About
Bookkeeping built for the trades
Welders, plumbers, HVAC techs, electricians, and the contractors who run crews. If your work happens on a job site instead of behind a desk, these are the books you need.
Meet Becka Drum
Books by Becka handles monthly bookkeeping and payroll for trades businesses. Not tech startups, not e-commerce shops. Contractors who bill by the job, buy materials by the pallet, and would rather be running a bead or pulling wire than reconciling a bank statement at nine at night.
Most clients arrive in one of two situations. Either the books were never really set up past a checking account and a folder of receipts, or the business grew past what a spreadsheet and good intentions could carry. A second truck, a first employee, and a general contractor asking for a W-9 will do it. Both are normal starting points.
Trades we work with
If your trade is not on the list, it almost certainly still fits. The work looks the same underneath.
- Welding & fabrication
- Plumbing
- HVAC
- Electrical
- Carpentry & framing
- Concrete & masonry
- Roofing
- Excavation & site work
- Landscaping & hardscape
- Painting & drywall
- General contracting
- Auto & diesel repair
Why trades books are their own thing
A bookkeeper who has only ever worked with consultants and retail shops will keep your accounts tidy and still miss the things that decide whether a job was worth taking.
Profit per job, not just profit per month
A monthly total tells you the shop made money. It does not tell you which jobs made it and which quietly ate the margin. Job costing and class tracking tie materials, labor, and subs back to the work that consumed them.
Materials and labor arrive separately
A truckload of pipe and three weeks of crew time land on the same job from different sources, often weeks apart. Coding both to the same job is most of the work, and it is the part that gets skipped when you are on site all day.
Money moves both directions at once
You are invoicing a general contractor while paying suppliers and subs on the same job. Tracking receivables and payables side by side keeps a slow-paying customer from quietly becoming your cash flow problem.
Crew and subs get paid differently
Employees run through payroll, subcontractors get 1099s, and both can work the same job in the same week. Payroll processing handles the run while the books keep each cost attached to the job it belongs to.
The season swings the numbers
A strong quarter is often three jobs closing at once, and a slow one is not always a problem. Monthly statements and quarterly review calls make the pattern visible instead of leaving you to guess from the bank balance.
Equipment and inventory are real money
Trucks, torches, compressors, and the stock sitting on the shelf all belong on the books. Inventory tracking keeps what you own separate from what you have already spent.
Where you probably fit
Owner-operators
Micro Package
One truck, working solo or with a helper. Low transaction volume, and the books mostly need to stay current and land clean on your preparer's desk.
Established shops with a crew
Standard Package
Steady work, a few vehicles, and invoices going out to general contractors or homeowners. This is where receivables tracking and a monthly review call start paying for themselves.
Multi-crew and multi-location
Custom Package
Several jobs running at once, inventory on hand, and payroll for a real roster. Job costing and class tracking stop being nice to have.
Talk it through with Becka
Bring your job count, your crew size, and how far behind the books are. You will leave the call knowing what the monthly work looks like and what it costs.