What Reports Should a Construction Business Review Every Month?

Running a construction business is like juggling bricks, if you lose sight of one project, the whole operation can wobble. With long lead times, stage payments, tight margins, and rising costs, construction companies need better visibility to stay profitable.

That’s where monthly financial reporting comes in.

If you’re in construction and not reviewing these reports every month, you're flying blind. Let’s fix that.

1. Job Costing Reports

   
   

This is your number one priority. Job costing reports track the actual costs (labour, materials, subcontractors, plant hire, overhead allocations) against your original estimate, project by project.

Why it matters:

• You can immediately identify where profit margins are slipping and why

• Enables accurate re-pricing on future jobs using real data, not guesswork

• Helps build accountability for site managers and cost controllers

Tip: Include committed costs (like POs) even if the invoice hasn’t landed yet. This gives a more realistic view of final job profitability. Also, break costs down by phase (foundations, framing, finishing, etc.) for better trend insight.

2. Work-in-Progress (WIP) Report

WIP reports show the value of work completed but not yet invoiced. These help align revenue recognition with actual project progress.

Why it matters:

• Avoids overstating income, which can lead to surprise tax bills

• Helps with timing invoices and applications for payment

• Gives visibility of your working capital tied up in current projects

Tip: Review WIP alongside site progress photos and QS feedback. Don’t rely solely on invoiced amounts, include estimated earned value for partial completions to keep income timing accurate.

3. Cash Flow Forecast

Construction businesses are often profitable on paper but suffer cash flow issues due to stage payments, retentions, and payment delays.

Why it matters:

• Shows if you can afford the next payroll, supplier bills, and HMRC payments

• Supports funding applications by demonstrating forward planning

• Prevents panic borrowing or payment delays that damage your reputation

  
  

Tip: Use a rolling 12-week forecast updated weekly. Factor in expected inflows from applications and outflows like VAT, subcontractor invoices, and material orders. Colour-code inflows that are delayed or uncertain to help plan backups.

4. Aged Debtors Report

This report shows all unpaid customer invoices, grouped by how long they’ve been outstanding (e.g. 30, 60, 90+ days).

Why it matters:

• Keeps credit control focused and actionable

• Flags retention balances that are easy to forget

• Supports cash flow forecasting and project-level recovery

Tip: Include notes on why invoices are unpaid, is it retention, a disputed variation, or poor admin? Prioritise action by value and age. For big balances, involve your PMs to escalate with the client.

5. Aged Creditors Report

Aged creditors show who your business owes and when payment is due. A healthy construction business must manage outflows as carefully as inflows.

Why it matters:

• Avoids late payment charges, delivery hold-ups, and supplier fallouts

• Helps you plan supplier payments in sync with incoming funds

• Supports supplier negotiation by showing you're organised

Tip: Group creditors by criticality, materials suppliers, plant hire, subcontractors. Pay high-impact suppliers on time. Negotiate payment terms with those offering flexibility.

6. Monthly Management Accounts

Management accounts bring everything together: your P&L, balance sheet, cash position, job-level profitability, and budget comparisons.

Why it matters:

• Gives owners and directors a true snapshot of how the business is performing

• Helps identify high-cost overheads or unprofitable clients

• Supports decision-making for growth, hiring, and investment

Tip: Don’t just send a report, hold a monthly review meeting. Discuss variances, unexpected costs, cash trends, and pipeline forecasts. Include KPIs like gross margin by project, WIP status, debtor days, and site productivity if tracked.

How Jfa Helps Construction Businesses

At Jfa, we specialise in helping construction companies take control of their finances and make data-led decisions. No generic reports, only what matters to your sites and your growth goals.

We:

• Build tailored job costing and WIP templates specific to your contract types

• Design rolling cash flow forecasts with VAT, retentions, and payment plans built in

• Provide clear, easy-to-read monthly management accounts with commentary

• Include KPI dashboards, margin trend reports, and budget vs actuals

• Offer a free 1-hour finance health check to show where your reports can improve fast

Final Thought

Construction is a tough, detail-heavy industry. But the businesses that win are the ones that know their numbers, not just at year-end, but every single month.

Monthly reporting keeps your jobs profitable, your cash flow strong, and your decisions backed by facts.

Wrapping up today’s insights, tomorrow we simplify another accounting challenge