Roofing
Accounting and tax strategy built for roofing contractors
Roofing margin lives and dies on two things: what materials cost the day you install, and what your crews cost to put them on. We build the books, the job costing, and the tax plan around both, so a busy season turns into money you actually keep.
What a general accountant misses
The money problems that are specific to roofing
Material prices move, crews scale up and down, insurance jobs pay slowly, and workers comp is brutal. Generic books smooth all of that into one number and hide where the margin really went.
Material cost volatility
Shingles, metal, and underlayment move with the market. A bid priced a few weeks ago can lose money by install day if it was not built with room to flex.
Crew scale and classification
W2 crews, subcontracted crews, and 1099s that swell in the busy season. Misclassify a crew and the back payroll taxes and penalties land on you, not the sub.
Storm and insurance work
Restoration jobs bring feast-or-famine revenue, supplements, and slow insurance payments with ACV and RCV timing that generic bookkeeping simply does not handle.
Workers comp and job costing
Roofing carries some of the highest comp rates in the trades. If that cost is not loaded into every job, your margins look better on paper than they are in the bank.
Trucks, trailers, and depreciation
Trucks, trailers, and equipment are large capital outlays that shape your tax bill. Section 179 and bonus depreciation only pay off when the timing is planned against your income.
How we help
A finance department that speaks roofing
Job costing with real labor loading
Workers comp, burden, and crew cost loaded into every job, so the margin you see is the margin you actually made, not a number that ignores your biggest risks.
Material and bid tracking
Material costs tied back to the bid on every job, so you can see which jobs held their number and stop repeating the ones that did not.
Sub and crew compliance
1099s, lien waivers, insurance certificates, and worker classification handled, so a busy season of subs does not turn into a tax problem next spring.
Insurance-job accounting
Supplements, ACV and RCV, and slow payments tracked so restoration work does not scramble your cash picture or your revenue.
Truck and equipment depreciation
Section 179 and bonus depreciation on trucks, trailers, and equipment, timed to your income so a big purchase lands the deduction where you need it.
Seasonal cash flow and year-round tax
Forecasting built for feast-or-famine revenue, plus quarterly planning that acts on deductions and credits while there is still time to use them.
Proven where it counts
One obsession: keeping more of what you build.
Why Today CFO
Why roofing owners work with us
We know how roofing money moves
Materials, crews, and insurance work each behave differently. We track them the way roofing actually runs, so you can see real margin instead of a smoothed-over average.
Classification and comp handled
Crew compliance and worker classification are where roofing owners get burned. We keep the paperwork clean and flag the risks before they become penalties.
Run by an operator, not a filer
Tom built and sold a company before starting Today CFO. He has met payroll and carried real risk, so he reads your numbers like an owner sizing up the next crew and the next load of shingles, not like a preparer filing a form.
Straight answers
Roofing accounting and tax questions
How should roofers handle material price swings in their books?
Shingles, metal, and underlayment move with the market, so a bid priced weeks ago can lose money by install day. We tie material costs back to the original bid on every job, so you can see which jobs held their number and price the next ones with room to flex.
Are my roofing crews employees or subcontractors?
It depends on how the work is actually controlled, not just what the agreement says. Getting it wrong exposes you to back payroll taxes and penalties, and roofing gets looked at closely. We review your classifications, flag the risky ones, and bring in the right specialist when a call is genuinely close.
How is insurance and restoration work accounted for?
Storm work brings feast-or-famine revenue, supplements, ACV and RCV timing, and payments that arrive slowly. Booked casually, it makes a great month look like a disaster or the reverse. We track insurance jobs so cash and revenue stay clear through the whole claim.
Can roofing contractors write off trucks and equipment?
Section 179 and bonus depreciation let you deduct qualifying trucks, trailers, and equipment in the year they are placed in service instead of spreading it over many years. Because the benefit depends on the timing against your income, we plan those purchases during the year rather than at filing time.
Should my roofing business be an S-Corp?
For a profitable owner, an S-Corp election can reduce self-employment tax by splitting pay between reasonable wages and distributions. Whether it helps depends on your profit and how you pay yourself. We run the numbers first and only recommend it when it clearly earns its keep.
See what proactive tax strategy is worth for your roofing business
Our calculator gives you a personalized estimate based on your revenue, entity type, and business complexity. Find out what you could keep with a plan built around how roofing actually runs, in under two minutes.
Calculate your savings