Bank Statement to QuickBooks for Roofing Contractors: Convert PDF Statements to QBO

Most wind and hail claims are written on a Replacement Cost Value (RCV) policy. The carrier's adjuster sets the RCV, which is what it costs to replace the roof with new materials at today's prices. From that number, the carrier subtracts depreciation, an estimate of how much value the old roof had already lost based on its age and remaining useful life. What's left is Actual Cash Value (ACV), and that's the amount of the first check, minus the homeowner's deductible. The depreciation that got subtracted is called recoverable depreciation, and the carrier holds it back until the work is actually completed and a final invoice or certificate of completion is submitted. Once that paperwork goes in, the carrier releases a second check for the depreciation amount. The homeowner is responsible for the deductible; that's a fixed cost set by their policy, and it's paid to the contractor as part of the total job price, not as a separate favor or discount.

Here's a clean example that ties out. RCV is $18,000. Depreciation is $5,000, so ACV is $13,000. The homeowner's deductible is $1,000, so the first check from the carrier is $12,000 ($13,000 ACV minus the $1,000 deductible). The homeowner separately pays their $1,000 deductible to the contractor. After the roof is finished and the paperwork is submitted, the carrier releases the $5,000 recoverable depreciation check. Add it up: $12,000 plus $1,000 plus $5,000 equals $18,000, the full RCV, and the full contract price of the job. Three deposits, one job.

This is the single most common bookkeeping mistake on insurance restoration work. The bank statement shows three or four unrelated-looking deposits over weeks or months: an insurance ACV check, a homeowner payment for the deductible, and later a second insurance deposit for released depreciation. Booked separately, that looks like three jobs or three revenue events. It's one job. Invoice the customer for the full contract amount (the RCV, or RCV plus any approved supplement) when the work is scheduled, then apply each deposit as a partial payment against that single invoice as it arrives. Accounts Receivable is built for exactly this: partial payments against one open invoice, closing out only when the last dollar, usually the released depreciation, comes in.

Roofs often reveal problems once the old material is off: rotted decking, damaged flashing, code-required upgrades the original estimate didn't include. When the adjuster approves that added scope, it's called a supplement, and it raises the total contract price. The correct handling is to increase the job's invoice or record a change order for the supplement amount, then apply the supplement check to that updated invoice when it arrives. Don't book the supplement check as a new, unrelated deposit; it belongs to the same job and the same customer record, just a larger contract than originally quoted.

On larger claims, or when the homeowner has an active mortgage, the carrier often makes the check payable to both the homeowner and the mortgage lender jointly. The homeowner endorses it over, the lender deposits it into an escrow-type account, and releases funds to the contractor in draws as work is inspected and progresses, rather than all at once. Treat each draw the same way you'd treat any partial payment: apply it against the job's invoice. The portion the mortgage company is still holding is a receivable you're owed, not a loss and not a smaller contract, so keep that balance visible on the books until the final draw clears.

Materials bought on account from suppliers like ABC Supply, SRS Distribution, or Beacon Building Products (shingles, underlayment, drip edge, ridge vent) are a direct job cost, not a general supplies expense. The same goes for subcontracted crew labor, dumpster rental, and permit fees. Tag every one of those costs to the specific job, whether you're using QuickBooks classes, projects, or job-linked customers, and compare the total against the contract price once the job closes. That's how you find out whether a reroof actually cleared a healthy margin, or whether a supplement meant to cover rotted decking got eaten by an underpriced original estimate.

Most roofing companies use subcontracted install crews rather than employees, and those crews are generally 1099-NEC contractors. For payments made on or after January 1, 2026, the federal reporting threshold is $2,000 per contractor per calendar year, and it's indexed for inflation in later years. Whether a crew is truly an independent contractor or should be treated as an employee comes down to the IRS's control test (who directs how, when, and with what tools the work gets done), and close calls are worth confirming with a CPA rather than guessing. Either way, track what you pay each crew through the year so the totals are ready when 1099 season arrives.

Not every roof is insurance-funded. Retail jobs, cash customers replacing an aging roof on their own decision rather than after a storm, typically follow a standard deposit-plus-progress or deposit-plus-completion billing structure with no carrier involved and no ACV/depreciation split. Keep retail jobs and insurance jobs distinct in how you record them; mixing the two patterns is how a bookkeeper ends up expecting a second check that was never coming, or wondering why a retail job's single final payment doesn't match the two-check rhythm of an insurance claim.

When a homeowner pays their deductible or a supplement by card, the deposit that hits your bank account is the gross amount minus the payment processor's fee. If you post only the net deposit against the customer's invoice, the invoice never fully closes and the fee never shows up as an expense. Split the transaction: the full invoice amount goes to Accounts Receivable, and the difference between that and the net deposit goes to a merchant fee expense account.

How do I record an insurance claim payment in QuickBooks?

Record the full contract price as one invoice for the job, then apply each check (the first ACV payment, the deductible, any supplement, and the released depreciation) as a separate partial payment against that same invoice, matched to the bank deposit by date and amount. Don't create separate income entries for each check.

Is recoverable depreciation income?

No, it isn't new income by itself. It's the second payment toward the total contract price you already recorded as the job's revenue when the work was invoiced. When the carrier releases it, apply it against the same job's invoice rather than posting it as a fresh sale.

How do I record the homeowner's deductible?

The deductible is the homeowner's portion of the same total job price the insurance company is also paying toward. Record it as a customer payment applied to that job's invoice, alongside the insurance checks, rather than as a separate, smaller job or a discount.

How do I job cost a roofing job in QuickBooks?

Use QuickBooks classes, projects, or job-linked customers to tag materials, subcontractor labor, dumpster fees, and permit costs to each specific roof, then compare the total cost against the job's contract price once it's complete to see the actual gross margin.

How do I import a bank statement into QuickBooks?

Upload the PDF bank or card statement to the converter at the top of this page and download the .qbo file it generates. In QuickBooks Desktop, import it through File, Utilities, Import, Web Connect; in QuickBooks Online, upload the file from the Banking tab.

Are roofing subcontractors 1099 in QuickBooks?

Most subcontracted install crews are 1099-NEC contractors, and for payments made in 2026 or later the federal reporting threshold is $2,000 per contractor per year. QuickBooks can track running totals paid to each subcontractor, though the actual worker classification depends on the IRS control test, which a CPA can confirm on close calls.