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Multi-entity consolidation
Stop consolidating multiple companies by spreadsheet.
More users & roles
Past QBO's user limits, with real permissions.
Why contractors move up to IES.
Real job costing & WIP
Cost codes, change orders, retainage, WIP by product.
Approval workflows
Multi-step AP and PO approvals as you scale.
AI-driven reporting
AI agents for close, cash flow, and insights.
Custom dimensions
Track by project, phase, crew, and truck at once.
The QuickBooks ceiling - signs you've hit it.
You don't need IES because it's newer. You need it when QuickBooks Online starts costing you time and clarity. The usual signals:
You run more than one entity and reconcile them by hand each month.
Your job costing lives half in QBO and half in a spreadsheet.
You've maxed out users, or people can see more than they should.
Close takes too long because consolidation is manual.
You can't get a clean, real-time picture of WIP or margin by project.
If two or more sound familiar and your north of ~ $5-7M, you've likely outgrown QBO.
What IES does for a trade contractor.
The capabilities that actually move the needle
Multi-entity management
Consolidate financials across all entities in one place, one login, one chart of accounts - with automatic intercompany eliminations instead of manual journal entries.
Advanced job costing & WIP
Committed costs, change orders with margin impact, %-complete revenue, real WIP and cost-to-complete - the reporting a project-heavy electrical, HVAC, or plumbing shop needs.
Workflow & approvals
Route AP and PO approvals by amount, vendor, or account; require estimate sign-off before proposals go out; keep committed-cost reports accurate automatically.
AI agents
AI agents that categorize transactions, monitor budgets and cash flow, flag projects drifting off-margin, and speed the monthly close - the same AI reporting direction that fits how we work.
KPIs & dimensional reporting
Pre-built and custom KPIs, multi-dimensional P&L by project type, crew, or job, and one-click sync to Excel or Google Sheets for the dashboards you live in.
Move up to IES if...
You run multiple entities
Revenue is climbing past $5-$7M
You need real WIP & job costing
You've hit QBO's user ceiling
Month-end consolidation eats days
IES or stay on QuickBooks Online?
An honest read - not everyone needs to move up.
Stay on QBO if...
One entity, under ~ $5M
Basic job profitability is enough
A handful of users
Standard reports do the job
No multi-step approvals needed
Intuit Enterprise Suite vs QuickBooks Online.
A plain read on where each one fits
Best fit
Entities & consolidation
Job costing & WIP
Dimensions
Users & permissions
Approvals & workflow
AI & automation
Reporting
Monthly cost
Intuit Enterprise Suite
Contractors past $5-7M, multi-entity or project heavy
Multiple entities, automatic consolidation with intercompany eliminations
Advanced - cost codes, committed costs, change orders, WIP, % complete
Multiple custom dimensions (project, phase, crew, truck) on one line
More users; centralized role-based access across entities
Multi-step AP, PO & estimate approval routing
AI agents for close, cash flow, categorization & insights
Consolidated, dimensional, project reports; Excel/Sheets sync
Higher; scales with entities, users & features
QuickBooks Online
Single-entity shops under ~$5M
One entity per subscription; consolidate manually or via add-on
Basic job/project profitability by customer or class
Class & location tracking only
Fewer users; access managed per company
Limited / basic approvals
Basic AI insights
Standard reports; limited dimensional reporting
Lower tiered pricing
Intuit Enterprise Suite
Why run IES with RDH?
Most IES partners set it up and hand you the keys. We set it up and run your finance function on it - as your fractional CFO who knows electrical, HVAC, and plumbing from the inside.
How we help you move to IES.
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Fit assessment. We review your entities, revenue, job-costing needs, and current QBO setup and give you an honest read on whether IES is worth it yet.
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Design. We map your entity structure, cost-code framework, dimensions, and approval workflows to how your shop actually runs.
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Clean & migrate. We tidy the chart of accounts and cost codes first, then move your data - no garbage-in, gabage-out.
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Configure & test. Job-costing dimensions, revenue recognition, workflows, and integrations, tested on real jobs before go-live.
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Train & go live. Role- based training for office and field, with a supported cutover.
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Run it. We stay on as your fractional CFO - close, WIP, cash and reporting - and keep the system aligned as you grow.