Prevailing Wage Pricing · Davis-Bacon · True Labor Cost · Fringe Benefits · Bidding
Prevailing Wage Pricing · Davis-Bacon · Fringe Benefits · True Labor Cost · Public Works
How to Price
Prevailing Wage Work.
Prevailing wage work is priced wrong more often than almost any other bid type in commercial construction. The fringe benefit requirements, the certified payroll compliance overhead, and the true all-in labor cost are all consistently underestimated. Here's the complete framework for pricing prevailing wage work correctly so you're not subsidizing every public project you win.
Schedule a Free Call →
See Pricing
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
You're Using the Wrong Labor Rate in Your Bids
Prevailing wage bids must be based on the total prevailing wage — base wage plus fringe benefits as required by the applicable wage determination. Most subcontractors know to price the base wage correctly but underestimate fringe benefit costs. Fringe benefits on prevailing wage work — health, pension, vacation, annuity, training fund — can add $8–$20 per hour per employee above base wage depending on the wage determination and your fringe election strategy.
02
You're Not Accounting for Certified Payroll Overhead
Certified payroll administration — weekly WH-347 reports, fringe documentation, apprenticeship ratio tracking — creates overhead that private work doesn't require. Most prevailing wage contractors don't price this compliance overhead into their bids, effectively providing it as a free service to every public project owner.
03
Your Fringe Benefit Election Strategy Is Costing You Money
Prevailing wage fringe benefits can be paid as cash additions to wages or as contributions to qualifying benefit plans. The election affects your true labor cost, certified payroll calculations, payroll tax treatment, and bid competitiveness. Most subcontractors default to cash fringes without analyzing which election method is most cost-effective for their specific workforce and benefits structure.
How SPM Fixes It
The Complete Prevailing Wage Labor Cost Calculation
True prevailing wage labor cost equals: base wage plus fringe benefits (at the wage determination rate) plus FICA employer share plus FUTA plus SUTA plus workers comp (at the applicable classification rate) plus general liability allocated to labor. For a journeyman electrician with a $45 base wage and $18 in fringe requirements, true all-in labor cost may run $75–$85 per hour before overhead and profit. Price that number — not $45.
Fringe Benefit Election Analysis
SPM analyzes fringe benefit election strategy for prevailing wage clients — comparing cash fringe payments against qualifying benefit plan contributions to identify the most cost-effective approach. The optimal election depends on your current benefit offerings, workforce composition, and payroll tax exposure. This analysis is built into the ControlQore setup for prevailing wage clients so every bid uses the correct labor cost basis.
Certified Payroll Compliance Overhead in Bids
Certified payroll administration overhead — typically 1–3% of prevailing wage labor cost depending on project complexity and number of workers — should be priced into prevailing wage bids as a line item or loaded into overhead. SPM quantifies this overhead for prevailing wage clients and ensures it's reflected in bid overhead rates. Through our vetted prevailing wage payroll partners, certified payroll data flows directly from payroll into ControlQore — reducing the administrative cost of compliance.
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.
How do I find the applicable wage determination for a project?
For federal Davis-Bacon projects, wage determinations are published at sam.gov and wdol.gov — searchable by state, county, and construction type. The contracting agency is required to include the applicable wage determination in the bid documents. For state prevailing wage projects, each state maintains its own wage determination database. The wage determination included in the bid documents is the one that governs the project — verify it before finalizing your labor cost estimate.
Can I pay cash fringe benefits instead of contributing to a benefit plan?
Yes — the Davis-Bacon Act allows fringe benefits to be paid as cash additions to hourly wages rather than as contributions to qualifying benefit plans. Cash fringes are simpler to administer but are subject to payroll taxes (FICA, FUTA, SUTA, workers comp) — which increases the true cost of fringes paid as cash compared to fringes paid as benefit plan contributions. The tax savings from qualifying plan contributions can be significant on large prevailing wage payrolls.
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.