Small builders & GCs hub · By James Grokman, CEO, TapeAndFloat · Published October 25, 2026 · Updated October 25, 2026

Year-end close for builders: jobs, COs, retainage, 1099s

A year-end close for a small builder is a short checklist you run in early December: list every open job and its status, bill or sign every change order, chase open invoices and retainage, check W-9s before the 1099-NEC list, close out material credits, total crew hours by job and file a close-out folder for each finished job. Then hand clean numbers to your accountant.

Free tools for this checklist: Job budget vs actual tracker, W-9 & 1099-NEC sub payment tracker, Material orders, deliveries & returns tracker and Crew hours by job (all Excel, no email required). This guide is general information about running an office, not tax, accounting or legal advice. Ask your accountant or tax preparer what applies to your business.

1. List every open job and its status

Start with one list: every job that had any activity this year. For each one write the status (in progress, punch, done but not paid, done and paid, on hold), the contract amount plus approved change orders, what you have billed, what you have collected and what is still owed. Your job cost tracking, budget vs. actual sheet is the natural place for it. A job marked "done" with money still owed is the first thing to work on.

2. Find unbilled and unsigned change orders

Go through each job's change order log and look for two things: extra work that was done but never billed, and change orders that were priced or done but never signed. Bill the signed ones now. For unsigned ones, send the change order for signature with a short note on what was done and when. Check your texts and daily logs too; many changes were agreed on site and never written up.

3. Chase open invoices and unpaid retainage

List every open invoice with its date, amount and the last time you followed up. Track retainage as its own balance on each job, with the release condition your contract sets. Rules on how much retainage may be held and when it must be released depend on your contract and your state, so check both. The final payment and retainage guide has a polite, written follow-up routine.

4. Check lien deadlines on anything still unpaid

An unpaid balance in December can run into notice and lien deadlines in January. Write the dates on the job row. Texas contractors can estimate dates with our Texas lien deadline calculator, but lien rules have strict steps, so talk to an attorney before relying on a lien.

5. W-9s on file before you pay, then the 1099-NEC list

Before the last payments of the year, make sure every sub and service vendor you pay has a W-9 on file. Then sort your payments by payee. Per the IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC, for tax years beginning after 2025 the reporting threshold is $2,000, and Form 1099-NEC is due to recipients and the IRS by January 31, or the next business day if that falls on a weekend or holiday. For 2026 payments that works out to Monday, February 1, 2027; confirm on irs.gov. Who gets a 1099 and how to file it is a question for your preparer. The W-9s and 1099-NEC for subs guide and its free tracker walk through the list.

6. Close out open material returns and credits

Look for returns with no credit yet, credits not applied to an invoice, and supplier invoices that do not match what was delivered. Ask the supplier for a statement and match it line by line. The material orders, deliveries and returns guide shows a simple returns log.

7. Total crew hours by job

Add up crew hours by job for the year (or for each job that closed) and compare them with what you estimated. That is the number that tells you which kinds of jobs you price right. If hours came in by text and paper, a crew hours log by job makes the totals quick. Pay and payroll questions go to your payroll provider or accountant.

8. Make a close-out folder for each finished job

One folder per job: signed contract, every change order, final invoice and proof of payment, retainage release, lien waivers, permits and final inspection, punch list sign-off, warranty notes and photos. Open punch and warranty items stay on their own list so they do not get lost after the job is closed.

9. Hand clean numbers to your accountant

When the lists are done, send your accountant or preparer the job list with billed, collected and owed, the payee totals and W-9 status, and any open questions. They decide how it is reported; your job is to make sure nothing is missing.

Where an assistant helps

The slow part is finding what fell through: the change order nobody billed, the invoice nobody followed up on. During the pilot, unbilled change orders and open balances get flagged and a short reminder is drafted for the office to approve. We set it up one piece at a time, nothing is sent on its own, and a real person reviews everything. It does not prepare taxes or file 1099s.

Free 60-day pilot: keep working in your own phone, email and Google Sheet. Request a pilot spot.

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Frequently asked questions

What should a small builder check at year-end?

Every open job and its status, unbilled or unsigned change orders, open invoices and unpaid retainage, lien dates on anything unpaid, W-9s for everyone you paid, the 1099-NEC payee list, open material returns and credits, crew hours by job and a close-out folder for each finished job.

When should I start the year-end close?

Early December gives you time to bill change orders and follow up on balances before the year ends, and to collect missing W-9s before the 1099-NEC deadline.

What is the 1099-NEC threshold for 2026 payments?

The IRS instructions say that for tax years beginning after 2025 the threshold is $2,000, and the form is due January 31 or the next business day, which works out to Monday, February 1, 2027 for 2026 payments. Confirm on irs.gov and ask your preparer who needs one.

How do I handle unpaid retainage at year-end?

List it as its own balance on each job with the release condition from your contract and the date you last asked for it. Retainage rules depend on your contract and your state, so check both; for liens, talk to an attorney.

Is this tax advice?

No. This is general information about organizing your office records. Ask your accountant or tax preparer what applies to your business.

Free tools

Sub and vendor paperwork tracker (Excel): flags missing W-9s and COIs, expiring COIs and payments without an unconditional lien waiver.
Crew hours by job (Excel): one row per person per day per job (date, worker, job, start, end, break or total hours, task or cost code, how it came in, entered on, approved by) with Jobs and Workers lists, hours by job by week, hours vs. each job's labor-hours budget and a Start Here summary; flags no job, job or worker not on the list, end before start, no hours, possible duplicates, long days, entered late, not approved, jobs near or over budget and workers over a weekly hours flag; Settings numbers are examples; it does not calculate pay, and overtime and pay rules come from federal and state law and your payroll provider.
Pre-start checklist (Excel): one row per job per item from signed contract to day one (contract signed, deposit received, permits applied for and issued, selections finalized, materials ordered and lead times, schedule set, subs confirmed with dates, COIs and W-9s on file, site access and utilities, client kickoff note) with owner, due date, status, done date and proof link, a Jobs sheet with planned start dates and open counts, and a Start Here summary; flags items open past the start date, no owner, no due date, due after the start, overdue, done with no proof or no done date and open items when the start is near; Settings days are examples; deposit terms are set by your contract and permits by your city or county permit office.
Delay log (Excel): one row per delay (job, start and end dates, cause, what happened, days lost, who owns it, client notified with date and how, client written OK, schedule updated, new delivery date, change order needed and number, cost impact, photos/daily log link), a Jobs sheet with totals per job and a Start Here summary; flags no written notice to the client, notice later than your Settings, client decision with no written OK, backorder with no new date, change order needed with no number, days lost blank and open delays; Settings values are examples, notice terms are set by your contract.
Daily log & job photo tracker (Excel): one row per job per day (crew and sub counts, weather, work done, deliveries, inspections, visitors, delays and cause, client instructions, safety notes, photos folder link), a Jobs sheet and a Missing Logs sheet that marks workdays with no log; flags no photos link, delay with no cause, client instruction not turned into a change order, inspection with no result and blank crew counts; workdays and lookback on a Settings sheet.
W-9 & 1099-NEC sub payment tracker (Excel): a Payees sheet (entity type, W-9 received date, mailing address; never the full tax ID) and a Payments sheet (date, payee, amount, method, job), with a total per payee for the tax year and flags for paid with no W-9 on file, W-9 after the first payment, over the reporting threshold (editable; $2,000 for 2026 payments per irs.gov), corporations to confirm, attorneys, missing address, card/app payments and payments to someone not on the list. General information, not tax advice.
New lead intake log (Excel): one row per homeowner inquiry (date received, source, contact, job type, first reply, next step and date, status, quote sent, last contact), with flags for no reply yet, next step overdue, quoted with no follow-up and stale leads; thresholds on a Settings sheet.
Bid pipeline & quote follow-up tracker (Excel): one row per bid with sent and price-hold dates, a touch log, next follow-up worked out from day 3/7/14 (editable), and flags for follow-ups due or overdue, quotes expiring or expired while open, bids at the stop point, no sent date, won without amount and lost without reason.
2-week lookahead: subs & inspections schedule (Excel): one row per job per task with start and end dates, confirm-by dates from your settings, inspection requested/date/result, depends-on, Now/Week 1/Week 2 view, and flags for subs not confirmed, inspections not requested, failed inspections with no re-inspection, the same sub on two jobs at once, no sub assigned and starts before a dependency ends.
Permit & inspection log (Excel): one row per permit per job (type, number, applied/issued/expiration dates, card posted, final/closeout, fees, responsible) and one row per inspection (needed by, requested, result, re-inspection), with editable Settings and flags for permits expired or expiring soon, no permit number, not issued yet, inspections not requested by your lead time, failed with no re-inspection, work done but final not passed and fees unpaid.
Material orders, deliveries & returns tracker (Excel): one row per order line (supplier, PO, qty ordered and delivered, promised and delivered dates, ticket checked, backorder date, substitution approval, invoice match) and one row per return (RMA, expected and received credit, restocking fee), with flags for late or short deliveries, backorders past date, unmatched invoices and missing or short credits.
Job budget vs actual tracker (Excel): budget lines by job and cost code, actual costs from bills and receipts, signed change orders added to the budget, variance $ and %, and flags for lines over or near budget, costs with no job, cost code or budget line, and change orders not signed or not billed.
Punch list & warranty callback tracker (Excel): sets each due date from the reported date (punch and warranty days editable) and flags items past due or due soon, items with no sub assigned, items closed without homeowner sign-off or photos, and back-charges not billed.
Allowance & client selections tracker (Excel): works out each overage and its change order amount with your markup, and flags selections past due or due within 14 days, overages without a signed change order, signed overages not billed and credits not applied.
Unbilled change order calculator: what missed extras cost you a year, using your own numbers.
Texas lien deadline calculator: notice and lien affidavit dates under Property Code ch. 53 for any month of work.
Free office tracker (Excel): flags unsigned and unbilled change orders and past-due invoices.
Weekly office checklist (PDF): change orders, invoices, retainage, lien notices, COIs and crews on one page.

All free, no sign-up.

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