Equipment Breakdown · Repair Costs · Job Costing · Standby Cost · Construction Finance
Equipment Breakdown · Repair Costs · Standby · Job Costing · Construction Equipment
Equipment Breakdown
in Job Costing.
Equipment breakdowns on a job site create two financial problems simultaneously — repair cost and standby cost. How you handle both in job costing determines whether the breakdown is visible in your job financials or gets absorbed invisibly into overhead. Visible problems get managed. Invisible problems get repeated.
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SPM vs. Other CFO Firms
Most CFO Firms Serving This Trade
- High revenue minimums — most won't serve under $5M
- Advisory only — no bookkeeping, no implementation
- No job costing setup or ControlQore management
- No monthly WIP as standard deliverable
- No pricing published — discovery call required
- No vetted partner network for bonding, lending, or liens
- No prevailing wage specialty
The Construction CFO — SPM
- Serves $1M–$12M — starts at $1,900/month
- Full implementation — bookkeeping, job costing, CFO advisory
- ControlQore setup and managed for you every month
- Monthly WIP standard in Executive tier
- Full pricing published — no discovery call to find out costs
- Vetted partners for bonding, lending, lien services, payroll
- Prevailing wage and Davis-Bacon specialty
What We See in This Business
01
Breakdown Costs Go to Overhead Instead of the Job
When equipment breaks down on a job, repair invoices often get coded to a general equipment repair account in overhead rather than to the job where the breakdown occurred. The job looks more profitable than it was. The overhead account looks higher than normal. Neither picture is accurate.
02
Standby Costs Are Never Tracked
When equipment is down for repairs, the crew may be standing by — paid but not productive. That standby labor cost is a real job cost that should be tracked and analyzed. Most subcontractors have no system for tracking standby cost at the job level.
03
You Can't Tell If Breakdown Costs Are Recoverable
Some equipment breakdown costs are recoverable from the GC — particularly when the breakdown was caused by site conditions outside your control, unforeseen underground obstructions, or GC-directed schedule changes that caused extended wear. Without breakdown costs tracked by job, the information needed to support a change order claim doesn't exist.
How SPM Fixes It
Coding Breakdown Costs to Jobs
Repair costs for equipment that broke down on a specific job should be coded to that job — not to a general overhead equipment repair account. This is the only way to see the true cost of the job, understand the financial impact of the breakdown at the project level, and determine whether the costs are recoverable through a change order. SPM sets up dedicated breakdown cost codes in ControlQore during onboarding.
Tracking Standby Cost
When equipment is down and crew is standing by, standby hours and cost are logged to the job and to a standby cost code. This creates a record of both the crew cost during downtime and the production lost during the breakdown period. For large breakdowns on large jobs, this documentation supports a claim for extended general conditions or schedule impact compensation.
Change Order Analysis for Recoverable Breakdown Costs
For Executive clients, when a significant equipment breakdown occurs, SPM analyzes whether the breakdown costs are recoverable under the contract — was the breakdown caused by conditions the GC created or directed, were site conditions different from what was represented, or did a GC schedule change cause the equipment to work in conditions that contributed to the failure? When the analysis supports a claim, the documented costs are immediately available.
Service Tiers
Tier 01
Core Financial
Starts at $1,900 / month
- ControlQore setup and management
- Job costing aligned to your estimate structure
- Cost-to-complete tracking — updated monthly
- Full-service bookkeeping — minimum 30 min/week
- Vendor payments via ACH (you approve, we initiate)
- Accounts receivable management
- Bank reconciliations and transaction matching
- Controllership
- 1 monthly CFO meeting
- 60-day onboarding — books migrated to last taxable year
Most Popular
Tier 02
Executive Financial
Starts at $2,900 / month
- Everything in Core Financial
- Monthly WIP schedule — delivered every month, standard
- 13-week cash flow forecasting
- CEO Report — monthly financial dashboard
- 3 CFO advisory meetings per month
- Strategic accountability and actionable to-dos
- Direct access to Josh Luebker
Pricing by Revenue
Revenue Range
(Last 12 Months) |
Core Financial
Monthly |
Executive Financial
Monthly |
| Under $1M | $1,900 | $2,900 |
| $1M – $3M | $2,600 | $3,600 |
| $4M – $6M | $3,800 | $5,500 |
| $7M – $9M | $5,100 | $6,900 |
| $10M – $12M | $6,100 | $8,500 |
| $13M+ | Quoted | Quoted |
Vetted Partner Network
National Lien Services
When AR gets too long, we connect you directly to our lien services partner to protect what you've earned.
Additional cost — not included in monthly fee
Payroll Integration Partners
Prevailing wage and regular payroll software partners integrated directly with ControlQore job costing.
Additional cost — not included in monthly fee
Bonding Partners
Surety relationships and bonding capacity support. We prepare the financials — our partners get you bonded.
Additional cost — not included in monthly fee
Lending Partners
Working capital lines and equipment financing through vetted lenders who understand construction.
Additional cost — not included in monthly fee
Reviewed Financials
CPA-level financial statement reviews for banking, bonding, and large contract requirements.
Additional cost — not included in monthly fee
CPA Coordination
We work alongside your existing CPA — not replacing them. Clean books and job costing make tax time easier.
Included — no extra cost
Common Questions
Straight answers.
Should maintenance costs be coded to jobs or to overhead?
Routine scheduled maintenance — oil changes, filter replacements, annual inspections — is typically overhead, spread across all equipment use rather than charged to a specific job. Breakdown repairs caused by a specific job's conditions are direct job costs. The distinction matters for job costing accuracy and for change order documentation when a breakdown is potentially compensable.
How does equipment breakdown affect WIP and cost-to-complete?
A significant breakdown increases actual cost on the job and may push the revised cost-to-complete above the original estimate — changing the job's projected profitability. SPM updates cost-to-complete estimates when material breakdown events occur between monthly cycles so the WIP reflects the updated job financial position before the next monthly report.
What's included in Core Financial?
ControlQore setup, job costing aligned to your estimates, cost-to-complete tracking, full bookkeeping (minimum 30 min/week), ACH vendor payments (you approve, we initiate), AR management, bank reconciliations, transaction matching, controllership, and 1 monthly CFO meeting. Starts at $1,900/month.
What does Executive Financial add?
Everything in Core plus monthly WIP schedule, 13-week cash flow forecasting, CEO Report, and 3 CFO advisory meetings per month. Starts at $2,900/month. WIP, cash flow forecasting, and the CEO Report are Executive tier only.
Do you handle payroll?
No. We have vetted payroll software partners — including prevailing wage integrations — that connect directly with ControlQore. Those are separate engagements at additional cost.
How long does onboarding take?
60 days. We migrate your books to the start of your last taxable year, set up ControlQore, and build your job costing structure. Fully operational in two months.
What software do clients use?
ControlQore. All SPM clients run on ControlQore for job costing and WIP. We set it up and manage it — you don't have to learn it. Clients switching from QuickBooks, Sage, or other platforms migrate during onboarding.
Do you work alongside our CPA?
Yes. We work alongside your existing CPA — not replacing them. Clean books and accurate job costing make their job easier at tax time.
What happens when we grow past $12M?
We have a clear graduation path. We prepare your financials, systems, and team for the transition and connect you with the right firm for your next stage of growth.