Bookkeeping Support

I've worked alongside construction companies of all sizes for over forty years, and I'll tell you what the books look like in the average Irish SME or sole trader in the trades. Invoices that went out late — or didn't go out at all because the job was finished and the paperwork got lost in the van. Expenses coded to the wrong category, or not recorded at all because the receipt ended up in a jacket pocket. VAT returns prepared in a panic the night before the Revenue deadline, with half the figures estimated. And at year end, a black bag or a shoebox handed to an accountant who charges extra for the privilege of sorting it out.

This isn't a criticism — it's the reality of running a small construction business. The work is physical, the days are long, and paperwork isn't why anyone got into the trade. But the consequence of poor bookkeeping isn't just an expensive accountant's bill. It's cash flow problems caused by invoices that were never raised. It's VAT liabilities that came as a surprise. It's a Revenue audit that could have been navigated cleanly but becomes a serious problem because the records aren't there.

Alumitherm handles your day-to-day bookkeeping from €99 per month. Let me be precise about what that means and, equally importantly, what it doesn't mean. We are not accountants. We do not replace your accountant, we do not file your corporation tax return, and we do not provide financial advice. What we do is handle the administrative bookkeeping work that currently either isn't being done, or is being done badly by someone who doesn't have the time or the background for it.

That means: every invoice issued and tracked. Every expense recorded and categorised correctly. Bank reconciliation prepared so your accountant — or you — can see exactly where you stand at any point. VAT return data prepared on the correct bi-monthly cycle, ready for Revenue submission. For construction businesses operating under RCT — Relevant Contracts Tax — we manage the recordkeeping requirements that Revenue expects from principals and subcontractors. RCT is one of the most misunderstood parts of Irish construction taxation, and poor records create real liability.

We work within Xero and Sage — the two platforms most commonly used by Irish accountants and SMEs. Everything we do is structured so that your accountant gets clean, organised data rather than raw chaos. Most accountants will reduce their fee once their client's books arrive in order. The monthly cost of our service is typically recovered in the reduction in your accountancy bill, or in the time you're no longer spending on it yourself.

Cash flow forecasting is something most small construction companies don't do at all. They manage cash reactively — until the phone call from the bank. A basic 13-week cash flow projection, updated monthly against actuals, gives you visibility on when money is tight before it becomes a crisis. We produce this as part of our standard service.

One practical point on the bookkeeping-versus-accountancy distinction that's worth making clearly. Your accountant is a qualified professional who provides strategic financial advice, prepares your year-end accounts, files your corporation tax return, and advises on structure and planning. That's skilled work and it's priced accordingly. Bookkeeping is the transactional, administrative layer that sits underneath it — the recording, categorising, reconciling, and tracking that has to happen before any of the accountant's work can begin. When that layer is messy or missing, your accountant either charges you significantly more to sort it out, or produces accounts from incomplete records. Neither outcome is good. We handle the layer that sits beneath your accountant's work, so that when they pick up your file, the foundation is solid.

Revenue compliance isn't optional and it isn't forgiving. The earlier your records are in order, the less it costs you — in time, in fees, and in the kind of stress that follows a compliance failure.

What's Included

• Monthly invoice tracking — all sales invoices issued, tracked, and aged debtor report maintained
• Expense management — all purchase invoices and receipts recorded and categorised correctly
• Bank reconciliation preparation — ready for your accountant or for your own review
• Bi-monthly VAT return preparation — Revenue-ready, on schedule, every period
• RCT (Relevant Contracts Tax) record management — principal and subcontractor obligations
• 13-week rolling cash flow forecast — updated monthly against actuals
• Integration with Xero or Sage — your existing platform or setup assistance included
• Monthly bookkeeping summary report — plain-English overview of income, expenditure, and outstanding items
• Year-end pack preparation — everything your accountant needs, organised and labelled
• Optional: payroll processing for small teams (up to 5 employees)

Who It's For

• Sole traders and owner-operators in construction who currently manage their own books, badly or not at all
• Small limited companies whose director is doing the bookkeeping on Sunday evenings
• Businesses that have missed VAT deadlines or received Revenue compliance letters
• Construction firms operating under RCT who are unsure of their obligations
• Any SME whose accountant has told them their records need to be better — but hasn't had time to fix it