EIFS AND STUCCO JOBS LOOK PROFITABLE. THE CASH IS STILL IN TRANSIT.
EIFS and Stucco 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 EIFS and stucco 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 EIFS and stucco 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.
Base coats, brown coats and finish coats each have temperature and moisture windows. Three-coat stucco adds cure days between coats that EIFS shortens. Cold snaps and rain change the calendar.
WHAT MOVES MARGIN IN THIS TRADE.
The Sealed-System Tail
EIFS installed wrong holds water in the wall. The trade's litigation history goes back to 1995, with remediation bills of $15,000 to $40,000 per house. Detail-level QC documentation and a warranty reserve are the price of selling a sealed system. Count them as part of the work.
The Cure Clock
Coats cure on temperature's schedule. The GC's schedule doesn't change that. Bill per coat and document weather delays, and a three-coat winter stays a cash plan with no surprises.
The Detail Donation
Field walls price per square foot. Quoins, bands and trim price per linear foot of fuss. A bid that rates decoration at field-wall numbers gives the architecture away for free.
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.
EIFS AND STUCCO BENCHMARKS.
EIFS and Stucco subcontractors at $1M to $5M net 8 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.
