Service 03 — Contract Profitability Reporting
Know what each contract actually earned — retentions, stages, and all.
True contract profitability is rarely the number on the final invoice. Retentions held back, stage payments spread across months, and costs that arrive after practical completion — this reporting draws that picture clearly, so your next bid rests on something solid.
What This Delivers
A clear account of what each contract produced — and what the next one should price at
Construction contracts do not close cleanly. Retentions sit outstanding for months. Stage payments land at different points. Costs for defects or snagging arrive after the main account is settled. The gross margin figure at practical completion rarely reflects what you eventually receive.
This service produces quarterly reporting that accounts for all of that — completed contracts reviewed in full, in-progress contracts tracked against stage and retention positions, and the numbers presented in plain terms without requiring you to interpret a spreadsheet.
The practical value compounds over time. With a clear record of what past contracts produced — including what came in late and what cost more than expected — your pricing on future tenders draws on actual data rather than general experience.
True margin
Profitability calculated after retentions, late costs, and stage payment timing — not just gross revenue minus direct costs.
Retention view
What is held, when it falls due, and how it sits against your total receivables position across all contracts.
Stage tracking
In-progress contracts tracked against their payment schedule — what has been certified, what is pending, and what remains to be claimed.
Bid reference
Completed contract records that serve as reference material when pricing similar work — actual figures, not estimates.
A Common Pattern in Construction
The final account does not tell the whole story
Retentions are tracked loosely, if at all
Many contractors have a general sense of what is held in retention across their portfolio but no clear picture of when each retention falls due, which are at risk, or how the total position affects cash forecasting. Money that is technically owed can sit unclaimed because no one is watching the calendar.
Pricing is based on what jobs were quoted at, not what they delivered
Without clear completed-contract reporting, the natural reference point for a new bid is the original estimate on a similar job. What that job actually produced — after variations, retention releases, late costs, and snagging — tends not to be captured in a format that is easy to retrieve and apply.
In-progress contracts are difficult to read at a glance
How much has been certified on each active contract? What stage payments are pending? How does the current cash position relate to the total contract value? Without a report that brings those figures together, each question requires pulling information from different places — and the picture is never quite current.
The Approach
Quarterly reporting that reflects how construction contracts actually work
Each quarter, we produce a report covering your contract portfolio — completed contracts reviewed in full and in-progress contracts tracked against their stage and retention positions. The figures are drawn from maintained records rather than assembled at reporting time.
Retentions are presented with their due dates and release conditions. Stage payments are shown against the certified and claimed positions for each active contract. Completed contracts include a full margin review — what was received, what the costs were, and what the contract produced net of everything that followed practical completion.
The report is written to be read without an accounting background. If a figure needs context, the context is in the report — not something you have to call us to explain.
Completed contract review
Each closed contract is reviewed in full — total revenue received, costs including late arrivals, net margin, and a summary of what the job actually delivered versus what was quoted.
Retention schedule
All outstanding retentions listed with amounts, holding parties, release conditions, and due dates — so nothing is overlooked and chasing is timely, not late.
In-progress contract positions
Active contracts shown with certified value, amount claimed, amount received, and outstanding stage payments — a single view of where each live contract stands financially.
Plain-language presentation
The report is written to be read and used, not filed unread. Where a figure needs context or a comparison to a prior period, that context is included in the report itself.
Working Together
What the quarterly reporting rhythm feels like
The reporting arrives on a predictable schedule. Most clients find the quarterly review becomes a genuinely useful session — a period of time set aside to understand the portfolio, not just receive a document.
Records maintained as contracts move
Stage certifications, payments received, retention movements, and cost postings are tracked as they happen — so the quarterly report draws on current records rather than a reconstruction at period end.
Report prepared and delivered
The quarterly report covers completed contracts, in-progress positions, and the retention schedule. It is delivered with a brief summary of anything that warrants attention before the next quarter begins.
Walk through together
We go through the report with you — not to explain accounting, but to discuss what the numbers mean for the business. Which contracts performed as expected, which did not, and what that suggests for current pricing.
Available for queries
If a contract closes between reports, or a retention becomes due, or a question arises from a bid you are pricing, the underlying records are current and accessible — you do not need to wait for the next quarterly cycle.
Pricing
Quarterly reporting at a fixed fee
One predictable figure per quarter covers the full reporting scope — completed contracts, in-progress positions, retention schedule, and the review session.
Contract Profitability Reporting
What is included each quarter:
- Full review of contracts completed during the quarter — revenue, costs, and net margin
- In-progress contract positions — certified, claimed, received, and outstanding
- Retention schedule showing amounts held, release conditions, and due dates
- Plain-language report written to be read and used without accounting knowledge
- Quarterly review session to walk through findings and flag anything worth attention
- Completed contract archive for reference when pricing future work
The quarterly fee is fixed regardless of the number of contracts in the portfolio during the period. If you are also using our job costing service, the underlying records feed directly into the profitability report — no duplicate work.
Results Over Time
How the value of this reporting builds
The first quarterly report produces clarity on where each contract currently stands — a position most contractors describe as more useful than any single document they previously had. Retentions are visible in one place, in-progress contracts have a clear financial summary, and recently completed jobs have a proper margin review.
By the second and third quarters, patterns begin to emerge. Certain contract types deliver consistent margins. Others do not — and the reporting makes it easier to understand why. That understanding tends to shift how future bids are put together, sometimes in small ways and occasionally in significant ones.
Over a year of reporting, the completed contract archive becomes a genuine reference library. When a similar job comes to tender, the actual financial history of comparable work is accessible and organised — not something to try to piece together from memory and old invoices.
Completed contracts reviewed, in-progress positions documented, and retention schedule produced. For most clients this is the first time all three have been visible in one place.
With two or three quarters of data, the reporting begins to show which contract types and client relationships produce the most reliable margin — and which carry more variance than the original quotes suggested.
A full year of completed contract records — with actual margins, cost breakdowns, and retention histories — becomes a practical reference when pricing work of a similar type or scale.
Our Commitment
Reports you can actually use — not documents that need interpreting
A profitability report is only useful if the person receiving it understands what it says. We write these reports for contractors, not accountants — clear figures, plain language, and context included where it matters. If something in the report raises a question, we would rather you had the context to answer it yourself than need to call us for an explanation.
No-obligation initial call
We understand your contract portfolio and reporting needs before any commitment is expected.
Readable reports
Reports written for a contractor audience — figures in context, comparisons where useful, and plain language throughout.
Consistent quarterly schedule
Reports delivered on a predictable cycle so you can plan the review session in advance and know when the information will be available.
Getting Started
From first contact to first report
The setup for quarterly reporting is straightforward — we need to understand your contract portfolio and where records currently sit before the first report can be produced.
Send a message
Let us know roughly how many contracts you carry at any one time and whether you have any reporting in place at the moment — even informal notes are a useful starting point.
Portfolio review call
We talk through your active and recently completed contracts, how retentions and stage payments are currently tracked, and what you want the reporting to help you understand.
Records setup
We establish the contract register, retention schedule, and stage payment tracking from your current records — building the foundation the quarterly reports will draw from.
First quarterly report
At the end of the first quarter, the report is produced and delivered with a walkthrough session. From there, the rhythm is established and the reporting runs on schedule.
Ready When You Are
Understand what your contracts are really producing — and price the next ones accordingly.
A short conversation about your portfolio is the starting point. No obligation — just a practical discussion about what quarterly reporting would look like for your business.
Get in TouchOther Services
Explore what else we offer
Profitability reporting works well alongside job costing — which feeds the underlying records — or subcontractor administration, depending on where your business currently needs more structure.
Service 01
Job Costing & Project Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping organised by job, tracking costs against budget so you can see how each contract is performing while the work continues.
$60 / active job / month
Learn MoreService 02
Subcontractor & Payments Administration
Subcontractor records, verification, and scheme deductions handled carefully and kept on schedule — without the paper trail falling to you.
$380 / month
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