THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS EVERY SUB NEEDS.
A commercial subcontractor needs four reports, not one: the profit and loss statement for whether the work made money, the balance sheet for whether the business is sound, the cash flow forecast for whether you can make payroll, and the WIP schedule for whether your jobs are on track. Most subs read only the P&L, which is why they get surprised.
There are four questions and four reports that answer them. Did the work make money, is the business sound today, can you cover payroll through the next quarter, and are the open jobs tracking to plan. The P&L answers the first one and nothing else, which is why an owner reading only the P&L keeps getting blindsided. The balance sheet decides how big your jobs can get. The forecast decides whether you sleep in February. The WIP schedule is the one most subs have never produced, and it's the only one that catches a fading job while the work is still running.
WHAT IT MEANS.
A subcontractor's financial statements are four reports, the profit and loss statement, the balance sheet, the cash flow forecast, and the WIP schedule, each answering a different question about the business.
The four reports aren't four separate exercises, they feed each other in order. The WIP schedule feeds the P&L as open jobs become period revenue and cost. The P&L flows to the balance sheet as net profit becomes equity. The balance sheet sets working capital, which drives the cash flow forecast and your bonding capacity, so the four together are four views of one business rather than four opinions about it.
WHAT EACH ONE ANSWERS.
Profit and loss statement, did the work make money over this period
The P&L summarizes revenue, direct cost, gross profit, overhead, and net profit over a month, a quarter, or a year. It answers whether the business made money during that span. Its limit is that it averages every job together, so it can't tell you which jobs made the money, which is why it has to be read with job costing underneath it.
Balance sheet, is the business sound right now
The balance sheet is a snapshot of assets, liabilities, and equity at a single point in time. Bonding companies and lenders read it first, focusing on working capital, retention receivable, and billing position, to decide how much risk to extend to you. It's the report that sets how big your jobs can get.
Cash flow forecast, can you make payroll over the next quarter
A 13 week cash flow forecast maps expected cash in against cash out, week by week, built on when the money reaches the bank rather than when it was earned. It catches the distance between profitable work and an empty bank account, which is the one thing a P&L can't show you. Every subcontractor who has been profitable and broke at the same time was missing this report.
WIP schedule, are the jobs in progress on track
The work in progress schedule shows each open job's contract value, cost incurred, percent complete, billings, and projected profit. It reveals over and underbillings and a fading margin before closeout. It's the report most subcontractors never produce, and the one that catches profit fade in time to do something about it.
RUN ON FOUR, NOT ONE.
Most subcontractors produce a P&L because their bookkeeper or CPA does it for them. Far fewer produce a WIP schedule, because it requires job costing and a monthly cost to complete that generic accounting doesn't provide. That's the hole, and without the WIP schedule profit fade hides until closeout while over and underbillings go unmanaged.
A WIP schedule is only as good as the job cost data underneath it. The cost codes get aligned to how you estimate, so the report compares like to like rather than comparing a bid structure to an accounting structure. Build that layer first and the other three reports get more useful at the same time.
A subcontractor that produces all four reports monthly is running a financial system. One that produces only the P&L is reading the past and hoping about the future. Missing any of the four leaves a blind spot that a single good month can't cover, and it's fully operational in 60 days for subcontractors doing $1M to $12M.
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, and no add-ons.
| 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.
