Hidden Costs
Is Your Accountant Costing You Money?
Find out in 5 minutes.
Your accountant may be costing you tens of thousands and you may not see it until tax season, a bonding review, or an IRS letter forces the issue.
Most construction owners do not switch accountants because they are happy. They switch because something finally breaks: a surprise tax bill, bad job costing, missing WIP reports, slow answers, weak financials, or advice that feels like it was built for a coffee shop instead of a contractor.
This 15-question diagnostic helps you test whether your accountant is acting like a construction-focused financial partner or a compliance vendor with a contractor on the client list.
Take the diagnostic and get your score.
Accounting
Tax
Advisory
Bookkeeping
Small Business Accounting
Startup Accounting
Tax Preparation
Tax Planning
Small Business Tax
Accounting Risk
A quick test for a very expensive suspicion
If you have ever wondered whether your CPA actually understands construction, this diagnostic will make the answer clearer.
Where Contractors Lose
The questions cover the areas where contractors usually lose money quietly: job costing, WIP reporting, tax planning, bonding visibility, change orders, long-term contract rules, financial statements, and basic responsiveness.
A Real Accounting Checkup
This is not a generic accounting quiz. It was built around the same questions Toran Accounting would ask when reviewing a construction company’s accounting relationship for the first time.
What your score tells you
At the end, you will get a clear result based on your score.
Partner-grade
Your accountant is likely earning the fee. You may still have a few gaps, but the foundation is strong.
Mixed bag
Some basics are covered, but meaningful gaps remain. A second opinion may help you find what is missing.
Compliance, not partnership
You may be paying for tax filing dressed up as advisory. The cost of staying may be higher than the cost of switching.
Red zone
You may be exposed to tax overpayment, job-costing problems, IRS risk, or surety surprises. This is the conversation to have now.
Hidden Gaps
The problem is not always the fee. It is what the fee fails to catch
A cheaper accountant looks like savings on a monthly invoice.
- The real cost usually shows up later:
- One general contractor moved to a cheaper, generalist accounting firm to save a few thousand dollars per month. Eighteen months later, they came back after facing more than $190,000 in IRS penalties tied to issues the new firm missed: misapplied long-term contract methods, late or incorrect filings, and tax positions a construction-fluent CPA would have caught early.
- Cheap accounting is often expensive accounting with delayed billing.
Quick Preview
Built for construction owners who need more than tax filing
Construction accounting has different rules, different risks, and different consequences.
Contractor Focused
Your accountant should understand:
- WIP schedules
- Job costing
- Profit fade
- Retainage
- AIA G702/G703 billing
- Percentage-of-completion accounting
- Change order timing
- Surety-ready financials
- Long-term contract rules
- Tax planning before year-end
If those terms sound more familiar to you than to your accountant, that is a problem.
Start My Diagnostic
Take the diagnostic before another surprise shows up
The best time to find the gap is before the penalty, before the tax bill, before the bonding issue, and before another year of vague financials.
Enter your email to start the diagnostic. Once complete, you will receive your score and a recommended next step
Common Queries
Frequently Asked Questions
Who should take this diagnostic?
This diagnostic is built for construction owners doing roughly $1M-$20M in annual revenue who suspect their current accountant may not be construction-specialized.
Is this only about tax savings?
No. It looks at tax planning, job costing, WIP reporting, financial visibility, bonding readiness, response time, and whether your accountant understands construction-specific accounting issues.
Do I need QuickBooks Online?
The diagnostic is most useful for contractors using QuickBooks Online or similar accounting systems, but the questions still apply if your business relies on job costing, payroll, change orders, WIP, and project-based financial reporting.
Will I get a personalized result?
Yes. Your score should place you into one of four categories: Partner-grade, Mixed bag, Compliance not partnership, or Red zone.
What happens if I score low?
A low score does not mean your business is failing. It means your accounting relationship may have gaps. If your result shows high risk, the next step is a 30-minute review with Toran Accounting.