Construction bookkeeping for a Winter Park contractor is mostly job costs and payroll. Florida's construction lien law adds a layer on top: a notice before work starts, notices from subs and suppliers, a waiver with each payment and an affidavit at the end. Every one of those documents lines up with money moving in or out of the books, and when they are filed away from the payment records, a dispute on a finished job turns into a search through email.
This guide from Shea Business Solutions covers where that paperwork fits in the bookkeeping. It is general information, not legal advice. Lien rights and deadlines are a construction attorney's territory, and the statutes and city pages we used are listed at the end.
Before the first inspection in Winter Park: the Notice of Commencement
Under section 713.13 of the Florida Statutes, the owner records a Notice of Commencement before improving the property and posts a certified copy, or a notarized statement that it was filed, at the job site. Section 713.135 ties it to the permit: the copy has to be filed when the direct contract is greater than $5,000. Repair or replacement of an existing heating or air-conditioning system under $15,000 is the exception.
The City of Winter Park puts it in one line in its contractor guidelines: "A Recorded Notice of Commencement is required for permits over $5000 prior to first inspection." The same guide says permits go through the city's Self-Service Portal, inspections have to be scheduled by 4 p.m. the day before, and the permit card stays posted. Winter Park sits in Orange County, and Orange County's own building permit form carries the same rule in capital letters. Recording happens with the Orange County Comptroller, which is also where the City of Orlando's permitting page sends contractors before they submit a notice to the city.
For the books, the recorded notice is a job document. Save a copy on the customer or project in QuickBooks Online with the recording date in the memo. Unless it states another date, a notice expires one year after it is recorded, and a remodel that drags past that year is the job where the date matters.
Notices to owner from subs and suppliers
A subcontractor or supplier who wants lien rights serves the owner with a notice to owner before starting, or no later than 45 days after starting to furnish labor or materials, under section 713.06. A general contractor ends up with a stack of these on a busy job, sometimes from suppliers the office never set up as vendors.
Each notice names someone who could file a lien if they go unpaid. That list should match the vendors carrying open bills on the job in the books. A notice from a supplier with no bill entered is usually a sub's supplier, and that sub's payments are where the waiver question comes up.
A lien waiver with every payment
Section 713.20 gives two forms, a waiver and release of lien upon progress payment and one upon final payment, and the statute says the right to claim a lien "may not be waived in advance." In practice that means a waiver per payment, covering that payment.
On the payable side, collect the sub's waiver before or with the check and attach it to that bill payment in QuickBooks. Going the other way, the owner or lender will usually ask for your waiver when they pay your draw, and that copy belongs on the matching customer payment.
The final payment affidavit and the 90-day clock
At the end of a job, section 713.06 has the contractor deliver a final payment affidavit to the owner at least 5 days before filing suit. It states that everyone under the contract has been paid, or names each lienor who has not been paid in full. The quickest source for that list is an accounts payable aging filtered to the job, which only works if bills were entered against the right job all along. Our post on job costing for contractors covers that setup.
The other date is in section 713.08: a claim of lien has to be recorded no later than 90 days after the lienor's final furnishing of labor, services or materials. Write the last day your crew or a supplier furnished anything on each job in the job notes while the job is still open.
Retainage on private and public jobs
On private work, section 715.12 lets the owner and contractor agree to withhold part of each progress payment until substantial completion. It sets no percentage, so the contract decides. Florida public projects follow section 255.078, which allows up to 5 percent and does not apply to contracts of $200,000 or less. How to book either kind is in our guide to recording retainage.
A lien paperwork checklist for each job
- Recorded Notice of Commencement saved on the job, with the recording date noted.
- Every notice to owner received, checked against the vendors with open bills on that job.
- A progress waiver attached to each sub payment, and your own waiver attached to each draw you receive.
- The final furnishing date written in the job notes for you and for each sub and supplier.
- At closeout, an accounts payable aging by job to back up the final payment affidavit, plus final waivers on file.
Construction bookkeeping for Winter Park contractors
Shea Business Solutions keeps contractors' books remotely in QuickBooks Online, Winter Park included. Our page on construction bookkeeping covers job costing, payroll and cleanups for builders and trades, and bookkeeping in Winter Park covers the monthly work for other businesses in the city.
Sources, read October 21, 2026: City of Winter Park, Contractor Guidelines; City of Winter Park, Building and Permitting Services; Orange County building permit application; City of Orlando, File a Recorded Notice of Commencement; Florida Statutes 713.13, 713.135, 713.06, 713.08, 713.20, 715.12 and 255.078.