CONSTRUCTION SUBCONTRACTOR EXIT PLANNING THE 3-YEAR ROADMAP.
The owner who decides to sell and then begins building financial documentation can only present what exists. For a premium multiple, what needs to exist is 36 months of clean, consistent, verifiable financial performance. That's 36 months that have to pass with the right financial infrastructure in place before the sale conversation.
This is the part most owners find out too late. You can't go back and produce closed monthly books for a year that was never closed, and no advisor can build a WIP history out of jobs that were never tracked. What a buyer pays a premium for is a record, and a record only exists if it was being kept while the work was going on. So the decision that sets your sale price isn't the decision to sell. It's the decision three years earlier to manage the business on real financials.
Rather talk it through first? Book a 20 minute call. Nothing gets sold on this call.
Want Josh to check your own numbers? Financial Health Snapshot, $1,500 one time. Your last 12 months read against your trade's benchmarks, with a 60 minute readout.
WHAT IT MEANS.
Exit planning is the multi year work of building the financial documentation and cutting the owner dependency that a buyer pays a premium multiple for.
The other half of the value is how much of the business operates without you. A company that needs the current owner in it to function is worth less than one that doesn't, and every buyer prices that difference in one way or another.
THE THREE THINGS A BUYER PAYS FOR.
The 36 month minimum
A buyer paying a premium multiple needs 24 to 36 months of clean, documented, verifiable financial performance. Not one good year, and not two years of income tax returns. What counts is a consistent record of closed book monthly financials, WIP schedules that reconcile to the income statement, documented job profitability by project type, and CPA reviewed statements covering the period. Building that record takes time even when the underlying performance is strong, which is why a contractor who starts the year of the sale can't produce a 36 month track record.
What the business is worth without the infrastructure
A verified marine client doing $13.5M was valued at $2.3M with no job costing and disorganized books. After 9 months of CFOS implementation and documented profitability, the valuation was $5.5M. Same revenue, same crews, and the same contracts. The financial infrastructure created $3.2M in business value, and it was only available because somebody made the decision 9 months before the sale conversation began.
Owner dependency and the risk premium
A business that requires the current owner to function is worth less than one that operates without him. Every buyer prices that risk, either through a lower multiple or through an earnout where part of the purchase price is conditional on the owner staying 2 to 3 years after the sale. Cutting owner dependency by building a PM team, documenting how the work gets done, and installing financial systems raises the upfront valuation and reduces or removes the earnout.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN DOLLARS.
A verified marine client doing $13.5M had a $2.3M valuation with no job costing and disorganized books, and a $5.5M valuation after 9 months of CFOS implementation with documented profitability. That's $3.2M of business value created without a single change to revenue, crews, or contracts. It came from the record, not from the work.
THREE YEARS, IN ORDER.
CFOS implementation, WIP reporting, the monthly CEO Report, and documented job costing all go in during the first year. The point of year one is a baseline, because nothing after it means much without a starting line. This is also the year the business starts operating better, which is the part owners don't expect.
By the end of year two you have two years of clean monthly financials, two years of WIP history, and documented job profitability by project type. This is also where you begin upgrading to CPA reviewed statements, because a review takes lead time and can't be produced retroactively. Consistency across two years is what turns a good year into a track record.
Year three is about the PM team managing projects independently and systems that operate without the owner in the middle of them. The CPA reviewed statements get completed and the M&A advisor gets engaged. By the time the sale conversation opens, the package is already built rather than being assembled under deadline.
The best time to start this work is when you aren't planning to sell. The financial infrastructure that maximizes exit value is the same infrastructure that makes the business more profitable and less stressful in the meantime. Build it three years before you want out and you collect three years of a better business on top of the premium at sale.
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.
