Bookkeeping & admin tools for Remodelers & carpenters
Tools that help remodelers & carpenters with bookkeeping & admin. Categorising expenses, capturing receipts and keeping the accounts current.
Where Bookkeeping & admin goes wrong for Remodelers & carpenters
Job costing is the whole business in remodelling — labour, materials and subs per project. Without it you cannot tell which type of job is actually making money.
What Remodelers & carpenters jobs really involve
Remodelling jobs run for weeks, involve change orders and tie up cash in materials before the customer pays. Job costing and progress billing are the difference between a profitable project and one that quietly loses money.
Bookkeeping & admin tools for Remodelers & carpenters, compared
| Tool | Best for | Pricing | Free option |
|---|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks | Businesses that need proper books and an accountant who already knows the software. | Paid (tiered) | Free trial |
| FreshBooks | Owner-operators who want invoicing without an accounting degree. | Paid (tiered) | Free trial |
| Xero | Businesses wanting cloud accounting with trade-specific add-ons. | Paid (tiered) | Free trial |
| Dext | Businesses drowning in paper receipts for materials. | Paid (per user) | Free trial |
| Expensify | Businesses with staff buying materials on the go. | Free tier; paid for teams | Free tier |
QuickBooks
Accounting software most trade businesses end up on.
FreshBooks
Simple invoicing and accounting for very small businesses.
Xero
Cloud accounting with a large add-on marketplace.
Dext
Receipt and invoice capture that feeds your accounts.
Expensify
Expense reporting with automatic receipt scanning.
Frequently asked questions
Which bookkeeping & admin tools work best for remodelers & carpenters?
The three that fit best here are QuickBooks (Businesses that need proper books and an accountant who already knows the software), FreshBooks (Owner-operators who want invoicing without an accounting degree), Xero (Businesses wanting cloud accounting with trade-specific add-ons). Start with the one whose description matches your crew size, not the one with the longest feature list.
How much does bookkeeping & admin software cost for remodelers & carpenters?
Across the 5 tools on this page, 1 have a free tier and the rest are paid, most of them billed per user per month. Prices change often, so treat the figures here as indicative and confirm on the vendor site.
Why does bookkeeping & admin cause problems for remodelers & carpenters specifically?
Job costing is the whole business in remodelling — labour, materials and subs per project. Without it you cannot tell which type of job is actually making money.
How do I stop change orders eating the margin?
Price every change as a separate written order with its own cost and time impact before the work proceeds. Verbal changes agreed on site are where remodelling profit disappears.