UK CONSTRUCTION ACCOUNTING GUIDES.
Clear, specialist guidance on CIS, FRS 102, reverse-charge VAT, payroll, property development and construction finance. Browse every guide in one place.
All Guides
10 practical, long-form guides for UK construction businesses.
Revenue recognition
FRS 102 Revenue Recognition
Construction contracts span accounting periods, which is why Section 23 of FRS 102 carves out specific rules for them. The mechanics are not trivial; the exposure for getting them wrong is material.
CIS compliance
CIS Compliance & Disputes
CIS at scale becomes a compliance system in its own right. The complications stack up across deemed contractor status, intermediary chains, mixed supply-and-fit contracts, and the GPS compliance test that drives margin.
VAT
VAT Domestic Reverse Charge
The DRC moves VAT accounting from supplier to customer for in-scope construction services. The mechanics are simple in principle, fraught in practice, particularly around end-users, mixed contracts, and design-and-build.
Property development
Property Development & SPVs
Multi-million-pound property development is structured around tax: the SPV split, the SDLT mitigation on acquisition, the JV structure for capital, and the eventual CGT versus income tax position on disposal.
Capital allowances
Capital Allowances & Reliefs
Capital allowances and niche reliefs in construction are routinely under-claimed. The combined effect of Land Remediation Relief, the Structures and Buildings Allowance, integral features, and R&D credits can shift the tax position by tens of percent.
Strategic finance
Strategic Finance & M&A
Strategic transactions in construction (sale, MBO, MVL, EOT) hinge on the financial story the business can credibly tell. Preparing for the transaction starts 18 to 24 months before the event.
Cloud accounting
Cloud Accounting Architecture
Cloud accounting at enterprise construction scale is an architectural decision, not just software choice. The integrations and the data model determine whether finance reports on real activity or on lagging summaries.
Payroll & IR35
Payroll & IR35
Payroll for substantial construction firms layers IR35, the CITB levy, holiday pay, AWR, MSC legislation, and travel allowances on top of ordinary PAYE. Each is its own compliance pressure point.
Construction operations
Sub-Sector Operations
Different construction sub-sectors run different operational accounting. Margin analysis in housebuilding is structured differently from civil engineering, which is structured differently from M&E or demolition.
Cash flow
Cash Flow & Treasury
Construction cash flow is volatile by structure: lumpy receipts, mandatory advance spend on labour and materials, retentions held back for years. Engineering it for stability is a treasury discipline.
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