Updates
How to Maximize Profitability with Accurate Construction WIP Reporting
July 8, 2025
Are You Getting the Most Out of Your Construction Work-in-Progress Schedule and Tax Deferral Opportunities?
Understanding the financial and tax impact of your Work-in-Progress (WIP) schedule is essential for any construction company aiming to protect its margins and stay competitive. In this 5-minute video, Bowers CPAs & Advisors’ Audit Manager Nick Lee and Tax Partner Rich Smith break down the core elements of effective WIP reporting — showing how these financial tools go beyond compliance and play a critical role in your company’s profitability, bonding capacity, and tax planning.
Many construction businesses struggle with accurately reporting estimated cost at completion, total costs incurred to date, and billing. These areas are often misunderstood or misreported, which can lead to distorted financial statements, missed revenue, or even bonding concerns. Our experts explain how addressing these issues can bring clarity to your financial reporting, strengthen job costing, and create better visibility across your projects.
You’ll also learn how precise WIP management opens the door to valuable tax deferral opportunities. By aligning your billing practices, revenue recognition methods, and project timelines, you can strategically shift income across tax years — helping reduce your immediate tax liability and improve overall cash flow. For long-term or multi-phase projects, this type of planning can make a significant difference at year-end and beyond. Our Tax Partner explains how to identify these opportunities and integrate them into your broader financial strategy.
Whether you’re a business owner, controller, or project manager, this video delivers practical insight to help you turn your WIP schedule into a powerful strategic tool — not just a year-end task.
Watch now and learn how better collaboration between your audit and tax teams can transform the way you manage and grow your construction business.
FAQs About Construction WIP Schedules
Q: What is a WIP schedule in construction accounting?
A WIP (Work-in-Progress) schedule tracks the financial progress of ongoing construction jobs. It includes key data like estimated costs, costs incurred to date, billings, and gross profit. It helps companies monitor profitability and ensure accurate financial reporting.
Q: Why do estimated costs at completion matter?
Estimated costs help determine how much revenue should be recognized on a job. Inaccurate estimates can overstate or understate profitability, affecting both financial reports and bonding decisions.
Q: Can WIP schedules impact taxes?
Yes. WIP schedules affect revenue timing, which in turn affects taxable income. Strategic billing and project timing can create tax deferral opportunities that improve cash flow.
Q: How often should WIP schedules be updated?
Ideally, monthly — especially for larger or longer-term jobs. Regular updates allow for better forecasting, quicker error detection, and more informed decision-making.
About Bowers CPAs & Advisors
Bowers aims to offer helpful information to our clients and friends. Learn more about how we can help should your construction business need consulting and financial services.
Bowers CPAs & Advisors has served private and closely held businesses with strategic financial advice for over 40 years. Whether traditional Tax and Audit, Business Valuation, Accounting/Bookkeeping, Forensic Accounting, or Financial Planning services, our approach is the same:
"Master an in-depth knowledge of our clients and their industry to provide proactive, innovative analysis and recommendations to build and maintain net worth."
At Bowers CPAs & Advisors, we set the tone by being readily available to our clients and maintaining close relationships built on integrity and trust. With 31 Partners and a staff of more than 130 professionals, Bowers CPAs & Advisors has offices in Syracuse, Rochester and Watertown, New York.
Disclaimer: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the Department of Treasury, we inform you any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this document or video is not intended for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code, or (ii) promoting, marketing, or recommending to another party any transaction or matter that is contained in this document.
