DBE, MBE, AND WBE FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS.
Certification opens bid opportunities that non-certified competitors can't reach, including set-aside contracts, GC utilization goals, and public agency supplier diversity programs. It also brings a documentation load: three years of business and personal tax returns, current financial statements, personal financial statements for every owner, an equipment and asset list, and documentation of ownership percentages. Most eligible subcontractors who never certify point at that paperwork as the reason, and the paperwork is largely the same set of documents a well managed back office already maintains.
Certification is a financial decision as much as a compliance one. The value of it depends on the markets you serve and on which public agencies and GCs operate in your geography, because a designation nobody in your area writes utilization goals for buys you nothing. Once certified, the obligation goes the other direction: annual recertification, compliance reporting, and a live check on whether your revenue is rising toward the size standard. Growing past a size standard doesn't erase a certification, but it does need planning before it happens rather than after.
WHAT IT MEANS.
DBE, MBE, or WBE certification is a Disadvantaged, Minority, or Women Business Enterprise designation that opens specific bid opportunities and satisfies GC utilization goals on public projects, in exchange for financial reporting requirements, size standards, and ongoing compliance obligations.
The documentation required for a certification application overlaps almost completely with the documentation a subcontractor should already have on file. Three years of returns, current statements, personal financial statements, an asset list, and ownership documentation are the same package a surety and a bank ask for. Kept current year round, the application stops being a project and becomes a submission.
WHY ELIGIBLE SUBS NEVER CERTIFY.
You qualify but the process looks complicated
DBE, MBE, and WBE certification processes require real financial documentation: tax returns, financial statements, personal financial statements, and documentation of ownership and control. Most eligible subcontractors who haven't certified cite the paperwork burden as the reason they haven't. That documentation is largely the same documentation a properly maintained back office already produces every month.
You don't know whether you meet the size standards
DBE certification under the federal program requires both a personal net worth cap, $1.32 million as of 2024 excluding certain assets, and an average annual gross receipts limit, $30.72 million for most construction. State MBE and WBE programs have their own size standards, which differ from the federal ones. Meeting the ownership and control requirements is only part of the analysis, because the size standards have to be satisfied as well.
Your certification is at risk from financial changes
Once certified, annual recertification or compliance reporting is required every year. If revenue grows above the size standard the certification is at risk, and if the ownership structure changes the certification has to be updated. Most certified contractors don't actively manage their status against their financial trajectory, so they find out at renewal rather than in advance.
WHAT GETS MAINTAINED.
Applications require three years of personal and business tax returns, current financial statements, personal financial statements for all owners, a list of equipment and assets, and documentation of ownership percentages. SPM maintains the business financial documentation year round rather than assembling it at application time. That removes the primary barrier most applicants face, which is the calendar rather than the eligibility.
Revenue trajectory gets tracked against the applicable size standards for certified or certification-eligible clients, with a flag raised as revenue approaches the threshold that would affect eligibility. For a fast growing subcontractor, certification status becomes a financial planning item rather than a compliance one. Growing above a size standard doesn't eliminate the certification, but it may require transition planning, and that planning is cheap in advance and expensive at renewal.
Certification opens set-aside contracts, GC utilization goal work, and public agency supplier diversity programs, which are revenue streams a non-certified competitor can't bid. The financial value of it depends entirely on the markets you serve and on which public agencies and GCs operate in your geography. SPM helps clients weigh whether certification is worth pursuing based on the bid opportunities that exist in their market and not on the idea of the designation.
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.
Built for subs doing $1M to $12M. Above $12.5M we quote.
| Last 12 months revenue | Core | Strategic | Platinum | One-time onboarding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $1M | $1,900 | $3,100 | $3,300 | $2,500 |
| $1M to $3.5M | $2,600 | $4,100 | $5,300 | $4,500 |
| $3.5M to $6.5M | $3,800 | $5,900 | $8,300 | $6,000 |
| $6.5M to $9.5M | $5,100 | $7,600 | $11,800 | $7,500 |
| $9.5M to $12.5M | $6,100 | $8,900 | $14,900 | $9,000 |
| Above $12.5M | Quoted | Quoted | Quoted | Quoted |
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, and it moves with your revenue band. Your first month is prorated, and your monthly engagement starts on the first of the first full month.
Just want the setup? Onboarding only is the same onboarding work with no monthly service after it, one time, at the onboarding fee plus $2,000. Start a monthly engagement later and $2,000 counts toward it. It starts at $4,500, and the price for every band is on the pricing page.
The three tier columns are the whole price. Which one fits 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.
- Online software only: QuickBooks, Sage, Viewpoint and similar. No VPN or hosted desktop.
- Not in any tier: payroll, pay applications, collections on receivables.
- Pricing valid through 2027.
CFO work. Your own bookkeeper keeps doing the books.
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.
Core, plus bookkeeping and bank reconciliations, plus job costing and WIP software set up and managed for you. Use your own online accounting software or we supply it, one price.
Every job shows its margin while it is still open.
Everything in Core, plus the bookkeeping and bank reconciliations done for you, and the job costing and WIP software set up, loaded with your cost codes, and managed every month. Use your own online software, or move to ours and we cover it.
A bookkeeper we choose does the books and reconciliations. No payroll.
Strategic, plus a controller who handles payables and receivables the way an in-house controller would. You approve every payment.
You approve, and the money side gets handled.
Everything in Strategic, plus a controller we choose who handles your bills and receivables for you the way an in-house controller would. They call vendors, pay the bills and keep the accounting current. We plan the cash flow first, and you approve every payment because it is your money.
A controller we choose does the payables and receivables. No payroll, no pay applications, no collections.
FREQUENTLY ASKED.
