Energy & Field Services
Bookkeeping for crews working pipelines, utilities, solar, and oil and gas. Job costing, equipment tracking, and payroll for remote work.
The Industry
Field services means crews, trucks, and equipment deployed to job sites that change every week. Pipeline work, utility construction, solar installation, well servicing, environmental remediation. The work happens wherever the project is, which means tracking expenses across locations, managing equipment spread across multiple sites, and running payroll for workers who might be two counties away.
Northwest Ohio has pipeline corridors, utility infrastructure, and growing renewable energy work. Companies here serve projects across the region, sometimes working as prime contractors, sometimes as subs for larger operators. Either way, the bookkeeping has to track costs by job and handle the cash flow gap between completing work and getting paid for it.
Who This Covers
Who This Covers
Pipeline contractors, utility construction, solar installers, well servicing, directional drilling, environmental services, transmission and distribution work. Field crews working energy infrastructure.
What Makes It Different
What Makes It Different
Job costing across scattered sites. Equipment depreciation on trucks, trailers, and specialized gear. Per diem and travel expenses for crews. Retainage on large contracts. Subcontractor payments that need W-9s and 1099s. Certifications and safety compliance costs.
What We Handle
Monthly bookkeeping with job costing so you can see profit by project, not just overall. Labor, equipment, materials, travel, and subs all coded to specific jobs. When a project closes out, you know whether it made money or just kept crews busy.
Payroll for field workers including per diem tracking and overtime. Equipment schedules maintained for depreciation. Subcontractor documentation organized so 1099s don’t become a problem in January.
Job Costing
Job Costing
Every expense tied to a project. Labor hours, equipment charges, materials, fuel, lodging. You see what each job actually cost and whether your bid was accurate.
Equipment Tracking
Equipment Tracking
Trucks, trailers, generators, tooling, specialized equipment. Asset schedules with depreciation tracked. Maintenance costs allocated so you know what each piece of equipment actually costs to operate.
Common Problems
Field service companies often don’t know their true cost per crew day. You know the day rate you charge. You roughly know payroll. But once you add fuel, per diem, equipment wear, mobilization, and the overhead back at the shop, the real number is different. Bidding without that number means guessing at margin.
Cash flow gets complicated when you’re working as a sub. You complete the work in April, submit the pay app in May, and get paid in July minus 10% retainage you won’t see until the project closes out in October. Meanwhile, payroll is due every Friday.
Scattered Expenses
Scattered Expenses
Fuel bought in three counties. Lodging on company cards and personal cards. Materials purchased at job sites. Without a system, expenses don’t get coded to jobs and job costing becomes fiction.
Retainage and Delays
Retainage and Delays
Large contracts hold back 5% or 10% for months after completion. That money is earned but not collected. If it’s not tracked separately, your books overstate available cash.
What Changes
You know your cost per crew day with everything included. When a project comes up for bid, you price it based on what similar work actually cost, not what you hope it will cost. When a job runs over, you see it while there’s still time to manage the damage instead of finding out at closeout.
Equipment decisions get made with data. Which trucks are costing more to maintain than they’re worth. Which trailers are utilized and which sit. When to replace versus repair. Payroll runs on time for crews wherever they’re working. Subs are documented and 1099s go out without a scramble.
Accurate Bidding
Accurate Bidding
Historical job data shows real costs. You bid with confidence because you’ve seen what the work actually takes. You stop underpricing jobs that look simple but always run over.
Cash Visibility
Cash Visibility
Retainage tracked separately. Receivables aged by project. You know what’s actually available versus what’s tied up in contracts that haven’t paid out yet.
Northwest Ohio’s Trusted Bookkeeping Partner
The Next Step:
A 15-Minute Discovery Call
Let's talk about your current bookkeeping situation. We'll assess your needs, outline a plan of action, and give you a clear quote.
