Industry playbook
Construction contractors
How construction contractors automate site costing, running bills and GST with hisabkitab
Imagine a civil contractor executing three or four building projects at a time for private developers and institutions. Each site has its own store, sub-contractors and labour gangs, running-account bills go to clients every month, and the owner wants to know which project is actually making money. Site engineers send bills on WhatsApp, and the accounts team pieces everything together at month-end.
The challenges
Why contractors lose track of project profit
Costs mixed across sites
Cement, steel, diesel and labour payments are booked into common ledgers. At year-end the business shows a profit, but nobody can say which site earned it and which one quietly lost money.
Running-account bills and retention
Clients are billed in stages on measured work, with retention money held back and various deductions. Tracking what was billed, certified, received and retained on each project is usually a spreadsheet only one person understands.
TDS on both sides
Clients deduct TDS on payments to the contractor, and the contractor must deduct TDS when paying sub-contractors. Missing either side means lost credits or interest and notices.
Material moving between sites
Steel and shuttering material move between sites and back to the yard. Without transfer records, one site's cost is inflated and another's is understated, and material losses go unexplained.
Supplier bills arriving from everywhere
Site engineers collect bills from local suppliers, fuel pumps and hardware shops. Bills arrive late, crumpled or not at all, and input credit is lost when they never reach the books.
A day in the life
A day before vs after hisabkitab
Before
Site supervisors send bill photos on WhatsApp, which are entered weeks later.
Running bills and retention are tracked in a spreadsheet per project.
Sub-contractor TDS is calculated at quarter-end in a rush.
Material transfers between sites are noted in diaries, if at all.
With hisabkitab
Every expense, purchase and bill is tagged to a project cost centre.
Running bills carry project, bill number and measurement fields, with retention tracked in the client ledger.
TDS is deducted at voucher level on sub-contractor payments, and TDS reports are ready for filing.
Site transfers move on delivery challans, and supplier bills are captured from site photos.
Solutions
How hisabkitab solves it
Site-wise profit
Cost centres + Custom Field (Transaction level) for Project
Tag every purchase, expense and bill to a project. Reports by cost centre show income, cost and margin for each site, not just the business as a whole.
Running bills
Custom Field formula + Customer Outstanding
Capture measured quantity and BOQ rate on RA bills; a formula computes the bill value, and the client ledger shows billed, received and retained amounts.
TDS both ways
TDS at voucher level + TDS Report
Deduct TDS on sub-contractor payments when you record them, and track TDS deducted by clients on receipts. The TDS Report supports quarterly filing.
Site stores and transfers
Multi-location + Delivery Challan
Set up each site store as a location. Transfers between sites and the yard move on challans, so stock and cost sit with the right project.
Scattered supplier bills
Mobile app + OCR Purchase Bill Import (AI)
Site engineers photograph bills on the mobile app; AI-OCR prepares purchase entries for accounts to review.
Cash planning
Cashflow Forecasting
Project 30/60/90-day cash from expected client receipts and supplier dues before committing to the next big purchase.
Audit and control
Audit Trail + Freeze Transaction
Log every change and freeze closed periods, which matters when lenders and clients review your books.
Inside the software
Built for your books
Custom formula example
RA bill value = Measured quantity × BOQ rate. Example: 1,250 sqm of plastering × ₹420/sqm = ₹5,25,000 for this running bill, before GST and retention.
4-level grouping
Items/services: Civil Works → Finishing → Plastering → Internal 12 mm. Customers: Client type (Developer / Institution) → Client → Project → Bill series.
Reports you’ll use
Customer Outstanding Report · TDS Report · Supplier Ageing Report · Trading P&L · Cash Flow · GST Report
Compliance notes
Works contracts are generally taxed at 18% GST, with some specified government and affordable housing works treated differently; confirm the rate for each contract with your CA. Clients deduct income-tax TDS on contract payments and some government clients may also deduct GST TDS, while you must deduct TDS on payments to sub-contractors. Material moving between sites above ₹50,000 can need an e-way bill.
Recommended plan
The plan that fits
Advanced
₹6,999/year, exclusive of 18% GST (or ₹13,999 for 3 years)
Multi-site contractors need cost centres, AI-OCR for site bills, Audit Trail and Freeze Transaction, ledger-level fields and unlimited e-way bills, which is why construction and contractors map to Advanced.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
Can I see profit for each project separately?
Yes. Tag every purchase, expense, payment and bill to a project using cost centres and a project field. Reports then show income, cost and margin by project. Many contractors discover that one site is funding another, which changes how they price the next tender.
How do I track retention money?
Bill the full certified amount and record the client's receipt net of retention and TDS. The retention balance remains visible in the client's ledger by project, so you know exactly how much is due for release when the defect liability period ends.
Does hisabkitab handle TDS on sub-contractor payments?
Yes. TDS is applied at voucher level when you record payments to sub-contractors, and the TDS Report supports your quarterly returns. TDS deducted by your clients on their payments to you is tracked on receipts so you can check it against your tax credit statement.
Can site engineers send bills from site?
Yes. Site engineers can photograph supplier bills in the mobile app. On Advanced, AI-OCR reads the bill and prepares a purchase entry for the accounts team to review and tag to the right project, so input credit is not lost to crumpled paper.
How do I record steel moving from one site to another?
Set up each site store as a location and move material on a delivery challan. Stock and cost shift from one site to the other in the same record, so both projects show the right material cost and losses can be traced.
Know which site is really making money
Book a demo and we will set up two of your projects as cost centres, with running-bill formulas, sub-contractor TDS and site store transfers.
