Accounting for San Diego Electricians.
Bookkeeping and tax filing for electrical contractors, handled by an IRS Enrolled Agent. 100% virtual, so you never leave a job site for a meeting.
You Do the Work in March and See the Money in July.
Did you have a slow quarter, or did you just get paid late?
Most bookkeepers look at what hit the bank. For an electrician that is only part of the story.
You bill in pieces. You wait on a general contractor's schedule. You buy wire in March for a job that pays in June.
Books that only track deposits will tell you that you had a slow quarter when you actually had a good one. We do bookkeeping and tax filing together, because the timing is the whole problem.
Five Places Electrical Contractors Lose Track.
None of these are loopholes. They are ordinary rules that get missed when nobody is looking at your business specifically.
Getting Paid in Pieces
One job pays you three or four times across a few months, on the GC's draw schedule and not yours.
That splits a single job across quarters, and sometimes across two tax years. The work happened in one year. The money showed up in the next.
Why does that matter? Because it changes what you owe and when. We plan for it instead of finding out in April.
Materials You Buy First
You buy wire, panels, and gear in March. The job that uses them does not pay until June.
That is a cash gap, and it is also a bookkeeping choice. Materials bought for a specific job belong to that job, not to a general bucket called supplies.
Book them right and you can see what the job really cost. Book them wrong and every job looks the same.
Which Jobs Actually Made Money
A three month job and a one day service call both end up as revenue. That is where most electricians stop looking.
Long jobs hide problems. Labor creeps, a change order never gets billed, and the job still looks fine because the total is big.
We cost jobs separately so you can see which kind of work pays you and which kind just keeps you busy.
Your Helper
This is the expensive one.
California has a rule most owners never hear about. Labor Code 2750.5 says that to be a real subcontractor on licensed work, the person has to hold the license himself.
Your helper does not have a C-10. So he is not a sub. He is an employee, whatever the two of you agreed.
Why does that matter? If you paid him on a 1099, the back taxes and penalties land on you.
We tell you which one he is, and we file the 1099s for your licensed subs. We do not run payroll.
When to Become an S Corp
An S corp is a tax status, not a new business. It can cut the 15.3% self-employment tax you pay on your own earnings.
It is not free. It adds a return, payroll, and paperwork. Under a certain profit, it costs more than it saves.
There is a number where it starts to pay off. We tell you yours before you spend anything.
Key Takeaway: You get paid on someone else's schedule. Cash-basis books tell you what that schedule did to your year, if they are built for it.
One Person, Both Jobs.
Monthly Bookkeeping
Cash basis, in QuickBooks Online. Reconciled every month, costed by job instead of one big revenue line.
See bookkeeping plans →Tax Filing
Your return, priced per return. No monthly plan required. Multi-state if you work outside California.
See tax prep pricing →The Part In Between
Entity setup, 1099 filing for your subs, and a straight answer before you take on a bigger job.
Priced Up Front.
Monthly bookkeeping for an electrical contractor starts at $650. Tax returns are priced per return and start at $700 for a sole proprietor.
You can see the full bookkeeping plans, or get a tax prep estimate in under two minutes. No call required for either.
Frequently Asked Questions
My income swings a lot month to month. Is that a problem?
No, it is normal for construction work, and it is most of the reason to have us. We look at when the money actually lands, not a flat monthly average, and size your estimated tax payments to match.
Do you do job costing?
Yes. That is most of the reason an electrician hires us. Costing by job is the only way to see which work pays and which work just fills the calendar.
Do you run payroll?
No. We tell you whether a helper should be W-2 or 1099, and we file the 1099s for your subs. Payroll processing itself is not something we do.
Can you fix a prior year?
Every return we prepare includes a review of your prior year for missed deductions or errors. If we find something worth amending, we will tell you what it is worth before you decide.
I do both service calls and construction work. Is that a problem?
No, and it is common. We separate them in the books so you can see how each side performs instead of averaging them together.
Do I need to come to an office?
There is no office. Everything happens by phone, video call, email, and a secure portal. You will not lose a billable morning to a meeting.
Running an electrical company year round? Monthly bookkeeping keeps your books tax ready and your numbers current, starting at $650 a month.
See Bookkeeping Pricing →Let's Talk.
At Civita Tax Solutions, we help home service business owners save money on taxes with all-in-one accounting. We handle your bookkeeping, advisory, and tax filing. You focus on the business. We handle the finances.
Every electrical company's books are different. A quick conversation tells us if we are the right fit.
Book a Free Consultation