CONTROLQORE FOR CIVIL CONTRACTORS.
Generic accounting software can't track cost per linear foot of pipe against the bid, split equipment cost by machine, or separate prevailing wage burden from private work. ControlQore can.
ControlQore for civil contractors uses cost codes aligned to unit price categories, meaning pipe type and depth, equipment hours by machine, and material by type, rather than generic accounting buckets. Equipment cost codes track idle rate by machine. Prevailing wage projects get their own overhead rate, separate from private work. The WIP schedule is produced monthly from cost incurred against estimated cost to complete. SPM migrates civil clients from QuickBooks to ControlQore in 60 days, with a cost code structure built to match how civil work is estimated.
THE NUMBERS GENERIC SOFTWARE MISSES.
WHAT IT IS.
ControlQore is a job costing and WIP platform for contractors that tracks cost by job and cost code, so a civil subcontractor can see cost per linear foot of pipe, per cubic yard of excavation, and per ton of aggregate against the bid rate while the work is still in progress.
WHERE IT GOES WRONG.
QuickBooks Has No Unit Price Job Costing
QuickBooks allows job tracking but has no concept of unit price categories, so pipe type, depth, soil condition, and production rate all fall outside the structure. Civil cost codes need to match how the work is estimated and performed, which means cost per linear foot of pipe by diameter and cost per cubic yard of excavation by depth. A generic accounting structure lumps all civil labor together, and that makes any comparison of installed production rate against the estimated rate impossible.
Equipment Costs Disappear Into Overhead
Without equipment cost codes by machine in ControlQore, excavator hours, grader time, and water truck costs all post to one general equipment overhead account. You can see total equipment cost for the month. You can't see which machine is over its budget on which job, which means you can't calculate idle rate or charge equipment cost to jobs correctly.
Prevailing Wage and Private Work Are Blended
Civil contractors doing both DOT and private work have different labor burden rates on each type. A single chart of accounts blends the two, so the burden rate used in bidding is an average of two numbers that aren't the same. ControlQore allows separate job classification, so prevailing wage projects have their own cost structure, overhead rate, and certified payroll reporting apart from private work.
WHAT WE BUILD.
SPM builds ControlQore cost codes by unit price category: conduit installation by diameter and depth, excavation by soil type, aggregate placement by material type, and pipe by size and material. When a civil crew posts time or material, it goes to the same cost bucket the estimate used. Cost per linear foot, per cubic yard, and per ton is compared to the budgeted unit cost every week instead of at closeout.
Each major piece of equipment gets its own ControlQore cost code, meaning each excavator, each grader, each compactor, and each water truck. Daily hours post to the job and machine combination. Monthly utilization rate by machine is calculated automatically. Equipment used below break-even utilization is visible before it compounds into a margin problem.
Prevailing wage civil projects are tagged in ControlQore with the applicable wage determination. Certified payroll reports pull from classification data rather than manual timesheet assembly. The overhead rate for prevailing wage work is calculated apart from private work overhead and applied to the correct bid type, so a DOT bid and a private bid each take on the burden that belongs to it.
The WIP schedule for civil clients is produced monthly from cost incurred against estimated cost to complete, which is cost-to-cost percentage complete, the method most sureties prefer. Overbilled and underbilled positions are calculated automatically. The schedule is consistent every period, and that consistency builds the reporting history that supports higher bonding limits.
REAL NUMBERS, REAL RESULTS.
This contractor had no job costing system when SPM engaged: a P&L only, no WIP schedule, and no unit price tracking. Equipment costs were held in a general overhead account with no way to charge them to a job or a machine. Prevailing wage and private work were blended into one set of burden rates.
FLAT MONTHLY FEE. NO SOFTWARE INVOICE.
Three tiers, priced by your trailing twelve month revenue. ControlQore comes with Strategic and Platinum, and it never appears as its own line item on an SPM invoice. Which tier you're in depends on how much of the work you want off your desk.
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.
