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TL;DR: SPM provides fractional CFO services for structural steel contractors doing $1M-$12M in commercial new construction. Job costing by connections per crew per day and tons erected in ControlQore, overhead rate including all real costs, WIP reporting monthly, and AR collection system that clears the backlog in 30 days. Most structural steel clients find their first month's AR collection exceeds the annual SPM fee.
Structural Steel
The CFO for
Structural Steel Contractors.
You bid by the connections. 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 Structural Steel Margins
Most structural steel 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 connections per crew per day and tons erected was running over estimate for three weeks and nobody knew it until closeout.
01
Fabrication Deposit Cash Flow Gap
Your steel fabricator requires 40% deposit on a $280,000 structural package before fabrication begins. That is $112,000 out the door before a single piece of steel is on site. The SOV has one structural steel line item at 100% billed upon completion. You fund the fabrication deposit from operating cash for 8-12 weeks before the first billing event.
02
Connection Count Variance Not Tracked
You estimated bolted connections at 14 per crew-day on standard moment connections. Field conditions - access restrictions, elevation, connection type variability - produced 9 connections per crew-day on the upper floors. That 36% production shortfall was not visible until closeout because connection count was not tracked by elevation and connection type.
03
Erection Sequence Changes Not Billed
The GC revised the erection sequence twice to accommodate other trades. Each revision required crane repositioning, re-rigging, and schedule adjustment. Those crane hours - $4,200 in additional cost - were not submitted as change orders because the sequence changes were verbal and undocumented.
Prevailing wage note: Structural Steel 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 structural steel contractors do?
A fractional CFO for structural steel contractors builds the job costing structure aligned to the estimate - cost codes by connections per crew per day and tons erected - 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 structural steel contractors use?
Structural Steel Contractors at $1M-$3M typically run 13-15% 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 structural steel 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 structural steel contractors have all three simultaneously. SPM fixes all three in the first 60 days.
What gross margin should structural steel contractors target?
Structural Steel Contractors at $1M-$12M in commercial new construction typically target 23-28% 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.
