SITEWORK JOBS LOOK PROFITABLE. THE CASH IS STILL IN TRANSIT.
Sitework 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 sitework 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 sitework 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.
Sitework frequently contracts directly with developers, not GCs, and developer draws ride construction-loan disbursement schedules. When the lender's draw stalls, the sitework contractor's receivable stalls with it, at whatever stage the dirt happens to be.
Clearing, mass grading, utilities, and paving prep each have different cost curves inside one contract. A flat monthly percent-complete bill underfunds the early phases where the iron and the trucking concentrate.
WHAT MOVES MARGIN IN THIS TRADE.
The Lender's Leash
Developer-direct contracts pay on construction-loan draw schedules, not on production. When the draw stalls, the receivable stalls, and the sitework contractor with iron on site finances the gap. Developer credit review and draw visibility belong in the bid decision.
The Package Blur
Multi-scope contracts hide quantity variance and invite boundary drift; every undocumented "while you're out there" is production without paper. The directive log and phase-weighted billing are how a package stays a contract instead of a favor.
The Sequence Tax
Every utility crew and inspector passing through the site can idle the spread, and standby that's not coded and documented is margin donated to someone else's delay. (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.
SITEWORK BENCHMARKS.
Sitework subcontractors at $1M to $5M net 3 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.
