THE FINANCIAL CHALLENGES A CONSTRUCTION CFO SOLVES.
The four hardest financial challenges for commercial subcontractors are cash that lags profit, job costing that doesn't match the estimate, overhead nobody has calculated, and billing that trails the work. A construction CFO exists to fix those four, which is what separates the role from a bookkeeper or a CPA.
This isn't a bookkeeper who went to college, and it isn't a CPA who files the return. The role exists because commercial subcontractors run into four financial problems that generic accounting never touches. Cash runs dry while the income statement shows a profit. Job costs don't line up with how the work was bid, so nobody can tell a winner from a loser. Overhead is a number the owner guessed at and then bid on, usually wrong by half. Billing trails the work by weeks, which turns finished jobs into money you're owed. All four are fixable by somebody who knows how construction runs.
WHAT IT MEANS.
A construction CFO is the financial role that owns cash forecasting, job cost alignment, the real overhead rate, and billing cadence for a construction company.
WHAT BREAKS THE BUSINESS.
You're profitable on paper and short in the bank
A subcontractor can win every bid, perform the work, and still run out of cash, because profit and cash are two different things. Retention is held, pay apps are paid 45 to 90 days out, and payroll runs every week regardless. A construction CFO builds a forecast that maps cash in against cash out week by week, so the squeeze is seen coming instead of discovered on a Friday.
You can't tell which jobs make money
Estimators think in phases and timelines, while bookkeepers think in line items. When the two don't line up, the estimate and the actuals can't be compared, and the owner can't tell a winning job from a losing one. A construction CFO rebuilds the cost codes so every dollar in the estimate maps to a dollar in job costing, and variance surfaces weekly.
You're bidding a number you guessed at
Most subcontractors bid 10% overhead because that's what they have always heard. The real number is often 25% to 40%. Every job bid at 10% overhead while spending 30% loses 20% before it starts. A construction CFO calculates the real overhead from your own financials and loads it into every bid, so the price reflects what the business costs to run.
Completed work sits as uncollected float
Work gets done in the field weeks before it gets billed, and slow billing turns finished jobs into money you're owed instead of money in the bank. A construction CFO installs a billing routine that runs on a schedule, sends pay apps on time, and chases retention as a tracked receivable rather than an afterthought. The work was done in June, so the money shouldn't be a July problem.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN DOLLARS.
A verified civil client at $6.7M in revenue cut overhead from 30% to 17% and cleared a maxed line of credit in 60 days. The field work didn't change. The overhead rate was wrong, every bid had the wrong number, and fixing the rate fixed the pricing.
THE SYSTEM BEHIND THE ROLE.
A construction CFO doesn't give you advice and walk out the door. The role installs a system, and at SPM The Construction CFO that system is CFOS, the Construction Financial Operating System. Every one of the four challenges gets a specific piece of that system pointed at it, and the piece runs every month whether anybody feels like it or not.
THE OUTPUTS, NAMED.
FLAT MONTHLY FEE. NO SURPRISES.
Three tiers, priced by your trailing twelve month revenue. Which one you're in depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. 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 do the bookkeeping and the controllership as well. Your office stops answering coding questions and stops fixing a reconciliation that will not balance on the last day of the month.
We do the books. No payroll.
Every job shows its margin while it is still open.
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.
