MASONRY CONTRACTOR GROSS MARGIN BENCHMARKS.
Commercial masonry subcontractors typically run 21% to 22% gross margin at $1M to $5M and 23% to 24% at $5M to $10M. The Construction CFO targets the upper end of that range, not by cutting price, but by production is priced to real units-laid-per-day rates, with scaffold and access on their own line.
Gross margin is where a masonry subcontractor either has room to cover overhead and profit or does not. The benchmark below shows where a masonry sub should land by revenue band, the three reasons the number slips when it slips, and what to check first. Masonry margin lives in units laid per mason per day, and most bids assume a rate the crew rarely hits once you count layout, cutting, cleaning, and weather. Scaffold and access get folded into the unit price instead of billed separately, so when a job runs tall or tight the labor burns hours the estimate never carried. Pricing to honest production and breaking out access is the biggest masonry margin lever.
Masonry subcontractors at $1M to $5M typically run 21% to 22% gross margin while netting 5.5% to 8.5%. The Construction CFO targets 12% net by fixing the cost structure underneath the margin, not by underbidding the work.
How it is calculated: Gross margin is revenue minus direct job cost (material, labor, equipment, and direct job expense), divided by revenue. It is the number that has to cover all overhead before any of it becomes profit. Track it per project and per phase, not just company-wide.
MASONRY BENCHMARKS: WHERE YOU SHOULD BE.
| METRIC | INDUSTRY LOW | SPM TARGET | STRONG | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 17% | 21–24% | 26%+ | Production is priced to real units-laid-per-day rates, with scaffold and access on their own line |
| Net Profit Margin | 4% | 12% | 13% | After real overhead is loaded into every bid; the number that says the business works |
| Overhead Rate | 30% | 12–14% | 9% | Lower is better; most subs assume 10% and run far higher |
| Days Sales Outstanding | 75 | 45 | 30 | Retention and pay-app timing hold the last slice longest |
| Working Capital Ratio | 1.1 | 1.5 | 2.0 | Material and mobilization hit before the first billing event |
WHAT MOVES THE MASONRY MARGIN.
Production rate and scaffold drive the margin.
Masonry margin lives in units laid per mason per day, and most bids assume a rate the crew rarely hits once you count layout, cutting, cleaning, and weather. Scaffold and access get folded into the unit price instead of billed separately, so when a job runs tall or tight the labor burns hours the estimate never carried. Pricing to honest production and breaking out access is the biggest masonry margin lever.
Production is tracked weekly and access is billed.
Top masonry subs track labor in units and hours against the estimate every week, price scaffold and swing access as their own SOV line, and document weather standby as a change condition instead of eating it. They fund a cleaning and patch reserve in overhead. That discipline separates a 26% gross margin from a 19% one on the same wall.
Check production rates, the access line, and overhead.
If masonry margin is under 23%, look at whether labor is tracked against real units-per-day rates, whether scaffold and access are billed as their own line, and what your real overhead actually is once every cost is loaded. Most subs assume 10% overhead and run far higher, and that gap is the missing margin.
FLAT MONTHLY FEE. NO SURPRISES.
Two tiers based on trailing 12-month revenue. No hourly billing. No payroll. No add-ons. Everything included in the flat monthly fee.
| Revenue | Core Financial | Executive Financial |
|---|---|---|
| Under $1M | $1,900/mo | $2,900/mo |
| $1M–$3M | $2,600/mo | $3,600/mo |
| $4M–$6M | $3,800/mo | $5,500/mo |
| $7M–$9M | $5,100/mo | $6,900/mo |
| $10M–$12M | $6,100/mo | $8,500/mo |
| $13M+ | Quoted | Quoted |
ControlQore billed separately at ~$100/month per $1M in revenue. SPM does not handle payroll.
FREQUENTLY ASKED.
