Hurricane Season & Bookkeeping: Is Your Restoration Business Financially Ready?
When hurricane season hits, restoration companies brace for impact—but it’s not just about tarps, equipment, or mobilizing crews. If your books aren’t ready, you’re leaving money on the table and putting your business at risk.
Let’s talk about what smart bookkeeping looks like before, during, and after the storm.
📅 Before the Storm: Get Your Financial House in Order
When demand spikes, everything speeds up. You don’t want to be untangling old transactions or guessing your cash flow when the phones won’t stop ringing.
Pre-season bookkeeping checklist:
Catch up on all reconciliations (bank, credit cards, loans)
Review A/R aging: Are there outstanding invoices that need to be collected now?
Clear out old liabilities: Vendor bills, credit memos, or client deposits that never got applied
Verify your chart of accounts: Can you clearly track storm work vs. other jobs?
Bonus Tip: Set up separate class or location tracking in your accounting software for hurricane-related work—it’ll make post-season analysis and insurance reporting much easier.
🌪️ During the Storm: Real-Time Visibility Is Key
When jobs stack up and crews are deployed, decisions have to be made fast. You need visibility into:
Job profitability in real time
Labor costs by team or region
Equipment usage and sub costs
Cash flow runway
Your bookkeeping system should be tracking earned vs. unearned revenue, WIP (Work-in-Progress), and job costing—not just lumping everything under one generic “income” line.
If your books can’t show you what jobs are actually making money, you’re flying blind.
💰 After the Storm: It’s All About Documentation & Claims
The weeks after a hurricane bring a flood of paperwork—carrier negotiations, invoicing, supplementing, and collections.
Strong bookkeeping supports:
Accurate invoicing (with detailed cost tracking to support Xactimate supplements)
Clear subcontractor and vendor payables
Fast access to financial reports for lenders, partners, or compliance
Credibility with adjusters and TPAs—clean books show you're a serious, organized operation
This is when contractors with sloppy books start losing margin—or worse, go under trying to float cash on unpaid jobs.
🧮 You Don’t Just Need a Bookkeeper—You Need a Financial Partner
At Kiwi Cash Flow, we help restoration companies get financially storm-ready. That means:
Job costing and WIP tracking
Margin analysis by storm event
Cash flow forecasting when labor and material costs surge
Real-time reporting that helps you scale safely when demand spikes
📊 Want to be ready before the next storm hits?
Let’s set up your financial system to handle the chaos before it arrives.
👉 Book a CFO strategy session.