real margin might be 12%. You keep bidding work that doesn’t actually support the business.
GRT Compliance Drift
GRT Compliance Drift
New Mexico’s gross receipts tax isn’t sales tax. The rules work differently. Construction contractors have specific deductions and rates that vary by location. Handling it yourself usually means getting something wrong that becomes expensive to fix down the road.
What Changes
You bid with confidence because you know what similar jobs actually cost. The data from past projects shows your real costs per hour including overhead. You stop underbidding work and wondering why the bank account doesn’t grow even though you stay busy. You can look at a potential job and know within a reasonable range what it will cost you to complete it.
GRT gets filed correctly every period without you thinking about it. The rates are right, the construction deductions are applied properly, and you’re not worrying about a state audit finding years of accumulated mistakes. Your time goes to the work you’re good at instead of paperwork you’re guessing your way through.
Accurate Estimates
Accurate Estimates
Historical job costs show what things really cost to build. You see which types of work hit your target margins and which ones consistently come in light. Bidding becomes a calculation based on experience rather than hoping you priced it right this time.
Compliance Handled
Compliance Handled
GRT returns prepared correctly based on what you did and where you did it. Books maintained to an audit-ready standard throughout the year. If the state ever asks questions, you have clean records and documentation ready to go.
Santa Fe's Small Business Bookkeeper
The Next Step:
A Quick Conversation
Tell us about your business and what you're dealing with. We'll listen, ask a few questions, and give you a straightforward quote.
