BRIDGE JOBS LOOK PROFITABLE. THE BALANCE SHEET IS STILL THIN.
Bridge subcontractors have no cash left 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 are 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 have the same permit calendar as marine work: USACE Section 404/401 authorizations, in-water work windows for fish passage and flows, and cofferdam/causeway falsework priced like temporary marine construction for its seasonal exposure. A missed window moves foundation work a season. The permit controls your schedule.
WHAT MOVES MARGIN IN THIS TRADE.
The Surety Ceiling
Your bonding capacity sets how big you can grow. It depends on statements the surety believes. In the bridge market, an accurate WIP and retained equity are how you win more work.
The Window Hostage
In-water permits and work windows set the foundation schedule. Miss a window and the work moves a season. Plan mobilization around the permit calendar and price a contingency for the slide. That's your schedule insurance.
The Invisible Structure
Falsework, cofferdams and causeways are engineered projects inside the project, and when they come out they're pure cost. Give temporary works their own cost codes so the bid doesn't give them away.
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 | You can get here on the days you control. Bill on time, send complete paperwork, and follow up in week two. |
| Strong | 30 days | Takes work every month. It's the cheapest money you can get. |
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 costs no interest and needs no bank. So we fix billing and collections before we talk about financing.
BRIDGE BENCHMARKS.
Bridge subcontractors at $1M to $5M net 7 percent, against the CFOS net profit target, set at your trade's net profit average at your revenue plus 3.5 points, never below 10 percent, before taxes. The working capital target is 13 percent of annual revenue, and the monthly close should finish by day 10 so the numbers can still change a decision.
FREQUENTLY ASKED.
