Shaqildi CPA Group
Accountants and Advisors
HVAC, electrical, and plumbing companies face a unique combination of seasonal cash flow pressure, job costing complexity, fleet-heavy capital decisions, and a constantly evolving tax and compliance landscape. Most generalist accountants treat these businesses like any other small company — missing the industry-specific challenges that quietly erode margins and limit growth.
At Shaqildi CPA Group, the trades are a core part of our practice. We have worked alongside HVAC, electrical, and plumbing business owners from their early growth stages through multi-truck, multi-location operations — and through successful exits to private equity and strategic buyers. We don’t parachute in at tax time. We’re in the trenches year-round.
Trades businesses run on field service platforms that most accountants have never logged into. We work directly with Housecall Pro and ServiceTitan — the industry's leading field service management platforms — as well as businesses running QuickBooks with third-party integrations. We know how to bridge the gap between what your field service platform captures and what your financials need to reflect.
HVAC businesses in particular experience dramatic revenue swings — summer AC and winter heating drive peak periods while spring and fall create cash flow valleys. We build forecasting frameworks that smooth out the seasonal curve, ensure you’re capitalizing during peak periods, and keep working capital stable when revenue dips.
Most trades businesses generate revenue from two fundamentally different streams — recurring service and maintenance calls, and larger installation or construction projects. These have different margin profiles, different cash flow timing, and different accounting treatment. Without visibility into which side of the business is driving profitability, growth decisions are made on incomplete information.
Knowing your revenue per job is not the same as knowing your profit per job. Parts, labor, drive time, callbacks, and subcontractor costs need to be tracked at the job level — and ideally at the technician level — to understand where margin is being built and where it’s being lost.
Truck stock, warehouse inventory, and parts procurement create inventory accounting complexity that generalist CPAs handle informally at best. Proper inventory valuation and parts cost allocation to individual jobs is essential for accurate job costing and clean financial reporting.
The use of subcontracted labor in electrical and plumbing creates IRS worker classification exposure that the trades industry consistently underestimates. We assess your subcontractor relationships and help structure them to manage compliance risk before it becomes a penalty.
Service trucks, equipment trailers, and specialized diagnostic tools represent significant capital expenditure. Section 179 and bonus depreciation elections can generate meaningful tax savings — but only when planned before year-end purchases are made, not after.
The taxability of parts installed versus labor performed varies by state and contract type. In Illinois specifically, the distinction between a service call and a construction project affects sales tax treatment significantly — and operators who haven’t had this reviewed are frequently either over-collecting or under-remitting.
Moving into commercial work changes the financial profile significantly — billing structures, contract terms, retainage, certified payroll requirements, and bonding needs all shift. We help operators navigate that transition with the financial infrastructure in place before the growing pains hit.
Private equity has been extremely active acquiring HVAC, electrical, and plumbing businesses. We have supported trades business owners through M&A transactions and valuations — including EBITDA normalization, owner-operator add-backs, fleet valuation, and deal structure analysis. Whether you are years away from an exit or already fielding calls from buyers, the financial infrastructure you build today determines the multiple you command tomorrow.
We have been the financial partner for HVAC, electrical, and plumbing operators at every stage of growth — from the owner-operator running two trucks to the multi-location business navigating a private equity conversation.
Shaqildi CPA Group brings specialized trades industry expertise to HVAC, electrical, and plumbing businesses across the country — with the hands-on experience and year-round commitment that growing operations deserve.