P&L Statement · Construction Financials · Gross Profit · Net Profit · How to Read It
P&L · Profit and Loss · Construction Financials · Gross Profit · Net Profit · Revenue
Construction Profit and
Loss Statement.
The P&L is the financial statement most subcontractors look at most often — and most misread. Here's exactly what each section means for a commercial subcontractor, what healthy looks like at your revenue level, and the two numbers that matter most.
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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
You Look at the Bottom Line and Miss Everything Else
Most subcontractors check whether the P&L shows a profit and stop reading. The bottom line number is the least useful number on the statement. Gross profit margin, overhead rate, and the trend of both over time tell you far more about the health of the business than whether you made or lost money in a given month.
02
Your P&L Doesn't Reflect Construction Reality
A P&L maintained on cash basis or without percentage-of-completion revenue recognition doesn't reflect the work you've actually performed. Revenue spikes at billing dates and drops in slow billing months. Costs hit when invoices are processed, not when work is done. The result is a P&L that's technically correct but operationally meaningless for management decisions.
03
You Can't Tell Which Part of the Business Is Profitable
A single-column P&L shows total revenue and total costs — but doesn't show which jobs, which GCs, or which trade scopes are generating profit. Without job-level cost data flowing into your P&L structure, the statement tells you what happened but not why.
How SPM Fixes It
The Structure of a Construction P&L
Revenue: contract revenue recognized for the period (under percentage of completion — earned revenue based on work performed, not just billed). Direct costs: all job-level costs — field labor and burden, materials, subcontractors, equipment allocated to jobs. Gross profit: revenue minus direct costs — the margin before overhead. Gross profit percentage: gross profit divided by revenue — your most important operational metric. Overhead: all G&A expenses — office staff, rent, insurance, equipment overhead, vehicles, marketing. Net profit: gross profit minus overhead — what the business actually made.
What Healthy Looks Like at Your Revenue Level
For most commercial subcontractors: gross profit margin of 15–25% depending on trade, overhead rate of 8–18% depending on revenue size, and net profit margin of 5–8% for a well-managed business. If gross margin is in range but net profit is low, overhead is the problem. If gross margin is below range, pricing, estimating, or job cost leakage is the problem. SPM identifies which one is causing your specific situation during the free discovery call.
Monthly P&L Review as Part of CFO Advisory
SPM reviews your P&L monthly — not just at year end. Gross margin trends, overhead rate movement, and net profit trajectory are all tracked over time. When any metric drifts outside benchmark for your trade and revenue range, it comes to the monthly meeting with a specific explanation and recommendation. Your P&L becomes a management tool, not just a tax document.
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.
Why does my P&L look profitable but my bank account is empty?
Because profit and cash are different things. Your P&L recognizes revenue when earned (under accrual accounting) — but cash arrives when collected. Costs hit the P&L when incurred — but some are paid later. The timing gap between when profit is recognized and when cash actually moves is the source of the "profitable but broke" experience. See our page on
construction cash flow vs. profit for the full explanation.
Should I have separate P&Ls by job or just one company P&L?
Both. Your company P&L shows overall profitability. Job-level cost reports — generated from %s job costing — show profitability by project. The company P&L is for banking, tax, and overall financial management. Job-level reporting is for operational decisions — which jobs to take, which to avoid, which cost categories to watch. SPM maintains both simultaneously for all clients.
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.