REA.co Real Estate Accounting & Tax

Expert Buildium Construction Bookkeeping For Companies & Contractors

Buildium has no job costing module and no percentage of completion schedule anywhere in its chart of accounts. That is not a problem for a pure rental or association client. It becomes one the moment a builder or developer also self-manages what it constructs, because the same property record meant to close out a job's work in progress is the record that starts carrying rent roll and trust money the day the certificate of occupancy is issued.

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Construction Accounting Inside Buildium

What Changes When You Run This Vertical On This Platform

Where it breaks

WIP and rental trust cash share one ledger

Buildium tracks each address as a single property record tied to one bank account. During construction, that account absorbs draws, subcontractor bills, and change order costs with no job costing dimension attached, since Buildium was not built to hold a work-in-progress schedule. Retainage withheld from subcontractor invoices sits in that account as available cash rather than a liability, because there is no retainage payable field. Nobody notices until lease-up, when the same account starts receiving security deposits and rent, and the trust reconciliation comes up short because job cost dollars and rental cash were never separated.

How REA handles it

Separate job ledgers before occupancy, not after

REA opens a distinct bank account and job cost ledger for each project before the first draw goes out, kept apart from the operating and trust accounts that Buildium's property record will use once the unit leases. Retainage withheld from subcontractors is booked as a liability from the first draw, not left as float inside accounts payable. Percentage of completion is calculated outside Buildium on a cost-to-complete schedule and posted as a summary entry each month, since Buildium has no POC engine of its own. REA closes the job cost ledger on a fixed conversion date and moves the property into standard trust accounting, not gradually.

What we check in your Buildium instance

  • Retainage booked as a liability, not cash
  • Job cost ledger kept separate from trust account
  • Cost-to-complete estimate updated before every draw request
  • Change orders priced and approved before work starts
  • Equipment purchases capitalized instead of expensed to a job
  • Conversion date set explicitly when a unit leases

The Full Scope of the Engagement

Two Pages Carry the Detail

This page covers what is specific to running Construction books in Buildium. The complete service scope, process, and pricing conversation live on the two pages below.

The vertical

Construction Accounting

Full scope, monthly process, property types, FAQs and the team on the account.

See the Construction page

The platform

Buildium Bookkeeping

What Buildium does well, where its accounting breaks, and how REA works inside your own instance.

See the Buildium page
  1. 01

    Trust Accounting

    Tenant, owner, and security deposit money kept separate, tied out, and ready for a state audit at any time.

  2. 02

    Bank Reconciliation Services

    Every operating, trust, and escrow account reconciled on a fixed schedule, with the variances chased down rather than carried forward.

  3. 03

    Accounts Payable & Receivable

    Vendor invoices coded and paid, tenant receipts applied, management fees taken, and owner distributions cut on time.

  4. 04

    Bookkeeping Cleanup & Catch-Up

    Months or years of unreconciled books diagnosed, corrected, and brought current so the numbers you report are numbers you trust.

  5. 05

    CAM Reconciliation

    Common area maintenance pools built from the lease terms, reconciled against actuals, and billed or credited with a defensible tenant statement.

Experts In All Property Types

Residential, commercial and everything in between. The asset class changes what the books have to prove, and our teams are staffed accordingly.

Check Out What Our Clients Have To Say About Us

Property Managers, Investors & Owner Operators

Client story

Handed over the whole accounting function

I highly recommend Real Estate Accounting (REA) services from this group. They truly are great and have helped us tremendously at a time we needed it the most. I felt very comfortable giving up all my accounting responsibilities to this team and I'm still glad I made the decision to work with this group. Nothing less than an amazing experience!

TCTracy CollinsProperty Manager

Day-to-day financial operations

REA and team have been nothing but excellent helping our firm with its day to day financial needs. Their expertise, professionalism, and timeliness have made our lives so much easier. We foresee a long relationship with REA and team.

BCBrian CookOwner Operator

Onboarding and responsiveness

Real Estate Accounting truly is a special company. They helped as if they were a part of our company, with the concern and caution as an employee would have, but even more. They quickly ascertained our needs and developed an effective team to help with our accounting needs. They were extremely responsive and always accurate. I would recommend their services to anyone who needs help with their property management accounting.

KSKelly StanawayProperty Manager

230+

Property Accountants

30M+

Commercial Sq. Ft.

Up to 50%

Saved vs In-House

Every month

On-Time Close

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Running Construction On Something Else?

Same Vertical, Different Platform

Frequently Asked Questions

We're a builder who also manages the rentals we develop. Can Buildium run both sides?

Buildium can run the rental side well once a unit is placed in service, but it has no job costing module for the construction phase. Track draws, retainage, and cost to complete in a separate ledger while the project is underway, then move the property into Buildium's standard rental or trust accounting on the day it converts. Running both phases through the same property record from day one is what lets job costs and trust money mix.

There's no retainage field in Buildium. How do you track what we're holding back from subcontractors?

Buildium has no retainage payable account built in, so retainage withheld from subcontractor draws defaults to sitting inside accounts payable as ordinary bill balance, which reads as available cash. REA adds a retainage payable account to the chart of accounts for each project and reconciles it against the holdback schedule in every subcontract, so retained funds never get mistaken for cash you can spend.

Can Buildium tell us if a job is overbilled or underbilled?

No. Buildium shows cash collected and bills paid per property, but it doesn't calculate percentage of completion or compare billings to cost incurred, so over and underbilling never appear in a standard report. REA keeps a cost-to-complete schedule outside Buildium for each active job, compares it to billings monthly, and posts the over or underbilling adjustment into Buildium as a single journal entry, so the property's books stay correct without a construction module.

Ready for Accurate Construction Books in Buildium?

Schedule a call with our team to talk through your Buildium instance, what it is doing to your construction financials, and what REA would take on.