Accountant & Project Cost Controller

About the role

Mignon Design Build is seeking an Accountant & Project Cost Controller to oversee accounting, expense tracking, project costing, and financial reporting for its construction/design‑build operations and digital marketing agency. This role goes beyond basic bookkeeping, requiring a sharp eye for cost analysis and profitability across multiple projects.

Key responsibilities

• Manage daily bookkeeping in Zoho Books, entering supplier bills, receipts, invoices, payments and company expenses.
• Reconcile bank accounts, credit cards, petty cash and supplier balances.
• Maintain clean financial records for multiple business entities using Zoho tags/projects to track costs by company, project, trade, supplier and category.
• Track construction project costs including labour, materials, tools, subcontractors, transport, permits and site expenses.
• Prepare weekly cost reports showing spending by project and category, and compare budgets versus actual costs.
• Analyze supplier pricing, labour costs and cost per square foot/metre across projects to identify savings.
• Monitor petty cash given to site staff and flag missing receipts or unexplained balances.
• Track payroll, staff salaries, advances, deductions, leave balances and visa‑related costs.
• Organise documents for UAE corporate tax, VAT and compliance; coordinate with external accountants or tax consultants.
• Assist in organising Canadian company accounting records for review by a Canadian CPA.
• Produce simple weekly management reports covering cash spent, payments due, missing receipts, project costs and financial issues.
• Research and flag potential cost‑saving opportunities, supplier rebates, financing options or other financial improvements.

Required profile

• 2–4 years of accounting or bookkeeping experience.
• Experience with Zoho Books preferred; QuickBooks, Xero or similar acceptable if able to learn Zoho quickly.
• Strong Excel or Google Sheets skills.
• Background in construction, fit‑out, contracting, real estate or project‑based accounting is strongly preferred.
• Good understanding of UAE invoices, receipts, petty cash, supplier payments, VAT basics and corporate tax documentation.
• Ability to organise messy receipts and expense records into a clean system.
• Comfortable working in a small, fast‑moving company.

Required skills

• Zoho Books
• QuickBooks
• Xero
• Microsoft Excel
• Google Sheets