How to Create a WIP Report in QuickBooks Online for Construction

What Is a WIP Report?

A Work in Progress (WIP) report — also called a WIP schedule — shows the financial status of every active construction project. It answers the question: has the contractor billed more or less than they've earned on each job?

Banks require it for construction loans. Bonding companies require it for bonds. CPAs require it for accurate financial statements. Without a WIP schedule, a contractor's financials are incomplete.

The Cost-to-Cost Method (Percentage of Completion)

The most common method for calculating WIP in construction is the cost-to-cost method. Here's the formula:

Example: A $200,000 roofing contract with $60,000 in costs so far, estimated total costs of $120,000, and $110,000 billed:

• % Complete = $60k ÷ $120k = 50%
• Earned Revenue = $200k × 50% = $100,000
• Over Billing = $110k − $100k = $10,000 liability

What Data You Need from QuickBooks Online

To build a WIP schedule manually from QBO, you need to pull four data points per job:

1. Contract Value — from Estimates (the original signed contract amount)
2. Costs to Date — from Bills and Expenses, filtered by customer/job
3. Estimated Total Costs — this must be entered manually or tracked separately
4. Billed to Date — from Invoices, filtered by customer/job

QuickBooks Online does not have a native WIP report. You have to export this data to Excel and calculate it manually — which typically takes 2–4 hours per month.

Step-by-Step: Building the WIP in QBO Manually

Step 1 — Pull Estimates (Contract Values)

In QBO, go to Reports → Estimates by Customer. Export to Excel. The "Total" column is your contract value per job.

Step 2 — Pull Costs by Job

Go to Reports → Job Profitability Detail or Project Profitability (if using Projects). This shows costs broken down by job — materials, labor, subcontractors.

Step 3 — Pull Invoices (Billed to Date)

Go to Reports → Invoice List, filter by date range, group by customer. Sum the invoices per job to get total billed.

Step 4 — Build the Schedule in Excel

Create columns for: Job Name, Contract Value, Est. Total Cost, Costs to Date, % Complete, Earned Revenue, Billed to Date, Over Billing, Under Billing. Fill in each row manually. Calculate the formulas.

Step 5 — Review and Adjust

Check each job for reasonableness. Over-billings are liabilities (money received but not yet earned). Under-billings are assets (work done but not yet billed). The net position matters for the balance sheet.

Common Mistakes Bookkeepers Make on WIP Reports

• Using revenue instead of costs for % complete — always use costs, not billings
• Not updating estimated total costs when a project goes over budget
• Including retainage in billed amounts — retainage should be tracked separately
• Forgetting completed contracts — jobs that closed mid-month still need to appear
• Wrong date filters — costs and billings must be pulled for the same period

The Faster Way: Automate It

Doing this manually every month in Excel is error-prone and time-consuming. ReconcileBook connects directly to QuickBooks Online and generates the complete WIP schedule automatically — pulling contract values, costs, and billings from QBO in real time.

Instead of 3 hours of Excel work, it takes 30 seconds. The report is always up to date, and you can export it as a PDF in one click.

Summary

A WIP report requires pulling estimates, costs, and invoices from QuickBooks Online and calculating percentage of completion, earned revenue, and over/under billings for each active job. QuickBooks does not do this automatically — it requires manual work in Excel or a specialized tool like ReconcileBook.

For construction bookkeepers managing multiple contractor clients, automating the WIP schedule saves hours every month and eliminates the risk of manual errors.