TRADE SERVICE · ACCESS & SPECIALTY CLUSTER

FRACTIONAL CFO FOR SCAFFOLDING CONTRACTORS.

QUICK ANSWER

We run the finance function for scaffolding 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.

Scaffolding sells three things in one quote, so we quote and cost-code all three separately. Erection and dismantle labor is front and back loaded, the rental stream earns by the week while the scaffold stands, and engineering is its own product where complexity requires it, and a blended price can't show which one leaked when the dismantle date slid. We build a fleet utilization report and component tracking next, because the fleet is the capital and components standing in the yard burn carry at rental-market rates around 1.5 percent of value a month. Then we paper the rental meter, meaning handover, every extension, and off-hire in writing, since at commercial rates above $5,000 a month an undocumented month is a real check nobody cashed.

BY JOSH LUEBKERPublished 2026-08-06Updated 2026-08-06
WHERE SCAFFOLDING LOSES MONEY

THE THREE THINGS THAT DRAIN THE CASH.

LEAK 01

The Blended Quote

E&D labor, rental weeks, and engineering are three revenue streams with three cost behaviors, and a blended price can't show which one leaked when the dismantle date slid. Quote and cost-code all three.

LEAK 02

The Idle Yard

The fleet is the capital, utilization is the P&L, and components standing in the yard burn carry at rental-market rates of roughly 1.5 percent of value monthly. Component tracking and a fleet utilization report are the trade's core statements.

LEAK 03

The Unread Meter

Standing scaffold earns by the week only if handover, extension, and off-hire dates are papered. At commercial rates of $5,000-plus a month, an undocumented month is a real check nobody cashed. (cfos-cash-flow-cycle-system) ---

HOW SPM FIXES IT

WHAT WE CHANGE.

Three revenue streams in one quote (E&D labor, rental, engineering)
What the market pays (the $22,400 forum shock)
Fleet utilization (the yard is the P&L)
The standing-scaffold meter (rental billing discipline)
Inspection, tags, and the liability the fee carries
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.

Scaffolding contractors at $1M to $5M net about 6 percent on the SPM 48-trade benchmark dataset, rising to 8.5 percent by $25M to $50M; the CFOS target at $1M to $5M is 10 percent. The leaks are blended quotes, idle fleet, and standing scaffold nobody rebilled. 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 SCAFFOLDING 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.