Surety Relationship · Bonding Capacity · Construction Bonding · Financial Presentation
Surety Relationship · Bonding · Construction Finance · Working Capital · Bonding Agent
Building a Surety
Relationship.
Your surety relationship is worth more than your credit score. A surety who knows your business, trusts your financial management, and believes in your track record will support your growth through difficult projects and tight markets. Most subcontractors treat bonding as a transaction. The ones who grow treat it as a relationship.
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 Only Call Your Surety When You Need a Bond
The worst time to apply for a larger bonding program is when you urgently need one for a specific project. By then, you're asking a surety who barely knows your business to approve a significant increase based on financials they're seeing for the first time. Sureties support contractors they know and trust — not ones they're just meeting.
02
Your Financial Presentation Doesn't Tell the Right Story
Construction financial statements confuse sureties who receive poorly organized submissions. Overbillings look like liabilities they can't explain. Underbillings look like questionable assets. A WIP schedule that doesn't reconcile to the balance sheet raises immediate concerns. If you don't explain your financials proactively, the surety fills the gaps with risk.
03
You Don't Have a WIP Schedule
A WIP schedule is the single most important document in a surety review. A contractor who can't produce a current WIP schedule — or produces one that doesn't reconcile to the balance sheet — tells the surety something important about financial management quality. That something is not good.
How SPM Fixes It
Build the Relationship Before You Need It
Meet with your surety agent annually — even when you don't need a bond. Bring your financial statements, WIP, backlog, and a narrative on the business. Walk them through your projects, your GC relationships, and your financial trajectory. Sureties approve bonds for contractors they know. Annual relationship meetings are how you get known.
The Surety Presentation Package
Every surety review should include: current financial statements with a construction-specific narrative, monthly WIP reconciled to the balance sheet, AR aging with no problematic concentration, backlog summary showing future revenue, and a one-page business narrative. SPM prepares this package for Executive clients whenever a bonding review is scheduled — formatted for surety review, not just for tax preparation.
Working Capital Management With Bonding Goals in Mind
The financial profile that grows a bonding program — working capital, current ratio, equity — is exactly what SPM builds and maintains for every client. Executive clients get monthly tracking of the ratios sureties use to size bonding programs. When working capital is growing toward a bonding capacity target, SPM shows you the trajectory. When distributions would impair working capital below a bonding threshold, we flag it before it happens — not after your surety turns down an application.
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.
Should I work with a surety agent or go directly to the surety?
Work with a surety agent — specifically one who specializes in construction bonding. A good construction bonding agent has relationships with multiple surety companies, knows which sureties are best suited to your trade and revenue level, and can advocate for your program in ways that going directly to a surety cannot. The agent's commission comes from the surety, not from you.
How often should I meet with my surety agent?
At minimum annually, even when you don't need a bond. When you're actively growing and expecting to need a larger program, quarterly updates keep your agent current and allow them to manage your surety relationship proactively. The more your agent knows about your business trajectory, the better they can position your program for growth.
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.