Accounting for plumbers is general small-business accounting with three problems on top that a general bookkeeper misses. Every job has a cost and a price, and the margin per job is the figure the business runs on. Deposits and progress payments arrive before the invoice. Materials are bought per job, from a merchant account, and have to land on that job. The invoice tool on this site prints the invoice that carries the job reference those three depend on; the accounting software guide covers the products that do the hand-off.
Job costing
Each job carries its labor hours, its materials and its extras, and the invoice for it, so the margin per job is known. A shop that only knows its monthly margin cannot tell which jobs lose money, and it is always the same kind of job. The price book template on this site is where the costs behind the rates live.
Deposits and progress payments
A deposit taken at the estimate is a liability until the work is done, and a progress payment on a long job is income for the stage. Both are shown on the final invoice as lines deducted from the total. Booking a deposit as income on the day it arrives is the most common error and the one that surprises at tax time.
Materials per job
The merchant account statement is a list of purchases with no job on it unless the technician wrote the job reference on the docket. Software that lets the technician attach the docket to the job in the truck is how materials reach the job cost. The inventory guide on this site covers the stock side.
The hand-off to the accounts
Invoices, payments and materials post to the accounting product from the job software without re-keying, with the job reference carried through. That hand-off is the whole point of connecting the two; the accounting software guide on this site says what to check before relying on it.
Questions people ask about accounting for plumbers
Do I need a plumbing-specific accountant?
A general one who understands job costing and deposits. The software does the job-level accounting; the accountant does the tax.
Cash or accrual?
Ask the accountant; the job software records both the invoice date and the payment date so either can be reported.
Is the invoice tool free?
Yes, without an account. Posting invoices and payments to the accounts is the paid product.