Cash Flow for Marine Contractors
Marine contractors lose cash to three structural gaps: government and port authority pay cycles running 60–90 days, barge and crane mobilization costs that hit before any billing milestone, and no 13-week forecast to show the gap coming. On a $5M marine project billing $400K per month with 75-day pay cycles, $1M of earned revenue is permanently in the pipeline. That capital requirement does not go away. The contractor funds it from operating cash or a line of credit — every month, on every project.
The cash flow problem for marine contractors is structural, not circumstantial. It is not bad luck or a slow client. It is the combination of government procurement schedules that pay on their timeline, not yours, plus front-loaded project costs that hit before any billing milestone triggers. Most marine contractors manage this by borrowing. The right answer is compressing the billing-to-cash gap through SOV front-loading, weekly AR follow-up on government receivables, and a 13-week forecast that shows shortfalls 8–10 weeks out instead of the week payroll is due.
Why Marine Cash Never Stays Put
Net 60–90 Is Standard. Your Costs Are Not.
Army Corps of Engineers, port authorities, and state DOTs all pay on procurement schedules. Net 60 is common. Net 90 happens on large federal contracts. On a $5M marine project billing $400K per month, a 75-day pay cycle means $1M of earned revenue permanently in the pipeline. Payroll and vendor payments don't wait 75 days. The contractor funds the gap from operating cash or a line of credit — every month. The right response is not to borrow more. It is to forecast the gap and take action 8 weeks out instead of the day payroll is due.
Barge, Crane, and Dive Team Costs Hit Before Any Billing
Positioning a crane barge, mobilizing a dive team, staging materials at a waterfront yard — all of it happens before the first billing milestone triggers. On a poorly structured SOV, mobilization cost is spread across unit prices and recovered slowly across the project life. That is a 30–60 day cash hole on every project start. The fix is structuring mobilization as a front-loaded SOV line item billed at contract execution — not absorbed into future milestones.
The Shortage Is Always Predictable. It Just Never Gets Predicted.
Every cash shortage a marine contractor experiences in November was predictable in September. Government pay cycles follow a calendar. Mobilization costs follow a project schedule. Retainage releases follow a contract. All of it is forecastable 8–13 weeks out. Most marine contractors don't build the forecast so they react to shortages instead of preventing them. A 13-week rolling cash forecast built around your government pay cycles is the single highest-leverage financial tool a marine contractor can install.
What the system looks like installed: A $25M marine GC had their entire accounting on a shared Excel file — one person managing everything including international wire transfers. After we moved them to proper systems and installed the financial operating structure, their bank balance never dropped below $1.2M. They accessed $10M in aggregate bonding. They paid out $2.6M in profit sharing. See the case study →
FLAT MONTHLY FEE. NO SURPRISES.
Two tiers based on trailing 12-month revenue. No hourly billing. No payroll. No add-ons.
- ControlQore setup and job costing structure
- Books migrated to start of last taxable year
- Full-service bookkeeping and bank reconciliations
- Monthly job cost reports
- Everything in Core Financial
- Monthly CFO advisory meeting
- Controllership and WIP reporting
- Cash forecasting and AR follow-up rhythm
- Strategic accountability
Onboarding: 60 days. Full pricing by revenue band →
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