Texas Electrical Contractor Owner Cash Flow and Job Record Review

Short answer: an estimate, approved work, an invoice, recorded income, and cash in the bank are different events. Keep each event on its own dated line. Then review job results and future cash timing as two different views, with the underlying invoice, bill, receipt, deposit, and approval records attached.

1. Start with records that can support each entry

The IRS says a business may choose a recordkeeping system suited to the business if it clearly shows income and expenses. It also says the system should summarize business transactions and that supporting documents can include sales slips, paid bills, invoices, receipts, deposit slips, and canceled checks. The live IRS guidance controls federal recordkeeping requirements.

Use a job identifier to connect the operational file to the accounting record. Do not treat a draft estimate or an invoice as proof of cash received. Do not treat a bank deposit as proof that the job was profitable without matching it to approved scope and recorded costs.

Event	Date field	Evidence link	Job review use	Cash review use
Estimate and approved scope	Prepared and accepted dates	Accepted scope and assumptions	Starting comparison, not final result	No receipt recorded
Approved change	Requested, approved, and completed dates	Written change approval	Updates allowed revenue and expected cost	No receipt until paid
Customer invoice	Issued and due dates	Invoice and approval reference	Tracks billed work	Expected receipt only
Customer payment	Received and deposited dates	Deposit or payment record	Clears the matching receivable	Becomes an observed receipt
Supplier, payroll, or other job obligation	Incurred, due, and paid dates	Bill, time record, receipt, or payment proof	Tracks supported job cost	Shows timing of the obligation and payment

2. Review the job result without calling it cash

Create a job summary from approved scope, approved changes, recorded billings, and supported direct costs. Keep the business’s accounting policy outside this worksheet until the CPA has reviewed it. The purpose of this view is to show which records explain the job result and which items remain missing.

List approved scope and changes with their evidence.
List recorded billings and any unbilled approved work as separate rows.
List supported material, labor, subcontract, permit, equipment, and other direct job costs in the categories approved by the business’s reviewer.
Compare the recorded result with the original estimate and explain each material variance.
Mark disputed, missing, or unapproved items pending instead of forcing them into the result.

3. Build a dated cash timing view

A cash timing view starts with observed available cash, expected receipts by expected receipt date, and obligations by due date. It is a planning view, not a promise that a customer will pay on time and not a choice of accounting or tax method.

Period	Observed opening cash	Expected receipts	Obligations due	Uncertainty and owner
Current review date	Bank record and reconciliation date	Do not enter an invoice as cash received	Bills and payroll due before the next update	Name every unresolved timing question
Next review period	Prior ending planning balance, subject to reconciliation	Invoice, expected date, confidence note, follow-up owner	Vendor, payroll, tax, insurance, and other dated obligations	Record what would change the plan

Questions for the bookkeeper or CPA

Which records and account categories should support each entry?
How should deposits, retainage, disputed invoices, and unbilled approved changes be shown in the business’s records?
Which job-cost categories should be used consistently?
How often should accounts receivable, accounts payable, bank records, and the cash timing view be reconciled?
Which report is the official accounting record, and which worksheet is only an internal planning aid?

Boundary: this article is an educational record-review workflow. It does not choose an accounting method, prepare a return, make a borrowing decision, or replace a bookkeeper or CPA. Use fictional or properly protected records when practicing.

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