A commercial developer bookkeeper keeps a separate set of books for each building the company develops, often one LLC per project. They check the pay apps that contractors send in and track the retainage held back from each one. They also log the lien waivers behind every loan draw and record money that moves between project companies.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, commercial building contractors · BLS, May 2025
The Bookkeeper plays a critical role in ensuring the financial health of the company by efficiently managing financial transactions, reconciling accounts, and overseeing accounts payable/receivable. This position supports our commercial builders and developers operations by providing accurate financial data that informs strategic decisions and ensures compliance with regulatory standards.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Process daily financial transactions and maintain accurate financial records.
Reconcile bank and credit card statements on a monthly basis.
Manage and monitor accounts payable and accounts receivable.
Assist with month-end and year-end closing processes.
Prepare and analyze financial reports for management review.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Enter and review invoices, payments, and receipts to maintain updated financial records.
Monitor cash flow and ensure timely reconciling of accounts.
Communicate with vendors and clients regarding payment inquiries and discrepancies.
Support the Finance Manager in preparing monthly financial statements.
Maintain and update documentation for all financial transactions and audits.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Transaction Accuracy Rate: Achieve 99% accuracy in recorded transactions.
Reconciliation Timeliness: Complete all monthly reconciliations within 5 business days after month-end.
Accounts Receivable Turnover: Maintain AR aging with less than 5% overdue invoices.
Invoice Processing Time: Process and enter invoices within 24 hours of receipt.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field or equivalent experience.
Minimum of 2 years of bookkeeping or accounting experience.
Proficiency in accounting software (e.g., QuickBooks, Sage, or equivalent).
Strong attention to detail and excellent organizational skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Prior experience in the commercial construction or home services industry.
Familiarity with construction accounting principles and financial reporting in a development environment.
Proven track record of supporting multiple client accounts in a fast-paced work setting.
Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with internal teams and external partners.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to work at a computer for extended periods.
Occasional lifting of files or office supplies up to 15 lbs.
Perform tasks in an office environment with standard ergonomic workstations.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard business hours, Monday through Friday.
Occasional overtime during month-end and audit periods may be required.
Limited travel may be necessary for team meetings or training sessions.
Remote work options available based on project needs and performance.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Annual salary range of $50,000 - $65,000, commensurate with experience.
Eligibility for performance-based bonuses.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.
401(k) plan with company match and other fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We are a forward-thinking organization committed to excellence in the commercial builders and developers space. Our culture is built on collaboration, continuous improvement, and pride in delivering outstanding service. We support our employees through professional development opportunities and a positive work-life balance, inspiring everyone to grow and achieve new levels of success.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
Most construction bookkeepers bill an owner. Here the company is the owner, so pay applications, retainage and lien waivers arrive from the people it pays, and each building keeps books of its own.
One set of books per building
When each building sits in its own company, every bill has two addresses: the right LLC, and the right line of the lender's budget, such as land, hard costs, soft costs or interest. A job number alone isn't enough. A bill paid from the wrong company can't simply be recoded. It takes an entry between two companies whose investors may differ, so check the paying company before the check goes out.
Checking the pay apps that come in
Contractors often bill on AIA's G702 application with the G703 continuation sheet, which splits the contract into lines on a schedule of values. Before a draw goes out, the bookkeeper tests each one: the columns add up, retainage was taken at the contract's rate, past payments match what was really paid, and only approved change orders appear. Any line billed ahead of the superintendent's progress report gets flagged. Source: AIA Contract Documents: Summary of G702-1992, Application and Certificate for Payment.
Retainage is money the company still owes
Part of each payment is held back until the work is done, and that money is still owed. Track it by contract and release it only when the contract and state law allow. In Texas, for example, the owner must hold back a tenth of the contract price, or of the value of work done, during the work and for 30 days after it is completed. If it doesn't, unpaid workers and suppliers can lien the property for at least the amount that should have been held. Source: Texas Property Code, chapter 53 (sections 53.101 to 53.105 and 53.281 to 53.284).
The right waiver for each draw
Texas prints four lien waiver forms in its statute: conditional and unconditional, each for progress and for final payments. The conditional progress form takes effect only once the check has been paid by the bank. No one may demand an unconditional waiver until that amount was actually received. Progress waivers leave out unpaid retention, so only the final waivers clear it. Log which form came back for which payment. Source: Texas Property Code, chapter 53 (sections 53.101 to 53.105 and 53.281 to 53.284).
Money between project companies
Sometimes the parent company pays a project's bill, or one project's account covers another for a week. Each time, the bookkeeper records a due-to in one company and a matching due-from in the other, and the pair must agree at every close. Fees the parent charges each project, such as a development fee, get booked the same way. Partners in each deal will want those balances settled, not left to grow.
How much commercial developer bookkeepers make
The closest BLS group for commercial developer bookkeepers is bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $28.21 an hour ($58,680 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s above the $50,670 median for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in all industries. About 11,690 of the 1,373,680 bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in that survey work for commercial building contractors.
The template lists a salary with a possible performance bonus. Tie the bonus to clean month-end closes for every project company and to draw packages that reach the CFO complete, not to how fast bills get paid.
Commercial building contractors
$58,680$58,680 median Middle half $48,060–$67,480 10th–90th $37,660–$78,640
All industries
$50,670$50,670 median Middle half $43,520–$61,470 10th–90th $36,000–$74,550
$30k$40k$50k$60k$70k$80k$90k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Commercial building contractors
$37,660
$48,060
$58,680
$67,480
$78,640
All industries
$36,000
$43,520
$50,670
$61,470
$74,550
BLS doesn’t publish pay for commercial developers on their own. These figures cover nonresidential building construction, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Keeps books for several related companies and ties out the balances between them
Has checked contractor pay applications against a schedule of values
Tracks retainage held, contract by contract, until the final release
Matches each lien waiver to the payment it covers before money goes out
Reconciles a separate bank account for each project every month
Teach these on the job
Your lender's draw format and budget lines
The lien waiver forms your states require
Your chart of accounts and cost codes
How fees to each project company are set
Rent and common area billing, once buildings lease up
The books may live in one system that handles many companies or in a separate QuickBooks or Sage file for each LLC, so ask which setup a candidate has worked in. Pay apps and waivers arrive by email or through your construction app, and both need a filing system the lender's reviewer can follow.
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Payment fraud prevention
A vendor emails asking you to change their bank account before this week's payment. What do you do?
A strong answer: Doesn't change it from the email, calls the vendor at a number already on file to confirm, follows the approval process, and alerts the manager if anything looks off.
Behavioral · Audit readiness
Tell me about a time you got a project's books ready for an audit on a tight deadline.
A strong answer: Built a request list with owners, tied the trial balance to supporting schedules (capitalized project costs, loan balances, retainage payable), cleared open items early, and answered requests on time.
Start from the template's figures, and agree new ones with the CFO once you have a few closes and draws behind you.
Transaction Accuracy Rate
Each month, sample posted entries across every project company and check the amount, the company, the budget line and the cost code. An entry with the right amount in the wrong LLC counts as an error.
Reconciliation Timeliness
Business days after month-end until every project bank account, loan balance and due-to and due-from pair is reconciled and signed off. List the companies that ran late and why.
Accounts Receivable Turnover
For a developer, receivables include tenant rent and common area charges, partner capital calls and draws the lender approved but hasn't funded. Age each kind on its own, since a late draw and a late tenant need different calls.
Invoice Processing Time
Hours from a bill or pay app arriving to its entry and routing for approval, using the received and entered dates your software logs. Pay apps wait on the project manager's review, so time that step separately.
Career path
Accounts payable clerkEnters bills and learns your companies and cost codes.
BookkeeperKeeps each project company's books and checks every pay app.
Project accountantBuilds the monthly draw package and cost reports for several buildings.
ControllerOwns the close for every company and works with the auditors.
Once buildings lease up, often yes, unless you hire a property accountant. Rent, tenants' shares of common area costs, the yearly true-up of those charges and security deposits all start coming in. Ask candidates whether they have billed tenants from a lease summary, and decide early whether rent lives in the construction books or in a property system.
How much does a commercial developer bookkeeper make?
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $28.21 an hour ($58,680 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $48,060 and $67,480 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
Who signs off on a contractor's monthly bill?
The project manager confirms the work is in place, with the superintendent's reports as backup, and the CFO or owner approves payment. Where an architect certifies pay apps under the contract, as the AIA form provides, that sign-off comes first. The bookkeeper checks the math and makes sure no line gets paid twice.
Can one bookkeeper handle every project company?
Often, at this size, if the system is set up for it. Each new LLC adds a bank account to reconcile, a draw to support and a close to finish. When the last company's month-end runs into the next draw week, add a payables clerk, or move the draw package to a project accountant.
What's a good skills test for a developer's bookkeeper?
Take a one-page pay app from a past job, plant a few problems, and ask the candidate to mark it up: a line billed past the super's reported progress, retainage at the wrong rate, a change order nobody approved. Strong candidates also ask for the waiver and the budget line. Then ask how they kept balances between related companies in agreement, and what they did when the two sides didn't match.
