From BOQ to handover —
without the spreadsheet.
Project P&L per site. Escrow accounts for advance management. Retention tracking. Subcontractor TDS 194C. Stage-wise RA billing. Real-time budget vs actual.
The problems we solve
Where construction firms lose money
Three profit killers every builder faces. Here's how AskBooks eliminates each one.
Site-level profitability blind spot
5 projects running. Total profit on books: ₹40 lakh. Per-site: unknown. You don't know which site is bleeding and which is healthy until the project closes — often too late.
Auto-allocated costs by project. Real-time P&L per site. Margin alerts when spending crosses budget. BOQ variance dashboard so site engineer and CFO see the same numbers.
Retention money tracking nightmare
10% retention held across 8 contracts. After 18 months, half released. Half forgotten. The engineer who managed it left. No one knows the total retention outstanding. ₹40 lakh just sitting unclaimed.
Retention register per contract. Auto-alerts when release date arrives. Release workflow with approvals. Total retention outstanding dashboard — never forget another ₹ again.
Stage-wise billing chaos
RA bill 4 of 12. Earlier certified ₹18 lakh. Now ₹4 lakh claimed. Customer says ₹3.5 lakh. Disputed work pending. Your accountant doesn't know which stage was billed or what was certified.
Stage-wise progress billing with cumulative measurement tracking. Disputed amounts noted separately. Certified vs claimed variance. Auto-narration on every RA bill. Full audit trail.
Features
Built for the way builders work
Site-first, not ledger-first.
Project P&L
Real-time per-site profitability with cost categories drill-down. Labour, material, machinery, subcontractor split. Compare actual vs estimated margin on every project.
RERA escrow accounts
Advance management with restricted-use rules per RERA. Separate escrow ledger per project. Drawdown requires approval. Audit trail for RERA inspector visits.
Retention register
Per-contract retention tracking with due-date alerts and release workflow. Cumulative retention outstanding across all contracts in one dashboard.
Stage-wise RA billing
Running Account bills with cumulative measurement, certified vs claimed variance, and disputed amount tracking. Auto-narration and PDF generation.
BOQ tracking
Item-wise budget vs actual across the project lifecycle. Material consumption reconciliation. Variance alerts when items exceed sanctioned quantities.
Subcontractor TDS 194C
Auto TDS deduction at 1% (individual) or 2% (company) on every subcontractor payment. 26Q quarterly filing. Form 16A certificate generation.
How it works
How AskBooks works for construction
Project setup
Create project with BOQ, budget heads, subcontractor list, and client contract. Escrow account linked automatically.
Costs flow in daily
Material purchases, labour payments, and machinery hire are tagged to the project. Subcontractor TDS deducted automatically.
RA bills raised
Stage-wise billing based on certified work. Retention auto-withheld. Cumulative measurement tracked against BOQ.
Live P&L every day
Project margin visible in real time. Budget alerts, retention dashboard, WCT compliance — CFO sleeps better.
Compliance
All the compliance construction needs
RERA, GST 12%, TDS 194C, WCT, labour welfare cess — all built in.
Our project P&L was a quarterly exercise. Now it's real-time. We caught a ₹12 lakh material leak in week 1 — a site engineer was double-claiming materials across two projects. That one catch paid for AskBooks for the next 3 years.
Pricing
Plans for every builder
Up to 5 active projects. BOQ tracking, RA billing, TDS 194C, basic P&L.
Get startedUnlimited projects. RERA escrow, retention register, multi-site dashboard, staff payroll.
Get startedLarge RERA developers, infra companies. Dedicated implementation and training.
Get startedFAQ
Frequently asked questions
Does AskBooks handle RERA escrow account requirements?
Yes. AskBooks maintains a separate escrow ledger per project with restricted drawdown rules as required under RERA. All transactions in the escrow account have a full audit trail. Funds can only be released through an approval workflow, and the balance is always visible to both owner and auditor.
How is TDS on subcontractors handled under Section 194C?
TDS is automatically deducted at 1% for individual/HUF subcontractors and 2% for others on every payment. The system generates 26Q quarterly returns and Form 16A certificates for each subcontractor at year end.
Can I track BOQ item-wise budget vs actual in real time?
Yes. Each BOQ item (civil, MEP, finishes, etc.) has a sanctioned budget. As purchase orders and invoices are entered against items, actual spending is compared against budget. Variance alerts are triggered when any item exceeds 90% of its budget.
What is the GST rate applicable to construction services?
Works contracts for commercial construction attract 18% GST. Affordable housing under government schemes attracts 1% (no ITC). Regular residential under-construction flats attract 5% (no ITC). AskBooks is pre-configured for all these scenarios.
Can subcontractors and vendors be managed in the same system?
Yes. You can create separate ledgers for subcontractors, material vendors, labour contractors, and professional consultants. TDS is auto-applied based on the payment category — 194C for contractors, 194J for professionals, 194I for rent.
Run profitable projects. Every time.
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