A framing and carpentry bookkeeper codes each lumber package and fill-in order to the lot it went to, and tracks what every subcontracted crew has drawn against its price for a house. They check each deduction from a framer's pay against wage rules, and prepare weekly certified payroll for apartment jobs built with federal money.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, structure and exterior contractors · BLS, May 2025
The Bookkeeper plays a critical role in maintaining the financial integrity of our framing & carpentry business by processing financial records, reconciling accounts, and managing both accounts payable and receivable. This position ensures timely, accurate financial reporting that supports operational efficiency and informed decision-making.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Process financial transactions and maintain complete, up-to-date records of all financial activities.
Reconcile accounts on a monthly basis to ensure accuracy and consistency across financial statements.
Manage accounts payable and collections for accounts receivable to optimize cash flow.
Generate periodic financial reports to assist senior management in strategic planning.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review and record daily financial transactions including invoices, receipts, and expense claims.
Monitor bank balances and perform routine reconciliations on a daily or weekly basis.
Process vendor invoices and purchase orders while ensuring compliance with company policies.
Communicate with vendors and subcontractors to resolve discrepancies or payment issues.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Timely account reconciliation with a 95% accuracy rate and monthly close by Day 5.
Invoice processing efficiency at 98% within a 24-hour turnaround.
Maintain less than 2% late payments per month for Accounts Payable.
Achieve 99% accuracy in month-end financial report submissions.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
3+ years of experience in bookkeeping or related financial roles.
Proficient in accounting software (e.g., QuickBooks) and Microsoft Office Suite.
Strong attention to detail and excellent analytical skills.
Effective communication and organizational skills with a proactive approach to problem solving.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience working in the home services or construction industry.
Familiarity with the operational aspects of framing & carpentry businesses.
Prior exposure to managing both Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable.
Demonstrated experience with QuickBooks or similar financial management software.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to occasionally lift boxes up to 20 lbs.
Occasional travel between job sites and the office environment.
Frequent sitting and regular use of a computer for extended periods.
Minimal exposure to outdoor or variable environmental conditions.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard office hours with occasional work extending beyond 40 hours per week during peak periods.
Limited travel required between the office and job sites.
Occasional on-call duties, especially during month-end and audit periods.
Predominantly indoor work in a professional office setting.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $45,000 - $55,000 per year based on experience and qualifications.
Eligible for performance bonuses tied to accuracy and timeliness of financial reporting.
Comprehensive Health, Dental, and Vision insurance plans.
401(k) plan with company matching contributions.
Generous paid time off, sick leave, and additional fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we foster an inclusive and dynamic environment that values collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning.
Our team is passionate about delivering quality home services and upholding a tradition of excellence in the framing & carpentry industry.
We emphasize professional growth, integrity, and creativity in all aspects of our work.
Join us to become part of a forward-thinking company dedicated to empowering our employees and creating a positive community impact.
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
Lumber arrives as a package plus fill-ins, subcontracted crews draw against a price per house, and some apartment jobs carry federal pay rules. Each dollar belongs to one lot and one person. The deduction example below uses Alaska; states differ.
Every fill-in order needs a reason
The yard bills a framing package for each lot, then fill-in orders when a crew runs short. Before a fill-in is paid, it gets one of three tags. The yard shorted the package and owes a credit. A plan change added wood, so the builder owes a purchase order. Or the crew cut wrong, and the cost stays on the lot. The field supervisor gets a monthly list of that third kind, sorted by lead.
Crew draws run against a house price
When a subcontracted crew frames a house, its price is often set per house and paid in weekly draws as stages finish. The bookkeeper keeps a ledger for each crew and lot: the price, every draw and what's left. A draw goes out only for a stage the field supervisor marked done. When a crew has drawn nearly its full price and the roof is still open, the operations manager hears about it that week.
Charging framers for gear has limits
Under OSHA's rules, the company buys the protective gear those rules call for, such as harnesses, and for replacements unless a worker lost or deliberately damaged them. Federal wage rules also bar charges for required tools in any week they cut into minimum wage or overtime. States can go further. Alaska, for example, bars deductions for damage unless the worker clearly caused it on purpose and accepted the blame in writing, and for a lost nailer unless the worker admits in writing to taking it. Source: Alaska Wage and Hour Pamphlet 100, October 2025: 8 AAC 15.160, deductions from wages (example).
Federal housing money brings weekly certified payroll
Some apartment buildings are built with HUD's HOME funds. When a construction contract covers 12 or more HOME-assisted units, Davis-Bacon wage rules apply to every laborer and mechanic on the project, subcontractors' crews included. Each week the framer turns in a signed certified payroll listing every worker's job class, daily and weekly hours, rate and pay, and the prime contractor answers for all of them. A crew paid by the house still needs daily hours logged. Source: 24 CFR 92.354: HOME program labor standards (eCFR).
How much framing and carpentry bookkeepers make
The closest BLS group for framing and carpentry bookkeepers is bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks who work for foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors earned a median of $24.88 an hour ($51,760 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $50,670 median for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in all industries. About 12,910 of the 1,373,680 bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in that survey work for structure and exterior contractors.
The template's pay is a salary, plus a bonus for reports that are right and on time. BLS puts the middle of the pay scale for bookkeepers at foundation, structure and exterior contractors inside the template's range, and more than a quarter of them earn above its top. A candidate who has run crew draw ledgers and lot-by-lot builder billing has a fair case for the high end.
Structure and exterior contractors
$51,760$51,760 median Middle half $42,630–$62,400 10th–90th $33,610–$77,480
All industries
$50,670$50,670 median Middle half $43,520–$61,470 10th–90th $36,000–$74,550
$20k$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
Structure and exterior contractors
$33,610
$42,630
$51,760
$62,400
$77,480
All industries
$36,000
$43,520
$50,670
$61,470
$74,550
BLS doesn’t publish pay for framing contractors on their own. These figures cover foundation, structure and building exterior contractors, 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
Reads a lumber yard statement and spots a fill-in billed to the wrong lot
Keeps a draw ledger for each crew and lot, and flags a crew close to its full price
Checks gear and tool deductions against wage rules before payroll runs
Gets the field's reason for a fill-in before tagging it as crew waste
Has run payroll for field crews whose hours change week to week
Teach these on the job
Weekly certified payroll and DOL's optional WH-347 form
Your builders' plan names and lot numbering
Your yard's package and fill-in ticket formats
Each sub crew's price sheet by plan
Your rules for company harnesses, nailers and other gear
The books run on job cost accounting with a code for each lot and stage, the yard's online statements, a payroll service that can produce certified payroll, and a draw sheet for every sub crew. In the interview, have finalists show a crew's balance on a half-framed house.
Framing and carpentry bookkeeper interview questions
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 · Backcharges
A builder short-pays an invoice by deducting a backcharge for damage nobody told you about. What do you do?
A strong answer: Asks the builder for the backup, involves the project manager to check the facts, disputes it in writing if it's wrong, and records it correctly either way.
Behavioral · Fixing recurring billing errors
Tell me about a time the same billing error kept showing up on a lumber yard or hardware supplier's invoices, such as wrong unit prices or charges for a returned load. How did you stop it?
A strong answer: Traced it to the cause, such as an outdated price sheet at the yard or tickets entered twice, fixed it with the supplier or in the office process, and checked later statements to confirm it stopped.
Score these at the lot level, not only in totals. A month can close on time with a dozen fill-ins still sitting on the wrong lots.
Timely account reconciliation with a 95% accuracy rate and monthly close by Day 5
The close is done when every crew's draw ledger agrees with the field supervisor's list of finished stages and no yard statement shows an untagged fill-in. Note the workday that happens and which account was last to balance.
Invoice processing efficiency at 98% within a 24-hour turnaround
Time stamps in the inbox and the books show how long each yard bill, truss invoice or builder purchase order sat before it landed on a lot. Fill-ins still waiting on a reason tag get their own column.
Maintain less than 2% late payments per month for Accounts Payable
Yard, truss and crew bills that missed their terms, read supplier by supplier, since a yard that puts the account on hold can stop the next lumber drop. A draw held for an unfinished stage isn't late.
Achieve 99% accuracy in month-end financial report submissions
Count the fixes made to a month's report after it reached the CFO, such as a draw posted to the wrong lot or a fill-in billed to a builder twice. Give each fix a one-line cause.
Career path
Billing clerk at a home builderLearns lot numbers and how builders approve trade invoices.
BookkeeperTies yard bills, crew draws and payroll to each lot.
ControllerSupervises the payroll and payables clerks and signs off each close.
What happens when a crew leaves a house half framed?
Stop that crew's draws the same day and pull its ledger for every open lot. Compare what it drew on each house with the stages the field supervisor marked done. Send that gap, plus what the next crew charges to finish, to the general manager. Recovering it under the crew's agreement is the general manager's call. Don't net it against another lot on your own.
How much does a framing and carpentry bookkeeper make?
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks who work for foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors earned a median of $24.88 an hour ($51,760 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $42,630 and $62,400 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
How should lumber moved from one lot to another be booked?
As a transfer. When leftover studs or sheathing from a finished house go to the next lot, move that cost off the first lot and onto the second, using the field's count. Skip it and the first house looks over budget while the second looks cheap. Short cutoffs used as blocking aren't worth tracking; full units and bundles are.
Can a builder's back-charge be passed to the crew that caused it?
For a subcontracted crew, only if its written agreement allows it and the general manager agrees the crew caused the damage. Post the charge to the lot first, with the builder's photos. For your own employees, federal rules treat a deduction for a loss like this the way they treat tool charges: it may not eat into minimum wage or overtime pay. Check state rules too before it touches a paycheck.
What site work does a framing bookkeeper do?
Not much. The template's lifting, travel and outdoor lines stay as written. In a framing company they cover lugging a box of yard tickets or year-end files, dropping off crew checks at the yard on payday, and now and then meeting the field supervisor at a lot to see a stage before a large draw goes out. Name those tasks in the ad, next to an offer to discuss accommodations.
