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Construction Accountants for Contractors and Property Developers

Specialist construction accountants for CIS, the VAT reverse charge, retentions and property development tax
When your construction business hits £1m turnover, the complexity of CIS compliance, subcontractor management, and property tax strategy changes dramatically. Suddenly, you are managing multiple concurrent projects, each with different subcontractor payment schedules, retention schedules, and VAT treatments. You need construction accounting that understands how to handle the Construction Industry Scheme correctly, optimise capital allowances on plant and equipment, and structure property developments tax efficiently.
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Construction Accountants for Contractors, Trades and Developers

We act as construction accountants for firms that build, fit out, maintain and develop, from specialist trades with a handful of subcontractors to main contractors running several sites at once. Our clients include:

  • Main contractors and subcontractors who pay or are paid under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS)
  • Specialist trades such as groundworkers, electricians, plumbers, roofers and fit-out firms
  • Property developers and refurbishment businesses, including those working through SPVs
  • Maintenance, repair and facilities contractors
  • Civil engineering and infrastructure subcontractors

Each one gets a named accountant who knows how your contracts are paid, not a generalist learning the sector on your time.

Construction & Property Investment Accountants

Why Construction Companies Need Specialist Construction Accountants

Construction businesses face unique accounting challenges that generalist firms miss entirely. When you are deducting CIS tax at source from subcontractors, managing reverse charge VAT on building services, and tracking project costs across multiple sites, your financial administration becomes highly specialised. Get the CIS returns wrong and you face HMRC penalties. Misclassify workers and you face liability issues. Fail to claim capital allowances on commercial property improvements and you miss significant tax savings.
 
Construction industry scheme compliance requires precise monthly reporting. Every subcontractor payment must be correctly categorised, verified, and reported. Property tax accountant expertise becomes essential when you are holding development stock, claiming structures and buildings allowances, or structuring SPVs for specific projects. We handle construction business accounting for firms with complex subcontractor chains, mixed supply VAT calculations, and development financing arrangements. While your competitors struggle with HMRC enquiries and cash flow gaps from incorrect CIS handling, you will have clean, compliant financials that support tender applications and bonding requirements.
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What a Specialist Construction Accountant Deals With Every Month

CIS for contractors and subcontractors. If you pay subcontractors, we verify each one with HMRC, apply the right deduction (20% for registered, 30% for unregistered, or nothing for those with gross payment status) and file your monthly CIS return by the 19th. If you are the subcontractor, we make sure your deductions are recorded and reclaimed, and that you keep gross payment status once you have it.

VAT domestic reverse charge. Between VAT-registered contractors and subcontractors, the customer often accounts for the VAT instead of the supplier. We check which of your supplies are caught, make sure invoices carry the required wording, and plan cash flow around the change, because getting this wrong is a common reason construction firms are queried by HMRC.

Retentions, stage payments and work in progress. Income on a building project arrives in applications, valuations and retention releases, not in one invoice. We record retentions properly, value work in progress so your accounts show real profit by contract, and build cash-flow forecasts around payment certificates and retention release dates.

Plant, vehicles and capital allowances. Construction is capital-heavy. We advise on how to claim allowances on plant, machinery and vehicles, and when buying or leasing makes sense.

Property development tax. For developers we plan the structure (SPV or not), the trading versus investment treatment of each project, stamp duty land tax, and the VAT position on new-build and conversion work before you commit to a site.

Further reading: how WIP, retentions and CIS should appear in your monthly management accounts.

From Small Contractor to Scale Up: Construction Accountants
for CIS, VAT and Tax Planning

At £1m turnover, you are moving from being a subcontractor to main contractor status, taking on direct client relationships and larger project risks. At £15m, you are running multiple concurrent developments or maintenance contracts with significant working capital requirements. The financial infrastructure required at each stage differs dramatically.
 
Our construction accountants bridge the gap between basic compliance and strategic financial leadership. You might not need a full time finance director yet, but you absolutely need someone who understands construction industry cash flow cycles and can model different project scenarios. We provide outsourced CFO expertise specifically for building firms, helping you optimise stage payment applications, manage retentions release schedules, and prepare for contract bond arrangements.
 
Property development tax planning becomes critical at this stage. Beyond standard compliance, we identify qualifying capital allowances on commercial fit outs, optimise the structure between trading stock and investment property, and advise on VAT options for residential developments. For scaling construction businesses, this advisory layer often returns tens of thousands in tax savings and improved project margins through better cost allocation.
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What We Do

What Our Construction Accounting Service Includes

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CIS Compliance

CIS Compliance & Subcontractor Management

We implement robust systems for construction industry scheme administration that accurately reflect your monthly subcontractor payments. This includes handling CIS returns, verifying subcontractor status with HMRC, and managing reverse charge VAT calculations. Your monthly compliance will clearly separate CIS deductions from PAYE, giving you confidence during HMRC inspections.

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Project Costing & Work in Progress Reporting

Beyond standard P&L and balance sheets, we deliver tailored construction accounting packages that track contract profitability in real time. Monitor job costs, overheads allocation, and retention release schedules with precision. We help you identify which projects deliver true margin and ensure your applications for payment contain exactly what contract administrators expect to see.

Funding & Bonding Prep

Funding & Bonding Preparation

From development finance to contract bonds, we prepare the financial infrastructure that facilitates growth. This includes historical financial restatements if needed, forward looking cash flow forecasts with sensitivity analysis, and clean debtors management. Our construction accountants understand JCT contract terms and bond provider requirements, ensuring you enter negotiations with bulletproof financials.

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Tax Optimisation for Property and Construction

We maximise construction tax reliefs including capital allowances on plant and commercial property, structures and buildings allowances, and R&D tax credits for innovative building techniques. For property developers, we advise on SDLT planning, ATED compliance, and efficient exit strategies via incorporation or sale.

How We Helped a Flooring Specialist Take Back Control

Country Wood Floors, a flooring specialist, came to us because they were receiving information last minute, getting surprise tax penalties and were unable to reach their accountant. We took over their CIS, bookkeeping, payroll, VAT, accounts and self-assessments.

Within 3 months they were up to date with their liabilities, knew exactly what they were making and enjoyed running the business again.

“If it wasn’t for striveX we were going to give up. We were always behind with our taxes, and now we have a new showroom and a sister company!”
Country Wood Floors, flooring specialist

Flooring specialist client of striveX construction accountants with their team in their new showroom

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Construction Industry Scheme and do I need to register?
The Construction Industry Scheme requires contractors to deduct money from subcontractors’ payments and pass it to HMRC. If you pay subcontractors for construction work, you must register as a contractor, and businesses outside construction that spend more than £3m a year on construction work must register too. We handle monthly CIS returns, verify subcontractor gross payment status, and ensure you deduct the correct amounts (20% for registered, 30% for unregistered).
Construction VAT is complex, involving domestic reverse charges for building services, zero rating for new residential builds, and different treatments for maintenance versus new work. We ensure you apply the correct VAT treatment to each supply, handle the monthly reverse charge reporting, and optimise VAT recovery on project costs.
Property developers can claim structures and buildings allowances on commercial construction costs, capital allowances on fit out and plant, and potentially R&D tax credits for innovative construction methods. We also advise on incorporation structures, SDLT mitigation on land purchases, and capital gains planning on development exits.
Special Purpose Vehicles can ring fence project risk and optimise tax efficiency for specific developments, particularly joint ventures. However, they add administrative complexity. We assess each development to determine whether an SPV structure improves your risk profile and tax position, considering both SDLT and ongoing compliance costs.
It applies when a VAT-registered contractor or subcontractor supplies building or construction services to another VAT-registered business that is itself in the CIS chain. Instead of charging VAT, the supplier issues an invoice marked as reverse charge, and the customer accounts for the VAT in its own return. It does not apply to supplies to the final customer (the end user) or to certain intermediary suppliers. We work out which of your jobs are caught and make sure your invoices and VAT returns reflect it.
Retentions, typically a percentage held back until practical completion or the end of the defects period, are recorded as money owed to you, not as lost income. We value work in progress at each month-end so your management accounts show the true profit on each contract, and we build your cash-flow forecast around payment certificates and retention release dates.
Gross payment status means you are paid by contractors without the CIS deduction. HMRC grants it if you pass a business test, a turnover test and a compliance test. To keep it, you need to file your returns and pay your tax on time. We check whether you qualify, handle the application, and monitor your compliance so you do not lose it.
We have a transparent pricing matrix that we share with you in a complimentary prospect call, so you know the cost before you commit.