FRACTIONAL CFO FOR PAINTING CONTRACTORS.
We run the finance function for painting 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.
Painting is labor with a thin material line on top, so crew production per hour is nearly the whole margin equation. Interior work priced $2 to $6 a square foot in 2026 and exteriors $1.50 to $4, and the entire spread between those bounds is prep condition, ceiling height, and crew efficiency, which means a contractor without production history is quoting a range rather than a price. We walk surface conditions before the bid and code prep separately from finish, because the hours before the paint are the job. Then we negotiate line-item retention release, since painting finishes last and a 10 percent hold is double the 5 percent net before taxes that a typical painting contractor earns.
THE THREE THINGS THAT DRAIN THE CASH.
The Last-Trade Hold
Painting finishes last, so the painter waits on everyone's punch list for a retainage release that's larger than the trade's 5 percent net margin. Line-item release language is the counter-lever, and most painters never ask for it.
The Punch That Never Ends
Closeout pressure converts new scope into "touch-ups." Without a punch-versus-change-order log and photo documentation, the painter repaints the building's last month for free.
The Production Equation
Labor is nearly the whole cost, so untracked crew production per hour is untracked margin. The spread between $2 and $6 per square foot is prep, height, and efficiency, and only tracked history prices it. (cfos-job-profitability-system) ---
WHAT WE CHANGE.
FLAT MONTHLY FEE. NO SURPRISES.
Priced by trailing 12 month revenue. No hourly billing. No payroll. The one-time onboarding fee is right here in the table.
| Last 12 months revenue | Monthly fee | One-time onboarding |
|---|---|---|
| Up to $1M | $1,900 to $2,900 | $1,000 |
| $1M to $3.5M | $2,600 to $3,900 | $1,500 |
| $3.5M to $6.5M | $3,800 to $5,700 | $3,000 |
| $6.5M to $9.5M | $5,100 to $7,100 | $4,500 |
| $9.5M to $12.5M | $6,100 to $8,500 | $6,000 |
| $12.5M to $15.5M | $7,400 to $11,000 | $7,500 |
| $15.5M to $18.5M | $9,400 to $13,500 | $9,000 |
| $18.5M+ | Quoted individually | Quoted individually |
The onboarding fee covers migrating your books back to the start of your last taxable year and getting you fully operational in 60 days. It's billed once, with your first invoice. It's the same for all three tiers. Your first month is prorated, and your monthly engagement starts on the first of the first full month.
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. The onboarding fee is right here in the table.
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 and never in a report.
Your bookkeeper still does the books.
You stop touching the books.
Everything in Core, and we run the bookkeeping and the controllership as well. Your office stops answering coding questions and stops chasing a reconciliation on the last day of the month.
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 books, the job costing, and the software. No payroll.
FREQUENTLY ASKED.
