CIVIL: THE MOBILIZATION GAP
Crews, fuel, bond premiums, permits, temporary facilities, and equipment moves all get paid before the first pay application clears. The void runs 60 to 90 days on most commercial and public work. On a $2M dirt job that's $150K to $200K out the door before a dollar comes back.
This page covers one problem. The full picture for this trade, including the other places margin leaks, is on the civil operating system page.
WHERE THE MONEY GOES.
Covered in full in the quick answer above. The sourced numbers and what controls it are below.
THE SAME PROBLEM, WRITTEN UP.
You're contract rich but cash poor. You have millions in signed work, but not enough in the bank to pay for the fuel to get the excavators to the job site.
eBoost Partners contractor funding guide, 2025
The most dangerous part of a project is the beginning.
Axiant Partners, 2026
THE NUMBER TO MEASURE IT AGAINST.
Civil contractors run about % net profit at $1M to $5M, rising to roughly 10% at $5M to $10M. The CFOS target at $1M to $5M is10%, set at 10 percent before taxes or 3.5 points better than your trade's average at your revenue, whichever is higher. A problem like this one lives in the distance between those two figures rather than in a loss on any single job.
Gross margin over the same bands runs % to 23%, against a CFOS target of 10%.
THE SYSTEM THAT FIXES THIS.
Billing, documentation and collections, which is where the days hide.
FREQUENTLY ASKED.
