Arkwright & Co — Construction bookkeeping, Tasmania

01 — The situation

If you're a builder, it's usually one of these three.

You don't have a building problem. You've got a paperwork problem that's starting to cost you money you've already earned.

"There's mail I haven't opened."

Overdue BAS. A letter from the ATO you already know the shape of. Every month it sits there it costs more — a penalty for each 28 days late, per form, and interest that stopped being tax-deductible in July 2025.

What happens instead

I take the file however it is, reconcile it, and hand your accountant clean figures to lodge. Fixed price, agreed before I start. Most catch-ups take two to three weeks.

"Flat out, and there's nothing in the bank."

You're funding the job. Subbies and suppliers get paid before the progress claim lands. GST money gets spent because it never felt separate. Then the BAS falls due before the client pays.

What happens instead

A straight answer on what's actually owed, what's coming in, and what's already committed — before it's a problem, not after.

"I couldn't tell you what that job made."

Every cost lands in one bucket. Nothing compares the estimate to the actual. So the next job gets quoted on the same assumptions as the last one — including the wrong ones.

What happens instead

Profit per job, every month. Estimate versus actual, what's unbilled, what retention is owed, what's sitting in variations you haven't charged for.

02 — How it works

Four steps. No surprises in any of them.

You'll know the price before I touch anything, and you'll know what I found before you pay the balance.

01 — LOOK

Twenty minutes

A screen share of your Xero or MYOB. I tell you how far behind it is and what I expect to find. Free, nothing to sign.

02 — QUOTE

Fixed price

Priced on how many months and how many transactions — not an hourly rate that runs away from you.

03 — CATCH UP

Two to three weeks

Banks, cards, suppliers, subbies, payroll. Anything I can't identify goes on one list, not fifty emails.

04 — STAY AHEAD

Then it's monthly

Clean file and BAS figures to your accountant. Job numbers to you. It never gets back to where it was.

03 — What you get

The numbers a builder actually needs.

Not a profit and loss for the year. The three things that tell you whether this job, this month, is making money.

Job profitability

Quoted$412,000

Actual cost to date$351,200

Margin14.7%

Unbilled variations$6,400

Work in progress

Complete62%

Earned$255,000

Claimed$218,000

Under-claimed$37,000

Claims & allowances

Retention held$11,500

Released at PC$5,750

PC overruns unbilled$4,850

Subbie ABNs for TPAR14 / 18

If those words mean something to you, we're speaking the same language. If your current bookkeeper has never mentioned retention, work in progress or PC overruns, that's the gap — and it's where your money goes.

Why this exists

Keeping Tasmania's builders building.

Construction tops the insolvency figures in this country year after year, and most of those businesses weren't bad at building. They were profitable on paper, blind on cash, behind on the ATO, and quoting from memory.

When a builder goes down it takes subbies with it, leaves houses unfinished and puts apprentices out of work. Down here, everybody knows someone in that chain.

Good builders shouldn't go under for reasons that have nothing to do with building.

04 — Who does what

Your accountant keeps their job.

I'm a bookkeeper, not a registered agent. I do the books. Your accountant reviews and lodges your BAS and tax returns, exactly as they do now — the only difference is the file arrives clean instead of arriving as a shoebox in May.

Haven't got an accountant? I'll introduce you to one.

Worth a call if

You're a builder or trade contractor turning over roughly $1m–$10m
You're GST-registered, with staff or regular subbies
You're behind on BAS, or flying blind on job costs
Your accountant is chasing you and you're avoiding the call

Probably not me if

You're a sole trader with a handful of invoices a month
You're already in liquidation
You're a developer needing property GST advice — that's tax agent work

05 — Price and time

Fixed price. Quoted before I start.

No hourly rate, no meter running, no bill at the end that's bigger than the number you were told.

The review

Free

Twenty minutes on a screen share. You get the findings whether or not you hire me.

The catch-up

Fixed fee

Priced on months behind and transaction volume. 50% to start, balance on completion. Two to three weeks once I have your statements.

Monthly

Optional

Job profitability, WIP, claims and retention register, BAS-ready file. No lock-in, cancel any time.

06 — Who you'd be dealing with

I'm Damian.

I'm based in Hobart, finishing a Master of Professional Accounting, and I built this practice around construction because that's where books break in the most expensive ways — variations nobody invoices, retention nobody chases, allowances nobody reconciles.

I started Arkwright & Co because too many good Tasmanian builders lose the business to paperwork rather than to building. Keeping the books straight is the cheapest insurance a builder has.

I'm taking three builders at foundation pricing while I build the practice. I'll be straight with you about what I can and can't do.

The 20-minute review is always free, and you get the findings either way.

Questions about your own numbers never go on the invoice.

If you don't need me, or I'm not the right fit, I'll tell you on the call.

07 — Straight answers

Questions builders actually ask.

I've already got an accountant.

Good — keep them. I do the books, they review and lodge. Most accountants are relieved, because a clean file means they spend their time on your tax position instead of coding bank lines at accountant rates.

My records are a mess. Honestly, it's bad.

That's the job. Half the builders I talk to are behind, and the ones who aren't usually have someone at home doing it at 10pm. There's no version of this where I'm shocked.

I'm years behind, not months.

Still fine. It costs more and takes longer, and I'll tell you exactly how much more before we start.

Do you need to come to my office?

No. It's all online — you invite me into Xero or MYOB and send through bank statements. Happy to meet if you'd rather, but nothing needs it.

Is my data safe?

Your file, my own login — never shared credentials. Nothing is stored on a personal device, and the practice carries professional indemnity insurance.

How do I pay?

Invoice and bank transfer. 50% to start, the balance when the work's done and you've seen the report.

What if I don't like the work?

Tell me before you pay the balance. I'd rather fix it than have you tell another builder I didn't.