The Challenge: Construction Sites Don't Wait for Bookkeeping
James Cooper runs a general contracting business in Denver, managing 10-12 projects simultaneously — kitchen remodels, bathroom renovations, deck builds. Every project generates dozens of expenses: lumber from Home Depot, hardware from the local supply house, fuel to drive between job sites, subcontractor payments, permit fees.
His old system? Stuff receipts in the glovebox, the center console, his jacket pockets, or on the truck's dashboard. By the time tax season rolled around, he'd have a garbage bag full of crumpled, faded, and sometimes unreadable receipts.
The Real Cost of Lost Receipts
- ✗ 30-40% of receipts lost or unreadable by tax time
- ✗ Mileage between job sites never tracked (~18,000 miles/year)
- ✗ Tool purchases under $50 rarely recorded
- ✗ No per-project expense tracking = no job profitability data
- ✗ Accountant fee: $1,200 (poor records = more accountant hours)
The Turning Point: A Receipt That Saved $2,400
James's moment of truth came during his 2024 tax prep. His accountant asked about a $2,400 table saw he'd bought in March. James remembered buying it but couldn't find the receipt anywhere. Without proof of purchase, he couldn't deduct it.
That single lost receipt cost him roughly $720 in tax savings (at his marginal rate). He estimated he'd been losing $5,000-$8,000 in legitimate deductions every year just because he couldn't prove the expenses.
“Losing that $2,400 table saw deduction was the last straw. I told myself: never again. A buddy on a job site showed me ExpenseEasy and I started scanning receipts that same day.”
— James Cooper
The Results: Tax Season in 5 Minutes
Before ExpenseEasy
- ✗ 30-40% of receipts lost
- ✗ Zero mileage tracking
- ✗ No per-project expense data
- ✗ Tax prep: garbage bag of receipts
- ✗ Accountant: $1,200 (messy records)
After ExpenseEasy
- 100% receipt capture rate
- Trip tracking for all job-site mileage
- Expenses tagged by project name
- Tax prep: exported PDF in 5 minutes
- Accountant: $600 (clean records)
The big number: $6,800 in deductions that James would have missed entirely. The mileage tracking alone caught $3,200 (18,000 miles × IRS rate). The rest came from small tool purchases, supply runs, and job-site meals that used to fall through the cracks.
Key Features for Contractors
Trip Tracking
Automatically log mileage between job sites. The IRS mileage deduction alone saved James $3,200.
Project Tags
Tag expenses by project name to see profitability per job. James discovered two projects were actually losing money.
Instant Reports
Generate per-project or full-year expense reports as CSV or PDF. Hand it to your accountant and save hours.
“My accountant literally said I was the most organized contractor she's ever worked with. I just laughed because all I do is snap photos of receipts. ExpenseEasy does everything else. She cut my bill in half because the records were so clean.”
James Cooper
General Contractor, Denver CO