SIDING JOBS LOOK PROFITABLE. THE COST CODES SAY OTHERWISE.
Siding 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 siding 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 siding 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.
Cladding hangs outside: wind days stop lifts and swing stages, cold windows constrain some products, and multi-story access (lifts, scaffolding, swing stages) is a priced logistics problem that separates commercial siding economics from residential squares.
WHAT MOVES MARGIN IN THIS TRADE.
The Seam That Leaks Later
WRB, flashing, and integration scope seams surface as leak claims years after cover-up, and the last trade to touch the wall explains first. Written boundaries and cover-up photos are the cladding contractor's decade-long testimony.
The Warranty Gate
Manufacturer installation specs are warranty conditions: clearances, gapping, and fastener schedules installed outside the book kill the product warranty and leave the installer holding the tail. Spec-compliance documentation is the QC that pays.
The Field-Wall Illusion
Squares of field wall set the pace the bid remembers; corners, trim, and transitions set the pace the job actually runs. Production tracked by detail class is the difference between a 5.5 percent floor and the levers above it. (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.
SIDING BENCHMARKS.
Siding 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.
