IS YOUR BUSINESS GOING UNDER OR DOES IT JUST FEEL THAT WAY?
Most subcontracting businesses that feel like they're collapsing aren't past the point of no return. What separates recoverable from not recoverable is whether the work carries viable margin, and whether there's still time to collect the AR and restructure the overhead before the obligations outrun the revenue. Most of the situations we see are recoverable, though not every one of them is.
We have seen clients sitting $1.2 million negative on the balance sheet at $3 million a year in revenue turn it around in 12 months. Some of them were paying $11,000 a week in merchant cash advance paybacks with banks that wouldn't touch them. Some of those situations got fixed and some didn't. It depends on how far gone things are and how willing you're to do the work. If the business isn't past the point of no return, though, there's a path, and the first job is finding out which side of that line you're on.
WHAT IT MEANS.
The point of no return is where debt service on existing obligations eats more gross profit than the business can produce at realistic revenue, and anything short of that's usually recoverable.
The worst outcome is a business that was recoverable and didn't get the right help in time. The second worst is spending six months trying to fix something that can't be fixed while bleeding out slowly. Either way, the first step is an honest diagnostic rather than a pitch or a proposal.
HOW TO TELL IF IT'S RECOVERABLE.
Recoverable: you have AR, it just isn't collected
If you've $150K or more in outstanding invoices that are legitimately owed and collectible, the cash exists. It's sitting in somebody else's account. Aggressive AR recovery over the next 30 days can change the picture in a hurry. This is the most common situation we walk into.
Recoverable: the work has margin, the overhead doesn't
If your jobs are making 20 to 25% gross margin while overhead runs at 35%, the business is profitable at the job level and bleeding at the overhead level. That's an overhead restructure problem. It's difficult and it isn't impossible, and fixing it doesn't require winning a single new job.
Harder: the work itself isn't profitable
If you're winning work at 8% gross margin in a trade that needs 22%, the problem isn't cash timing or overhead. It's that every job you build makes the situation worse. That calls for a harder conversation about pricing, trade selection, or where you sit in the market.
Harder: the MCA stack is bigger than monthly revenue
If monthly merchant cash advance repayments run 30 to 40% of monthly revenue, the margin compression is severe enough that operational fixes alone may not outrun the debt service. That situation needs a financial restructure conversation, not just a billing overhaul. It's still worth diagnosing, because the alternative is guessing.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN DOLLARS.
A $7.1M civil contractor was days away from merchant cash advances when we came in. Two lines of credit maxed, an SBA loan, and a personal line of credit against his house. Inside 30 days we collected $310K. Inside 90 days every line of credit and the SBA loan was paid off, and a $750K new credit facility was approved.
IF IT'S RECOVERABLE, THIS IS THE SEQUENCE.
Pull the AR aging and call every invoice over 30 days, and get a commitment to a payment date on each one. At the same time, review every active pay application and submit anything unbilled that day. Speed counts here, because every week of delay is another week of overhead running against a worse cash position.
Calculate actual overhead, meaning the real number rather than the one in the estimate, and identify every cost that can come out without stopping operations. Then rebuild the billing process: front load every active SOV and submit on a fixed schedule instead of when somebody gets to it. Those two moves change the direction of cash without needing a single new contract.
Run a 13 week cash forecast that maps every inflow and outflow week by week. At day 30, make the first honest assessment: is the business trending toward stability or still getting worse? That answer decides whether the next 60 days are a turnaround or a different conversation entirely.
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, and no add-ons.
Pricing
| 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.
