BRIDGE JOBS LOOK PROFITABLE. THE BALANCE SHEET IS STILL THIN.
Bridge subcontractors run out of cash for reasons specific to how the work is built and billed, on jobs that are making money. The three that cost the most in this trade are below, taken from bridge contractor research. Most sit at 75 to 90 days from finishing work to holding the money, and 45 days is achievable.
Cash and profit are measured on different clocks. Your profit and loss records revenue when you invoice and costs when you incur them, while the bank account only knows what cleared. Labour goes out weekly and collects 45 to 90 days later, minus retention. That distance is what a growing, profitable bridge company funds out of pocket, and it widens as you grow. The specific things that widen it in this trade are what the rest of this page is about.
WHERE IT LEAKS OUT.
Bridges over water inherit the marine file's permit calendar: USACE Section 404/401 authorizations, in-water work windows for fish passage and flows, and cofferdam/causeway falsework whose seasonal exposure prices like temporary marine construction. A missed window slides foundation work a season; the schedule is the permit's hostage.
WHAT MOVES MARGIN IN THIS TRADE.
The Surety Ceiling
Bonding capacity sets the trade's growth limit, and capacity is a function of statements the surety believes. WIP accuracy and retained equity are bridge-market business development.
The Window Hostage
In-water permits and work windows own the foundation schedule, and a missed window slides a season. Mobilization plans built around the permit calendar, with slide contingency priced, are the trade's schedule insurance.
The Invisible Structure
Falsework, cofferdams, and causeways are engineered projects inside the project that demobilize as pure cost. Temporary works carried as first-class cost codes keep the bid from donating them. (cfos-job-profitability-system) ---
DAYS SALES OUTSTANDING.
Ninety days is weak, 45 is the target, 30 is strong. Nothing else moves cash faster.
| Position | Days | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Weak | 90 days | Roughly three months of work funded out of your own pocket. |
| Target | 45 days | Achievable on the days you control: submission timing, complete documentation, follow up in week two. |
| Strong | 30 days | Requires discipline every month, and it's the cheapest capital available to you. |
Moving from 90 days to 45 frees roughly annual revenue divided by 365, times 45 days. At $4M that's about $493,000. At $8M it's about $986,000. That money doesn't come from a bank and it costs no interest, which is why we work the cycle before discussing financing anything.
BRIDGE BENCHMARKS.
Bridge subcontractors at $1M to $5M net 7 percent, against a CFOS target of 10 percent, set at 10 percent before taxes or 3.5 points better than your trade's average at your revenue, whichever is higher. Working capital should sit at 13 percent of annual revenue, and the monthly close should finish by day 10 so the numbers can still change a decision.
FREQUENTLY ASKED.
