Find the work you did but never billed.
A Free Margin Scan reads 5 standard QuickBooks Online reports and totals the approved work that never reached an invoice. No login. Nothing in your books changes.
For electrical, mechanical, plumbing, HVAC, and fire protection subs around Madison and Milwaukee.
- Orchard School, Panel upgradeAccepted estimate not fully invoicedEst 2203$18,500
- Lakeview Apts, Unit rewireAccepted estimate not fully invoicedEst 2202$12,000
- Maple Dental, Lighting retrofitJob costs, nothing billedJob profit report$6,800
- Northwoods Wire SupplySame bill paid twiceB-890 / B-890A$3,480
- Harbor Clinic, Tenant fitoutExtra work never billedB-902$2,400
Also flagged, not counted: $27,700 overdue and $4,850 below target margin.
Approved in the field. Never on an invoice.
The GC asks for extra work. Your foreman says yes and the crew does it. The ticket rides around in a truck, and the job gets billed at the original number.
Nobody did anything wrong. QuickBooks just has no report that puts the estimate, the costs, and the invoices side by side. Here is one job from the sample company, straight from its books.
- March 14$18,500
Orchard School, Panel upgrade. The customer accepts estimate 2203.
- In the office$0
Invoiced on that job. The estimate is marked accepted, so it looks handled.
- By the scan date185 days
Still nothing more billed. Nobody is looking at the gap.
- The scan$18,500
Flagged with estimate 2203 attached. On the readout, the owner decides if it is real.
Some flagged items turn out to be settled outside QuickBooks or past a contract deadline. That is why every one gets checked with you, line by line.
How it works
Three steps. Nobody logs in to your QuickBooks.
- 115 minutes
A short call
I call you, ask how change orders get billed, and walk through the sample. If it fits, you sign a 1 page confidentiality agreement.
- 210 minutes
Your office exports 5 reports
Straight from QuickBooks Online into a private folder only you and I can open. Never by email.
- 32 business days
You get your scan
Dollar totals by type, with no customer, vendor, or job names. If the number is worth chasing, we book a readout.
- The 5 exports in QuickBooks Online
- Running the scan
- Reading the free scan
- What happens next
What the scan finds
Each check lines up two of your own reports and flags where they disagree.
The 5 reports your office exports
- A/R Aging Detail
- Invoice List
- Estimates by Customer
- Profit and Loss by Customer
- Transaction List by Date
- Estimates
vs invoicesAccepted estimates not fully invoiced
Work the customer signed off on that never fully made it onto an invoice, job by job.
- Job costs
vs job incomeJob costs with no billing
Labor and material posted to a job that has no income at all.
- Cost notes
vs billingExtra work not billed
Costs whose notes mention extra or changed scope, on jobs billed no higher than the estimate.
- Bills
vs billsBills paid twice
The same vendor and the same amount paid again within a few days.
Overdue receivables and low margin jobs are listed too, on their own lines, and never added to the headline number.
What the free scan looks like
Dollar totals by type, and every item with the names blacked out. If you go on to the Margin Audit, the names and document numbers come with it.
| Type | Items | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Accepted estimates not fully invoiced | 2 | $30,500 |
| Job costs with no billing | 1 | $6,800 |
| Extra work signals not billed | 1 | $2,400 |
| Possible duplicate vendor payments | 1 | $3,480 |
| Overdue receivables, not counted | 3 | $27,700 |
| Jobs below target margin, not counted | 2 | $4,850 |
On the free scan, each item is listed like this:
You only pay if it finds real money
The Free Margin Scan is free either way. The guarantee covers the Margin Audit that comes after it.
The fee is owed only if the audit confirms at least 2 times the fee charged. Confirmed means you looked at the document on the readout call and agreed the money is real.
Overdue receivables and low margin jobs are on the report, but they never count toward that number. You can already see what customers owe you, and a thin margin is not cash to collect.
Your books stay yours
You share 5 exported reports, not a login. Here is exactly what happens to them.
Read how files are handled- Exports onlyI work from report exports. Nobody logs in, and nothing in your books changes.
- One private folderOnly you and I can open it. Files never go through email.
- Deleted after the auditRaw exports are deleted 30 days after the readout, or after the scan if you stop there.
- Signed firstA confidentiality agreement is in place before a single file is shared.
- Plain mathEvery dollar is calculated by fixed rules and traces to a document in your own books.
- Never posted or soldNo client report goes on this site, and no data is ever sold.
3 of 3 spots open
The Margin Audit, free, for the first 3 subs
Not just the scan. Every item with document numbers, a readout call, and a plan to recover what is real. In return I ask for:
- The owner on the 45 minute readout
- An honest yes or no on every item, and why
- A written testimonial, only if the audit finds real money
- Referrals to other owners, if you are happy with the work
Questions owners ask
Something else on your mind? Ask on the call.
My bookkeeper handles this.
Good. This makes their job easier, and I would rather work with them. They are welcome on the readout call.
I'm not comfortable sharing my books.
Fair. You share 5 exported reports, not a login. You sign an agreement first, files go to a private folder, and the raw files are deleted within 30 days of the readout.
I already know my receivables.
You probably do. That is why overdue receivables are listed separately and never counted in the headline number. The scan is for money that never got invoiced at all.
How do I know the numbers are right?
Every item on the audit carries a document number from your own QuickBooks. You check each one yourself on the readout and mark it yes or no.
Why is the scan free?
It only shows totals. If the number is worth chasing, the Margin Audit with every document is how this gets paid for, and only if it finds real money.
Do you work with QuickBooks Desktop?
Not yet. The scan is built around QuickBooks Online reports, with jobs set up as sub customers or projects.
I don't have time for this.
Your office needs about 10 minutes to export the reports. The readout is 45 minutes.
Who runs this
I'm Kip.
I built reconciliation tools that unified 220K+ transactions at a large industrial manufacturer. Now I use the same approach to find unbilled work in contractors' QuickBooks.
See what your books are holding
Pick a time and leave your number. I'll call you.
Rather write? untappedmargin@gmail.com
Untapped Margin is not a CPA firm and does not provide tax or legal advice. Identified is not the same as collected. How your files are handled.