Average Salaries for Construction Accounting Jobs in the United States

Construction companies can be one-man shows, $50 million operations, or anything in between, but every contractor needs a complete and accurate accounting system to be functional and profitable.

Construction businesses require every financial transaction to be processed and they need accurate and timely reports to support and inform their decisions. Most importantly, they need to comply with accounting practices and file their tax return requirements both accurately and on time.

Are you interested in full-time accounting positions geared toward the construction industry? Read on to find out the qualifications and skills you need to become a valuable accounting professional. We’ll also include the average salary for each construction accounting job.

The controller position is accountable for the overall accounting functions and operations of the company. This full-time construction management position is one of the highest positions a senior accountant can hold in a company and generally reports directly to the president or CEO.

Median Salary: $129,890 as of May 2019

Expectations: Depending on the size of the company, a controller can be managing one or more departments. If you’re interested in this position, you’ll need exceptional communication skills to manage employees, experience as a senior accountant, as well as technical and analytical skills.

Responsibilities:

• Monitor, update, and enforce accounting policies and procedures around generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)
• Make sure periodic financial statements are produced in compliance with accounting practices and tax regulations
• Supervise the preparation and maintenance of the company’s general ledger, financial statements, balance sheet accounts, and account reconciliations
• Analyze costs, revenues, and create reports for stakeholders
• Provide recommendations to enhance the accuracy of the company’s capital asset and control processes
• Review quarterly and annual budgets for all departments
• Set and track financial key performance indicators
• Implement and manage construction-specific software, such as Spectrum

Education and Experience Requirements: Most companies require that a controller has a bachelor’s degree in accounting. A master’s degree in finance or another related field is also preferred. You’d also land this position easily if you have a professional accounting designation, such as “certified public accountant” (CPA), “chartered global management accountant” (CGMA), “chartered financial analyst” (CFA), or “certified management accountant” (CMA).

To rise to the rank of a controller, you will have to be a senior accountant with at least 5 to 10 years of experience in general accounting and cost accounting. You also need an additional 2 to 5 years of accounting experience in the construction industry.

The cost accountant position is primarily accountable for the maintenance of a complete and accurate general ledger and related reports and financial statements. This full-time specialist position also requires analytical skills and experience in developing cost standards.

Median Salary: $81,590 as of May 2019

Expectations: You’ll need a strong background in cost systems and in-depth knowledge of accounting principles.

Responsibilities:

• Plan and collect data to determine costs of business activities, such as raw material purchases, real estate, inventory, and labor; analyze data collected, record results, and create reports for stakeholders
• Analyze changes in product designs, raw materials, and construction processes to determine their impact on project costs
• Provide managerial personnel with reports, identifying and comparing factors impacting prices and profitability of projects
• Manage physical inventories, monitor the cycle count system, and reconcile finished project inventories
• Assist in the month-end close of the general ledger

Education and Experience Requirements: A cost accountant is generally employed by large corporations that prefer applicants to have a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a designation like CPA, CFA, or CMA. Most applicants hired for this role have at least three years of cost accounting experience in a construction or related environment.

The project accountant works alongside project managers and engineers to ensure the profitability of completed projects.

Median Salary: $71,550 as of May 2019

Expectations: Aside from the ability to work in a fast-paced environment and manage several projects at once, this full-time project accounting role also requires highly technical skills, such as:

• Advanced proficiency in construction-specific bookkeeping and accounting software, such as QuickBooks Desktop Contractor
• Knowledge of American Institute of Architects (AIA) billing, change orders, and public contract
• Certified payroll experience
• Proficiency with the Microsoft Office Suite

Responsibilities:

• Consolidate and prepare monthly invoices for multiple clients
• Collect and review lien waivers from subcontractors and suppliers
• Make sure all invoices are recorded accurately and timely with the correct cost codes
• Monitor cash flows and create reports for stakeholders
• Oversee construction progress billings from the beginning of the projects to completion
• Issue lien waivers and communicate with installers, project managers, and clients
• Update enterprise resource planning (ERP), Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, and accounting records for auditing purposes
• Responsible for MBE/DBE status reports, payroll, and other compliance and financial reporting, both ad hoc and ongoing

Education and Experience Requirements: To be considered for a project accountant position, you’ll need a bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance. Most job postings also ask for at least three years of experience in construction, a job costing, or bookkeeper role.

A construction staff accountant in a construction company will attend to the day-to-day activities of the accounting department.

Median Salary: $71,550 as of May 2019

Expectations: You’d need advanced-level proficiency with Microsoft Excel and Word and strong overall computer skills to qualify for this full-time position. You are expected to have a working knowledge of construction accounting software, such as Viewpoint, as well.

Responsibilities:

• Perform general ledger and bank account entries and reconciliations
• Manage payroll and related weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual taxes and returns
• Prepare the annual cost and coverage analysis of employee insurance and benefits
• Create monthly, quarterly, and annual inventory and production cost reports
• Assist the construction accounting manager with the development and implementation of new policies and procedures in response to changes in GAAP and company operations
• Assist in the property, real estate, and liability insurance renewal process
• Conduct the annual review and tax returns with the construction group’s external auditor
• Guide external audits, including general ledger liability, worker’s compensation, sale and use tax audits, the annual insurance renewal audit, and other on-demand external audits

Education and Experience Requirements: For construction staff account roles, a bachelor’s degree and a CPA or CMA designation is preferred. Still, businesses also hire individuals with an associate degree. Make sure you highlight your years of experience in the construction industry.

An accounts payable or accounts receivable clerk deals with billing documents and transactions for construction projects.

Median Salary: $41,230 as of May 2019

Expectations: To succeed in this full-time or part-time role, you’re expected to have a strong understanding of construction accounting procedures. It also calls for data entry, clerical skills, and knowledge of Acumatica, Spitfire, or similar systems.

Responsibilities:

• Review, code, and process vendors, subcontractors, and overhead invoices for payment
• Confer with subcontractors and vendors to ensure the accuracy of their statements
• Track and report W-9s and 1099s
• Draw up AIA billing documents and releases according to clients’ requests and follow up with payments
• Prepare reports needed in reconciling job costs and payables and receivables transactions
• Assist in the job closeout and review the process by generating reports and reviewing their accuracy
• Prepare daily bank deposits, posting cash applications, and bank reconciliations

Education and Experience Requirements: Most job postings for the accounting clerk role require a high school diploma and at least two years of accounts payable/accounts receivable experience.

The payroll coordinator job title in a construction business processes staffing payroll and communicates pay-related information to other employees and subcontractors.

Median Salary: $41,230 as of May 2019

Expectations: In this job type, you’ll be the point of contact for all payroll-related inquiries, especially in small to medium-sized companies. You’re expected to have extensive knowledge of payroll systems in addition to federal and state payroll and tax regulations. The ability to maintain confidential and sensitive information is also important for this full-time role.

Responsibilities:

• Process payroll for all employees accurately and on time
• Make sure job cost posting of payroll, benefits, taxes, and garnishments are paid on time
• Compile and reconcile information needed to prepare and file W-2s, quarterly payroll tax returns, withholding taxes, union dues, union audits, 401(k) contributions, and other pay-related obligations

Education and Experience Requirements: While some businesses prefer to hire applicants with a bachelor’s degree for this position, most job listings do not mention any preference to that effect except for proven experience in the construction industry. Companies do ask for strong computer skills and knowledge of accounting systems, such as Timberline or Sage 100, however.

Searching for construction accounting jobs is easy with Joblist. Our platform offers access to top companies and high-paying job postings in the city or state in which you reside. Your job alerts are customized according to your search criteria so you don’t need to spend hours combing through job postings that are not relevant to you.

Start your career search now and land your dream construction accountant job!