Three tiers of service.
One firm that knows construction.

Most of our clients still have a year-end CPA firm — and that relationship stays. But the two roles have fundamentally different objectives.

Your year-end CPA is systematized for compliance — tax returns, corporate filings, and financial statement preparation. That work is important, but it has nothing to do with running a construction business. Their systems, their training, and their processes are built around year-end work, not around job costing, WIP schedules, percentage of completion, or the financial ratios that sureties and lenders scrutinize.

Marawood is systematized for construction accounting — growing the business, improving bonding capacity, managing cash flow against backlog, and producing the financial intelligence that lets you make good decisions in real time. We work every month, not just at year-end.

In practice these two roles complement each other well. We work in partnership with a number of year-end CPA firms who refer clients to us specifically because their clients need construction-specific monthly accounting that falls outside their firm's scope. When we hand off the year-end package, it arrives clean, construction-ready, and in far better shape than most CPA firms typically receive — which means their work is faster and your bill is lower.

A general bookkeeper codes transactions and reconciles bank accounts. That's necessary — but not sufficient for a construction business with active bonds. What we add: WIP schedules prepared to surety standards, job costing integrated to your field data, retainage tracked separately, cash flow forecasts tied to your backlog, and reporting your surety broker can actually use. We also bring construction-specific knowledge — percentage of completion accounting, holdback rules, T5018 filings, and the specific ratios sureties and lenders scrutinize. Most general bookkeepers do not.

No. We work with contractors across Western Canada — Alberta, BC, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Everything is cloud-based. We meet by video, share documents through a secure client portal, and communicate the same way your project teams already do. Geography has never been a barrier, including for clients on remote and camp-based projects.

A review engagement is a level of CPA assurance above a compilation and below an audit. The CPA performs analytical procedures and inquiry to provide limited assurance that your financial statements are plausible. Sureties view this as meaningfully more credible — often applying maximum multipliers rather than conservative ones. For contractors pursuing larger municipal, provincial, or ICI work, a review is typically the entry fee. Upgrading from a compilation to a review is often the single move that doubles bonding capacity without changing a dollar on the balance sheet. We prepare your books to the standard needed for your CPA to issue a review engagement.

Absolutely. Bonding is one outcome of good financial reporting — not a prerequisite for working with us. Many of our clients are electrical, mechanical, civil, or service contractors who don't carry bonds. What they all share is a need for accurate job costing, clean monthly books, and financial reporting that reflects how construction actually works. The Apprentice and Journeyman tiers in particular are fully relevant regardless of whether you have an active surety relationship. If bonding becomes relevant as you grow, the financial infrastructure will already be in place.

If you primarily need clean, accurate books and statutory compliance — Apprentice is the right starting point. If you have active jobs, need monthly WIP and job costing, and want a year-end handoff package ready for your tax preparer — Journeyman is where most of our clients land. If you're scaling aggressively and want CFO-level strategic partnership — Red Seal is built for you. And if none of these fit perfectly, that's fine too. We offer fully tailored engagements and à la carte services for contractors whose needs span tiers or fall outside these structures entirely. The best way to figure out what's right is a free 30-minute call. Book it here →