FRACTIONAL CFO FOR FIRE ALARM CONTRACTORS.
We run the finance function for fire alarm 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.
Fire alarm bills against a signature the contractor doesn't control, so the whole finance function is built around the acceptance test. One hundred percent of devices get tested with the inspector watching, on his calendar, and a failed first test buys a retest on his timeline while the final milestone waits. We put pre-test protocols and integration-readiness checks on the schedule as cash tools, because elevator recall, HVAC shutdown, and door hardware being incomplete becomes your failed test. Then we split the recurring book out, since monitoring and NFPA 72 inspection contracts transact in the adjacent security market at roughly 28 to 60 times monthly recurring revenue and you can't manage that asset inside an install P&L.
THE THREE THINGS THAT DRAIN THE CASH.
The Marshal's Calendar
One hundred percent of devices, witnessed, on the AHJ's schedule: the acceptance test is the trade's paycheck gate, and a failed first test buys a retest on the inspector's timeline. Pre-test protocols and integration-readiness checks are cash-flow tools.
The Certification Ladder
NICET levels decide who can design, program, and test, and the ladder is scarce. Certification cost recovered in burdened rates is the floor; the scarcity premium above it's the market.
The Recurring Book
Monitoring and inspection contracts are the trade's compounding asset, priced by the adjacent market at recurring-revenue multiples. Install-only shops ride the benchmark average; recurring-mix operators leave it. (cfos-trade-benchmarking-system) ---
WHAT WE CHANGE.
FLAT MONTHLY FEE. NO SURPRISES.
Priced by trailing 12 month revenue. No hourly billing. No payroll. No add-ons.
| Last 12 months revenue | Monthly 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.
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.
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.
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.
FREQUENTLY ASKED.
