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TL;DR: SPM provides fractional CFO services for drywall contractors doing $1M-$12M in commercial new construction. Job costing by square feet by board type and floor in ControlQore, overhead rate including all real costs, WIP reporting monthly, and AR collection system that clears the backlog in 30 days. Most drywall clients find their first month's AR collection exceeds the annual SPM fee.
Drywall
The CFO for
Drywall Contractors.
You bid by the square. Your margin lives or dies in the field every week. If you find out a job is losing money at closeout it is too late. We make it visible in week two.
Published: May 2026 · Updated: May 2026
The Problem
What Kills Drywall Margins
Most drywall do not know a job is losing money until it is done. The estimate looked right. The crew was working. But the actual cost per square feet by board type and floor was running over estimate for three weeks and nobody knew it until closeout.
01
No Floor-by-Floor Labor Tracking
You bid 5/8-inch type-X at $1.85/SF labor installed. You have no visibility into whether floors 1-3 came in at estimate while floors 4-6 are running at $2.40/SF due to MEP coordination delays and rework. At closeout you know the job was off. You do not know where.
02
MEP Conflict Rework Not Documented
The mechanical contractor rerouted ductwork through the wall cavity on floors 3 and 4. You removed and reinstalled 2,400 SF of drywall to accommodate the change. That rework - $8,600 in labor and material - was not submitted as a change order because the rerouting was not formally documented as a scope change.
03
Board Type Mix Variance From Bid
The architect substituted moisture-resistant board in two additional corridor locations not in the original specification. Material cost increased $7,200. Installation labor increased $3,800. Neither was captured as a change order.
Prevailing wage note: Drywall contractors doing DOT and municipal work have additional fringe benefit requirements of $12-$20/hour above base wages. SPM calculates separate overhead rates for prevailing wage and private work. Prevailing wage CFO services →
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a CFO for drywall contractors do?
A fractional CFO for drywall contractors builds the job costing structure aligned to the estimate - cost codes by square feet by board type and floor - so actual cost per unit is visible weekly against estimated cost per unit. They manage WIP reporting, overhead rate calculation, billing calendar, and monthly cash flow. The result: you know which jobs are winning and which are losing before you cannot do anything about it. All SPM clients run on ControlQore - purpose-built for construction job costing at $1M-$12M.
What overhead rate should drywall contractors use?
Drywall Contractors at $1M-$3M typically run 11-13% overhead. The most common errors are missing owner compensation at market rate and not including equipment depreciation or vehicle fleet in the SG&A calculation. Each of those understates the real overhead rate and underprices every bid.
What are the most common cash flow problems for drywall contractors?
Three consistent problems: schedule of values that underbills early phases which are the most cash-intensive work, overhead rate below actual because ownership costs are not fully included, and AR sitting uncollected at 45+ days with no follow-up system. Most drywall contractors have all three simultaneously. SPM fixes all three in the first 60 days.
What gross margin should drywall contractors target?
Drywall Contractors at $1M-$12M in commercial new construction typically target 19-24% gross margin. Margin below the lower end of that range usually indicates a markup problem, an overhead rate understatement, or job costing that is not capturing all direct costs accurately.
Do you handle payroll?
No. SPM does not handle payroll. We have vetted partners including prevailing wage and Davis-Bacon integrations that connect directly with ControlQore at additional cost.
How long does onboarding take?
60 days. We migrate your books to the start of your last taxable year, build your ControlQore job costing structure, and get you fully operational in two months.
What software do you use?
All SPM clients run on ControlQore - purpose-built for construction job costing and WIP reporting at $1M-$12M. More capable than QuickBooks for job costing, more affordable than Sage. We set it up and manage it.
Do I need clean books to start?
No. Most clients come with messy books and no job costing. That is exactly what onboarding is for.
