Project Accountant

Job Description

Job Description

Join Signs of Success as our Project Accountant

Signs of Success is a commercial sign and architectural graphics company serving public and private clients throughout California. Our projects include commercial signage, architectural wayfinding systems, custom fabrication, public works installations, and construction-related sign packages.

We are seeking an experienced construction accounting professional to help keep project costs, billing, payroll, certified payroll, change orders, retainage, and financial documentation accurate and visible.

This role is ideal for someone who has held direct responsibility for construction project accounting, not just clerical support or general data entry. The right person can work with project managers, ownership, and admin staff to identify what is ready, missing, overdue, blocked, or at risk.

Key Responsibilities

Project Accounting & Job Costing

- Track project costs including labor, materials, subcontractors, freight, equipment, and buyout items
- Review AP coding and labor allocation for job-cost accuracy
- Coordinate with project managers to confirm job-cost information
- Track cost overruns, missing costs, and questionable charges
- Prepare job-cost summaries for ownership and project managers

Construction Billing & AR

- Prepare or support progress billing, final billing, and closeout billing
- Collect billing backup such as photos, install notes, milestones, time sheets, and signed documentation
- Track deposits, retainage, change order billing, and final billing requirements
- Maintain billing logs and invoice status
- Review AR aging and prepare collections summaries
- Escalate disputes, under billing, missing backup, or collection risks

Payroll & Certified Payroll

- Own the payroll review and submission process
- Review payroll packets prepared by bookkeeping/admin support
- Confirm timecards, PTO, overtime, prevailing wage hours, and reimbursements before payroll is submitted
- Review labor coding for job-cost accuracy
- Run payroll after ownership approval or within approved company procedures
- Maintain certified payroll and prevailing wage tracker
- Review certified payroll packets, track due dates, save proof of submission, and escalate compliance questions

Contracts, Change Orders & Releases

- Track billing-related contract terms, change order status, retainage, releases, and closeout documentation
- Support preliens, lien releases, and customer-required billing documents

Owner Reporting & Process Improvement

- Prepare weekly summaries showing what is ready, missing, overdue, blocked, or needing a decision
- Help improve accounting, billing, payroll, job-costing, and documentation workflows

Qualifications

- Bachelor’s degree and 5+ years of accounting experience, including at least 3 years in construction, specialty trades, public works, general contracting, subcontracting, architecture/engineering, or a related construction business
- Equivalent experience may be considered for candidates with 7+ years of direct construction accounting responsibility
- Direct responsibility for project accounting functions, not only clerical support or data entry
- Experience with job costing, progress billing, AP/AR, payroll review, labor coding, and project financial tracking
- Experience working with project managers, estimators, owners, or operations teams to resolve billing backup, cost coding, change order, or project financial questions
- Strong QuickBooks and Excel skills required
- Certified payroll, prevailing wage, retainage, lien release, pre-lien, change order, or public works experience strongly preferred
- Strong organization, confidentiality, accuracy, and follow-through

Growth Opportunity

This role can grow into broader accounting leadership, including job-cost reporting, billing oversight, cash-flow support, admin leadership, and controller support.