Managing Seasonal Cash Flow for Spokane Roofing Contractors

Spokane roofing companies live by the seasons. Winters bring snow, ice, and short daylight. Summers are warm and dry, which is when crews can finally sprint. That rhythm creates predictable cash surges and slowdowns, which means your bookkeeping and tax planning need a Spokane-specific plan, not a generic playbook. Spokane averages about 16.5 inches of annual precipitation and roughly 48 inches of winter snow, so the year naturally tilts your pipeline and payroll toward late spring through early fall.

Below is a practical, research-backed guide to help Spokane roofers stabilize cash, meet tax and payroll obligations on time, and build the reserves and credit access you need to grow confidently.

1) Map your revenue to Spokane’s real roofing window

Warm, dry weather makes production efficient, adhesive cures reliably, and schedule risk drops. In eastern Washington and North Idaho, the prime installation season typically runs from late spring through early fall. Your capacity and revenue should be budgeted to ramp April through September, then taper. Build that pattern into your forecast first, because everything else depends on it.

How to do it

• Build a 52-week cash flow forecast that starts with booked jobs and realistic start dates. Allocate more production weeks to April through September and fewer to late fall and winter.
• Layer in weather risk buffers around shoulder months, where early storms or cold snaps can delay final completion and billing. Spokane’s winter snow and freeze can halt work, and even fall rains slow tear-offs and dry-in.

2) Convert your pipeline into a weekly cash model

Job pipelines are not cash. Turn signed contracts into a weekly schedule of mobilizations, progress invoices, and expected collections. Break each project into milestones, then assign invoice dates to those milestones along your realistic production calendar.

Steps to build the model

• Split each job into deposits, progress bills, and retainage or punch-list bills.
• Assign expected invoice dates by crew availability, weather window, material lead times, and inspection timing.
• Build an evidence-based Days Sales Outstanding assumption. For residential work where you collect on completion, many invoices pay inside one week. For commercial or public work with third-party approval steps, assume 30 to 45 days. Adjust by client.
• Refresh weekly. Forecasts decay fast in construction. Treat Friday as the day you roll forward one week, update completions, and compare forecasted to actual billings and collections.

3) Price and payment structure to smooth cash

The way you structure deposits and progress billing matters more in a seasonal market.

Deposits and prepayments

Collecting a deposit secures the schedule and reduces mobilization risk. In your books, deposits are liabilities until you perform the work, then you recognize revenue as you complete it. That discipline prevents over-stating income in peak months and under-stating it later when you burn through cash fulfilling those deposits.

Progress billing beats “bill on completion”

For multi-week reroofs or commercial projects, bill by milestones, not just at the end. Progress invoices tied to tear-off, dry-in, and completion reduce the end-of-project cash cliff. Your collections then better match payroll and supplier terms.

Retainage planning

On Washington public improvement contracts, up to five percent of earned amounts may be retained until completion and claims periods end. Model this cash deferral so it does not surprise you at year end. Private retainage is also limited in Washington, typically to five percent, but rules differ for public and private projects. Your forecast should park that cash outside usable funds until release.

4) Control the cost drivers that spike with the seasons

Seasonal volume magnifies every cost mistake. Focus on these categories.

Materials and supplier terms

Shingles, metal panels, underlayments, and fasteners move with fuel, freight, and demand. Negotiate early spring price locks for your top assemblies when possible. Align credit limits and terms with your summer run-rate so you are not forced to pause jobs mid-season.

Subcontracted labor

If you augment crews with subs, set clear pay points tied to your progress-billing milestones. You want inflows to arrive before outflows leave.

Equipment and fleet

Schedule preventive maintenance for late winter so trucks, lifts, and compressors are ready before April. Off-season shop days are an investment in uptime when weather finally cooperates.

Workers’ compensation and recordkeeping

In Washington, you report workers’ compensation hours and pay premiums quarterly. You must file even when reporting zero hours, and you are required to maintain detailed time and payroll records L&I can examine. Set aside premium accruals weekly so the quarter-end bill does not punch a hole in your cash.

5) Match payroll and tax timelines to your cash calendar

Peak months carry heavy payroll runs. Layer your federal and state obligations onto your forecast so nothing sneaks up on you.

Washington unemployment insurance and paid leave

All Washington employers file two tax and wage reports each quarter. That includes unemployment insurance and a combined report for Paid Family and Medical Leave and WA Cares. PFML premiums are reported and remitted quarterly. Know which portions are employer and employee paid, and accrue them with each payroll so quarter-end payments are already sitting in cash.

As of 2025, PFML’s published estimator references a 0.92 percent total premium applied to employee gross wages up to the Social Security wage cap for the year. Always confirm the current rate each fall, since ESD updates it annually. Build the current rate into your payroll burden when you estimate jobs.

Federal payroll deposit rules

For federal employment taxes, the IRS uses either a monthly or semiweekly deposit schedule based on your lookback period. Use the correct schedule to avoid penalties and interest. Schedule deposits through EFTPS so the cash leaves on time and predictably.

Washington excise and sales taxes for construction

Washington taxes construction differently than many states. Construction services performed for consumers are retail services subject to retail sales tax, and receipts generally fall under retailing B&O tax. Subcontractors selling to a prime may report under wholesaling if documentation is in place. Set up tax settings and item codes correctly in your accounting system and job costing tools, then accrue B&O and sales tax on each invoice so you are never short at filing time.

6) Build the reserve and credit stack that fits a seasonal trade

You need both a cushion and flexible credit. Treat them as separate tools.

Cash reserve target

Set a target reserve equal to at least one to two months of fixed overhead and average off-season payroll. Fund it from peak-season profits automatically, not when “extra cash” appears. Your 52-week model will tell you how much to hold.

Line of credit for timing gaps

A working-capital line smooths timing gaps when progress billings lag behind payroll. Use it as a bridge, not as permanent capital. Keep lender covenants in your forecasting spreadsheet so you can see covenants at risk before you breach them.

Equipment financing

Do not finance long-lived assets with short money. If you buy a lift to increase throughput, match the loan term to the asset life, not to a short summer cash pulse. That frees the line of credit for payroll and materials.

Automate deposits and set “cash guardrails”

Use EFTPS to schedule federal deposits so cash exits on the proper day. Inside your bookkeeping system, create rules that earmark a fixed percentage of every customer payment into separate sub-accounts for payroll taxes, sales tax, and PFML. Treat those as off-limits operating cash.

7) Job costing that actually improves margins

Seasonality hides profit leaks because summer top-line looks great. Job costing exposes them.

Make job costing non-negotiable

Track actual materials, hours by crew, equipment hours, and permit or dumpster fees to each job. Compare estimate versus actual weekly while the job is still on the roof, not a month later. Close the loop by adjusting future estimates with what you learned.

Choose software that handles construction tax and job costing

If you use a general ledger like QuickBooks Online, bolt on a job-costing or field app that captures labor and materials to the job in real time. Configure items and tax codes to reflect Washington construction rules so your estimates and invoices compute taxes correctly from the start.

8) Off-season planning that pays in July

What you do between November and March shows up in your June cash position.

Pre-sell and pre-order

Offer spring scheduling discounts that keep deposits steady in winter. Where supplier programs allow, lock in pricing for your common assemblies before demand spikes. That shrinks margin risk from spring price updates.

Train and maintain

Use slow weeks for safety refreshers, CERTA torch training, ladder and fall-protection audits, and equipment maintenance. You will start April with higher first-pass yield and fewer callbacks.

Marketing and lead flow

Do not turn off your marketing in winter. Keep your Google Business Profile active, continue asking for reviews, and publish seasonal roof maintenance tips for Spokane homeowners. When the thaw hits, you will already be on the short list.

9) Compliance calendar for Spokane roofers

Create a one-page calendar that sits next to your weekly cash model.

• Quarterly: L&I workers’ comp quarterly report and payment. Maintain required payroll and hour records for three full calendar years.
• Quarterly: Washington ESD unemployment insurance report and the combined Paid Leave and WA Cares report and remittance.
• Monthly or semiweekly: Federal payroll tax deposits per your IRS deposit schedule, made electronically.
• As invoiced: Washington B&O and retail sales tax accruals and filings for construction services performed for consumers, with correct classification for subcontracts.
• Per contract: Retainage tracking and release steps for public work, and any private retainage terms. Model five percent retainage out of usable cash until release.

10) A Spokane-specific weekly operating rhythm

Here is a simple cadence that keeps your cash stable through the peaks and valleys.

Monday

• Pull last week’s actuals. Update job percent complete and production days lost to weather.
• Re-sequence the schedule if rain or cold is in the forecast. Spokane’s fall and winter weather can change quickly, so get in front of it.

Wednesday

• Issue progress invoices on milestones reached.
• Check supplier aging and clear small balances to keep accounts open for Friday deliveries.

Friday

• Roll the 52-week cash forecast forward by one week.
• Accrue payroll taxes, PFML, B&O, and sales tax from that week’s receipts into separate sub-accounts.
• Confirm next week’s EFTPS payroll deposit if you are a monthly depositor near the 15th, or your semiweekly remittances if you are on that schedule.

11) Common pitfalls for local roofing firms

• Treating deposits as revenue. It overstates profit in peak months and drains cash later when you cover costs.
• Billing only on completion. One rain week can turn a two-week job into three, which delays the entire invoice.
• Ignoring retainage. Five percent on a series of public projects can become a painful cash gap.
• Forgetting quarterly filings. Washington requires multiple quarterly reports. Missed deadlines add penalties to already tight winter cash.
• Misconfigured tax codes. Wrong sales-tax setup for construction can lead to under-collection and expensive corrections.

12) What a specialized Spokane bookkeeping and tax partner does for roofers

• Builds your 52-week forecast with Spokane’s seasonality and your crew capacity baked in.
• Configures job costing, labor capture, and Washington tax codes correctly, then trains your team to use them.
• Sets up accrual buckets and EFTPS scheduling so deposits happen on time without guesswork.
• Manages your quarter-end cadence for L&I, ESD unemployment insurance, PFML, WA Cares, B&O, and sales tax so filings are on time and cash is ready.
• Reviews your contracts for billing structure, sales tax treatment, and retainage planning so cash timing is realistic.

Ready to stabilize cash through Spokane’s roofing seasons?

If you want a Spokane-specific plan that fits your crews, suppliers, and mix of residential and commercial jobs, we can help. We will map your cash to Spokane’s true weather window, configure compliance and taxes correctly, and set up a weekly rhythm that keeps payroll, suppliers, and taxes on time even when the weather does not cooperate.

Schedule a quick consultation and let’s build your seasonal cash plan.