THE NUMBERS TO TRACK EVERY MONTH.
A subcontractor should track eight numbers monthly on a 13 month rolling view: revenue, gross margin, overhead rate, net margin, working capital, current ratio, days sales outstanding, and backlog. The Construction CFO calls this the CEO report. Thirteen months lets you average the last twelve and see whether each number is trending up or down.
The bank balance is the number most owners check, and it's the worst one to run a business on. It's the result of decisions made months ago, so by the time it moves the cause is cold. The eight numbers on the dashboard move first: margin thins before cash tightens, overhead climbs before net profit drops, and days sales outstanding stretches before the line of credit gets drawn. Watching them on a rolling 13 month view lets you compare this month to the same month last year, which is the only way to tell a trend from a season.
WHAT IT MEANS.
A subcontractor's financial dashboard is a rolling 13 month view of eight numbers: revenue, gross margin, overhead rate, net margin, working capital, current ratio, days sales outstanding, and backlog.
A dashboard is only as good as the books underneath it. Double entries, unapproved costs, and a cash position that doesn't reflect reality all distort every number on the page. Closing and reconciling by the tenth of the month is what makes the eight numbers trustworthy enough to act on, which is why the close date is part of the dashboard rather than separate from it.
WHAT BELONGS ON THE DASHBOARD.
Revenue, gross margin, net margin
Revenue is the multiplier and it tells you how fast you grow or fail. Gross margin is the foundation, revenue minus direct cost, the money that covers overhead. Net margin is the only number that says the business works, since it's what's left after every expense. Watch all three as a trend, because rising revenue with a falling margin is a warning and not a win.
Overhead rate
Overhead is the cost to keep the business open divided by revenue, and it moves every month with how busy you are. A slow month spikes the percentage and a busy one drops it. Tracked on a rolling twelve month average, it tells you whether you're getting more efficient or less, and it feeds straight into how you price work.
Working capital and current ratio
Working capital is current assets minus current liabilities, the cash you have to operate with after near term obligations, and it sets your bonding capacity. The current ratio is current assets divided by current liabilities, where above 1.3 is healthy and below 1.0 is a liquidity warning. These are the balance sheet numbers lenders read first.
Days sales outstanding and backlog
Days sales outstanding measures how long your money sits as receivables, and rising DSO means collections are slipping. Backlog is the signed work ahead of you, and its quality, meaning margin and payment terms, counts as much as its size. A big backlog of thin margin work is a problem disguised as good news.
CLOSE BY THE TENTH, REVIEW MONTHLY.
The books close and reconcile by the tenth of the month without exception. A dashboard built on incomplete books is worse than no dashboard, because it produces confident decisions off wrong numbers. The close date is what makes the eight numbers usable, and it's the first thing that gets installed.
Thirteen months lets you average the trailing twelve and compare this month directly against the same month a year ago. That removes the seasonal distortion that makes a single month useless as a signal. A month read in isolation tells you almost nothing about direction.
The CEO report is the dashboard itself: revenue, margins, overhead, working capital, current ratio, DSO, and backlog on a 13 month rolling view. It gets produced every month rather than pulled together when somebody asks for it. An owner who reads it sees trouble building weeks before it reaches the bank account, and sees opportunity early enough to do something about it.
THE OUTPUTS, NAMED.
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, and no add-ons.
| Last 12 months revenue | Monthly fee |
|---|---|
| Up to $1M | $1,900 to $2,900 |
| $1M to $3.5M | $2,600 to $3,900 |
| $3.5M to $6.5M | $3,800 to $5,700 |
| $6.5M to $9.5M | $5,100 to $7,100 |
| $9.5M to $12.5M | $6,100 to $8,500 |
| $12.5M to $15.5M | $7,400 to $11,000 |
| $15.5M to $18.5M | $9,400 to $13,500 |
| $18.5M+ | Quoted individually |
Range reflects the three tiers below. Which one you're in depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. No payroll. No hidden line items.
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 rather than a report.
Your bookkeeper keeps doing the books.
You stop touching the books.
Everything in Core, and we run the bookkeeping and the controllership as well. Nobody in your office is answering coding questions or chasing a reconciliation at month end.
We do the books. No payroll.
Every job shows its margin while it's still running.
Everything in Executive, plus the job costing and WIP platform set up, loaded with your cost codes, and managed for you every month. You never have to learn it.
We do the job costing.
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