TRADE SERVICE · CIVIL & EARTHWORK CLUSTER

FRACTIONAL CFO FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION CONTRACTORS.

QUICK ANSWER

We run the finance function for environmental remediation subcontractors doing $1M to $12M: job costing aligned to the way you estimate, a 13 week cash flow forecast, monthly WIP, and a CFO in the room every month. Pricing starts at $1,900 per month.

In remediation the contingency is the estimate, so that's where we start. Published cost analysis puts scope contingency at 10 to 25 percent of direct cost and bid contingency at 5 to 15 percent, and under 10 percent combined on a poorly characterized site is an underscoped proposal rather than a competitive one. We structure contingency to characterization quality, choose unit-rate over lump-sum where the Phase II is thin, and bill manifest-complete so no load leaves without the paper that substantiates it. We also size the reserve behind pollution liability, because CERCLA is strict, retroactive, and joint and several, and one published contractor scenario carried penalties above $6.1 million.

BY JOSH LUEBKERPublished 2026-08-06Updated 2026-08-06
WHERE ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION LOSES MONEY

THE THREE THINGS THAT DRAIN THE CASH.

LEAK 01

The Strict-Liability Shadow

CERCLA reaches the contractor who releases what it was hired to contain, and one crushed-drum scenario carried $6.1 million in penalties. Pollution liability coverage, notification protocols, and incident reserves are the trade's license to operate.

LEAK 02

The Honest Unknown

Under 10 percent combined contingency on a poorly characterized site is underscoping, not competitiveness, and mismatched technology re-remediates at 2 to 3x. Contingency structured to characterization quality is the estimate telling the truth.

LEAK 03

The Manifest Trail

Disposal class sets the gate rate, the manifest substantiates the bill, and a load without its paper is a liability in transit. Manifest-complete billing is the trade's version of documentation-complete. (cfos-job-profitability-system) ---

HOW SPM FIXES IT

WHAT WE CHANGE.

Working inside strict liability (the $6.1 million drum)
The contingency IS the estimate
Disposal is the job (manifests, gates, and haul math)
Site friction premiums
Who pays, and how slowly (funding-source cash curves)
PRICING

FLAT MONTHLY FEE. NO SURPRISES.

Priced by trailing 12 month revenue. No hourly billing. No payroll. No add-ons.

Last 12 months revenueMonthly fee
Up to $1M$1,900 to $2,900
$1M to $3.5M$2,600 to $3,900
$3.5M to $6.5M$3,800 to $5,700
$6.5M to $9.5M$5,100 to $7,100
$9.5M to $12.5M$6,100 to $8,500
$12.5M to $15.5M$7,400 to $11,000
$15.5M to $18.5M$9,400 to $13,500
$18.5M+Quoted individually

Range reflects the three tiers below. Which one you're in depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. No payroll. No hidden line items.

Core

You stop guessing.

You get the CFO work. Job costing built against the way you estimate, a 13 week cash forecast, monthly WIP, and a meeting every month that ends in decisions rather than a report.

Your bookkeeper keeps doing the books.

Executive

You stop touching the books.

Everything in Core, and we run the bookkeeping and the controllership as well. Nobody in your office is answering coding questions or chasing a reconciliation at month end.

We do the books. No payroll.

Strategic

Every job shows its margin while it's still running.

Everything in Executive, plus the job costing and WIP platform set up, loaded with your cost codes, and managed for you every month. You never have to learn it.

We do the job costing.

COMMON QUESTIONS

FREQUENTLY ASKED.

Remediation contractors at $1M to $5M net about 6.5 percent on the SPM 48-trade benchmark dataset, rising to 9.5 percent by $25M to $50M; the CFOS target at $1M to $5M is 10 percent. The margin lives or dies on contingency honesty, disposal-class discipline, and the insurance and protocols that keep strict liability outside the fence. Every net profit figure here is stated before taxes, the same basis CFMA reports on, so the two are directly comparable.
Three tiers, and which one you are in depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. Core is where you stop guessing: job costing built against the way you estimate, a 13 week cash forecast, monthly WIP, and a monthly meeting that ends in decisions, while your bookkeeper keeps doing the books. Executive is where you stop touching the books, because we run the bookkeeping and the controllership as well. Strategic is where every job shows its margin while it is still running, because the job costing and WIP platform is set up and managed for you. No payroll. No scope gaps.
Sixty days. We migrate your books back to the start of your last taxable year, set up ControlQore, and build your job costing structure from scratch. Fully operational in two months.
ControlQore is the job costing and WIP platform we use for all clients. Purpose-built for contractors, more affordable than legacy tools, and AI-infused. We set it up and manage it, so you do not have to learn it.
A bookkeeper records what happened. We tell you what it means and what to do about it. We align job costing to your estimates, track WIP monthly, and hold strategic accountability meetings so problems get fixed and not merely documented.
$10.7M+
Client AR Recovered Since 2023
48
Active Trade Specializations
60 DAYS
Average Onboarding Time
WHAT THIS TIES INTO
Josh Luebker, The Construction CFO
Josh Luebker
FRACTIONAL CFO · THE CONSTRUCTION CFO

Former commercial construction project manager and master electrician. Managed 150+ projects worth more than $2.1B combined, with individual jobs from $50,000 to $300M, including data centers, military bases, hospitals, and high-rises. Now fractional CFO for commercial subcontractors doing $1M to $12M through Sulphur Prairie Management.About Josh  | LinkedIn

DO YOU KNOW YOUR TRUE MARGIN ON ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION WORK?

Bring one job. We will show you the difference between what you bid and what it cost.

You don't hire a CFO because it's safe, you do it because the real risk isn't having one.
Book a 20 minute diagnostic

20 minutes. No sales pressure. We will tell you exactly what's broken before we talk about anything else.

OR START WITH THE WORKBOOKS. NO CALL NEEDED.