Project Accountant

About Harker

Founded in 2010, Harker emerged as a premier upfit General Contractor in the Charlotte market. Our portfolio focuses on Class A office upfits including corporate headquarters for financial groups, institutional organizations and law firms. As well as mission critical facilities, corporate and institutional cafeterias, corporate office-building renovations and specialty projects such as building systems replacement.

Help us make great work impossible to ignore — and own a piece of it.

We’re an employee-owned company (ESOP), which means the work you do directly contributes to something you have a stake in.

The Role

This Project Accountant position is responsible for project related accounting functions, including owner and trade partner AIA billings, change orders, contract management, and collections support.

This role works closely with the construction team, subcontractors, owners and accounting team to maintain accurate project financials and supports profitable project execution.

The Project Accountant must thrive in a deadline-driven environment, effectively balancing multiple projects, deadlines, and multiple tasks simultaneously. Success in this role requires exceptional organization, strong prioritization skills, attention to detail, and the ability to consistently meet critical deadlines while maintaining a high level of accuracy and responsiveness to the project teams.

Responsibilities

Review and administer owner contracts to ensure compliance with project-specific billing requirements, payment terms, retainage provisions, contract milestones, and documentation requirements necessary for timely payment.
Prepare, track, and maintain owner change orders and change order logs, ensuring all contract modifications are accurately documented, approved, and incorporated into project financial records and billings.
Prepare and submit monthly owner billings, including AIA pay applications, schedules of values, supporting trade partner invoices, lien waivers, certified payroll documentation, and any other owner-required backup documentation. Ensure billings are accurate, complete, and submitted in accordance with contractual deadlines.
Monitor accounts receivable, retainage balances, and outstanding billings to support timely collections. Work closely with project managers and owners to resolve billing discrepancies, payment delays, and collection issues.
Collect, review, and maintain trade partner compliance documentation, including certificates of insurance, master service agreements, W-9 forms, prequalification documents, and other project-specific contractual requirements to ensure compliance before work is performed and payments are processed.
Process, track, and maintain project work orders, purchase orders, subcontract agreements, and contract modifications, ensuring project records remain current and accurately reflect approved scope and cost changes.
Review and process monthly trade partner pay applications and vendor invoices, verifying accuracy, completeness, contract compliance, lien waiver requirements, and proper cost coding prior to payment approval.
Provide monthly payment status updates to trade partners and vendors, communicating payment schedules, approval status, retainage balances, and outstanding documentation requirements while maintaining positive business relationships.

Harker Core Values

Personal Qualifications & Attributes

2+ years of accounting experience, construction experience preferred.
Experience with AIA, construction billings, retainage, and lien waivers.
Strong computer skills and familiarity with Microsoft Office Suite and accounting software.
Proven oral and written communication skills.
Demonstrates exception organization skills with the ability to manage multiple projects, deadlines, billing cycles, and competing priorities simultaneously.
Consistently meets critical monthly billing and reporting deadlines while maintaining a high level of accuracy and attention to detail.
Works effectively in a fast-paced, deadline-driven construction environment.
Possesses strong communication skills and collaborates effectively with project teams, owners, trade partners, and vendors.
Strategic thinker with a hands-on approach to problem-solving.

Benefits: