MASONRY JOBS LOOK PROFITABLE. THE BALANCE SHEET IS STILL THIN.
Masonry 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 masonry 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 masonry 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.
Mortar cure has temperature floors. Winter work means heated enclosures, ground thawing, admixtures, and slower rates, or it means idle crews. Northern contractors either price a winter premium or eat one.
WHAT MOVES MARGIN IN THIS TRADE.
The Access Tax
Scaffold, fall protection, and lifts add up to 40 percent to labor cost on elevated work, and scaffold premiums run 50 to 100 percent of labor for stages above 10 feet. Access is a second job inside every job; unpriced, it's a donation.
The Lay-Rate Spread
Crews range from 200 to 1,000 bricks a day depending on complexity. Bidding the fast day and building the slow day converts labor variance straight into lost margin, and labor is the biggest line in the trade.
The Material Bleed
Standard waste runs 8 to 10 percent and complex work reaches 15. An estimate carrying 5 percent waste on a 12 percent job leaks the difference from every pallet, and nobody sees it without variance tracking. (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.
MASONRY BENCHMARKS.
Masonry 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.
