CONTROLQORE FOR FIRE PROTECTION CONTRACTORS.
Generic accounting software can't tell you what a foot of installed sprinkler pipe cost against the bid, separate the pre-permit engineering spend from the install, or tie a billing milestone to the inspection that releases it. ControlQore can.
ControlQore for fire protection contractors uses cost codes by system phase to track installed cost per foot of pipe against the bid rate. The phases are engineering and hydraulic design, fabrication and spool delivery, underground lead-in and riser, overhead mains, branch lines and drops, heads and trim, firestopping, and test and inspection. Engineering and fabrication deposits post to their own codes, so you can see the pre-permit spend. Contract work and NFPA 25 inspection work are separate divisions with separate P&Ls. The WIP schedule is produced monthly from cost-to-cost percentage complete.
Fire protection contractors at $1M to $5M net 8 percent before taxes on the SPM 48-trade dataset. The CFOS target at that revenue is 11.5 percent before taxes. In this trade the distance between those two figures usually comes from timing. $1,200 to $3,000 of hydraulic calculations and stamped drawings leave your account before a permit exists. Fabricated steel deposits follow, on 12 to 16 week lead times. The first billing milestone waits on somebody else's inspector. Cost codes by system phase turn the same fitter hours into an installed cost per foot you can read against the bid in week two. That's early enough to change the crew, change the method, or start a change order conversation.
THE NUMBERS GENERIC SOFTWARE MISSES.
WHAT IT IS.
ControlQore is a job costing and WIP platform for contractors. It tracks cost by job and cost code. A fire protection subcontractor can read installed cost per foot of pipe by system phase while the fitters are still in the building.
WHERE IT GOES WRONG.
One Job Total, No Cost Per Foot of Pipe
QuickBooks job tracking gives a fire protection contractor a labor total and a material total for the whole job. Steel pipe installs at $15 to $25 per foot. A system with underground lead-in, riser, overhead mains, branch lines and CPVC in finished areas can't be read out of one number. When the branch line phase is over budget and the mains are under, the two average out and the job looks fine until it doesn't. The estimator gets no rate back from the field, so the next bid uses the same numbers that just missed.
The Pre-Permit Spend Lost in the Job
Commercial sprinkler work needs hydraulic calculations and stamped shop drawings before you can pull a permit. That costs $1,200 to $3,000 per project. Fabricated steel deposits follow, against lead times of 12 to 16 weeks in many markets. When all of it posts to a generic material or subcontractor code, nobody can say what design and procurement cost. And a schedule of values that starts billing at installation makes you the project's design bank.
Inspection Coordination Nobody Codes
A sprinkler system gets inspected at rough-in, at the hydrostatic pressure test, at final, and often again at the alarm tie-in. Commercial inspection coordination alone takes 8 to 16 labor hours per project. Those hours almost always post to install labor. That pushes up the cost per foot, and you never see the coordination cost. Every one of those inspections is also a billing milestone. The authority having jurisdiction signs the last one, so retainage release waits on the date you control least.
Contract Work and ITM in One P&L
New construction and NFPA 25 inspection, testing and maintenance are two businesses with opposite cash profiles. ITM recurs annually at $1,000 to $2,100 per system, with five-year internal inspections at $800 to $2,500. It pays fast in small pieces. Contract work pays big and slow, after inspections and retainage. One P&L across both doesn't show which side funds the company. You price both wrong until the two are reported apart.
WHAT WE BUILD.
SPM builds ControlQore cost codes for fire protection clients by system phase: mobilization, engineering and hydraulic design, fabrication and spool delivery, underground lead-in and riser, overhead mains, branch lines and drops, heads and trim, backflow and specialty devices, firestopping, and test and inspection. Fitter labor, pipe, fittings and equipment post to the phase that used them. Installed cost per foot is calculated weekly by phase and compared to the bid rate. A phase that's over budget gets reviewed while the crew is still on it.
SPM reviews the schedule of values on every new fire protection subcontract before you sign it. Hydraulic calculations and stamped drawings get their own line, billed with the first pay application. $1,200 to $3,000 spent before a permit exists is either billed or paid out of profit. Fabrication deposits and stored materials get their own lines for the same reason, with steel fabrication taking 12 to 16 weeks. The review takes one meeting, and the cash benefit lasts the length of the project.
Rough-in, hydrostatic test, final and alarm tie-in go into ControlQore as the billing milestones they already are. Each is tied to the SOV line it releases. Inspection coordination gets its own cost code, so the 8 to 16 hours a commercial job takes stop pushing up the installed rate per foot. Firestopping is coded separately too, at $35 to $50 of material plus roughly $45 of labor per penetration. An incomplete penetration fails an inspection, and a failed inspection holds up the milestone behind it.
SPM sets up contract work and NFPA 25 inspection, testing and maintenance as separate divisions in ControlQore, with separate P&Ls and separate overhead recovery. ITM is costed per system against the $1,000 to $2,100 annual rate the market pays. You see a route that stopped earning before you renew it. Contract work is costed by phase. After two quarters you can see which side of the business is supporting the company, and price both to match.
The WIP schedule for fire protection clients is produced monthly from cost-to-cost percentage complete by job. Underbilled positions, work performed and not yet billed, are common in this trade because engineering and fabrication money goes out so early. Each one triggers a corrected pay application. Overbilled positions flag jobs where billing is ahead of installed footage. You see both while there's still contract left to work with.
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.
We build your plan every month. Your team does the work.
You get the CFO work: job costing built to match the way you estimate, a 13 week cash forecast, WIP every month, and a monthly meeting that ends with decisions.
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.
We build the plan, track it and adjust it every month.
We only work with trade subcontractors. We know what to look for, and we fix problems while they're still small. 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 pay for it.
Our team does the bookkeeping and the reconciliations. We don't do payroll.
Strategic, plus a controller who handles payables and receivables the way an in-house controller would. You approve every payment.
We manage the money side for you, every week.
Everything in Strategic, plus our team does the controller work. We handle your bills and receivables the way an in-house controller would: we 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.
Our team does the payables and receivables. We don't do payroll, pay applications or collections.
FREQUENTLY ASKED.
