SITEWORK ยท JOB COSTING SOFTWARE

CONTROLQORE FOR SITEWORK CONTRACTORS.

Generic accounting software can't read grading cost against the estimated rate per cubic yard, hold underground by the linear foot and paving by the ton inside the same job, or flag a phase running 10% over in week two. ControlQore can.

QUICK ANSWER

ControlQore for sitework contractors uses cost codes by phase, meaning clearing and grubbing, rough grading by cubic yard, underground by linear foot, fine grading by square foot, and paving by ton, all aligned to the estimate structure. Foremen post actual costs daily by cost code. Every week the actual cost per phase is compared to the estimated cost in that phase's own unit. The WIP schedule is produced monthly from that same data. Setup is complete in 30 days and the system is fully operational in 60 days.

A sitework P&L closes the month and reports one blended number for a contract that's five different kinds of work stacked together. Dirt moves by the cubic yard, pipe goes in by the linear foot, subgrade gets finished by the square foot, and asphalt is bought by the ton. Each of those has its own crew, its own iron, and its own way of going sideways. Cost codes built to the estimate turn daily foreman entries into a rate per unit you can read against the bid in week two. Generic templates hold that variance back until closeout, when absorbing it's the only choice left.

BY JOSH LUEBKERPublished 2026-08-06Updated 2026-08-07
WHAT IT SEES

THE NUMBERS GENERIC SOFTWARE MISSES.

By Phase
Cost Codes Aligned to the Sitework Estimate
Weekly
Actual Cost Per CY, LF, SF, and Ton vs. Estimated
By Milestone
Pay Apps Tied to Phase Completion
Monthly
WIP Schedule From Actual Job Cost Data
THE DEFINITION

WHAT IT IS.

ControlQore is a job costing and WIP reporting platform for commercial subcontractors doing $1M to $12M that tracks cost by job and cost code, so a sitework contractor can compare actual cost per phase to the estimated cost per cubic yard, linear foot, square foot, or ton while the job is still running.

ControlQore is more capable than QuickBooks for job costing and more affordable than Sage 100 or Foundation. SPM builds the cost codes, sets the system up, and manages it month to month. The owner doesn't have to learn it, and the whole thing asks about five hours a month of the owner's time.

WHAT YOU ARE DEALING WITH

WHERE IT GOES WRONG.

01

Total Job Cost With No Phase Detail

QuickBooks job tracking reports total labor cost for the job. A sitework contract is five different jobs inside one number: clearing and grubbing, rough grading by cubic yard, underground by linear foot, fine grading by square foot, and paving by ton. One blended cost figure can't tell you whether the dirt is over or the pipe crew is, so the losing phase keeps running the same way it started. Generic cost code templates hold that variance until closeout, and by then the iron has moved to the next site.

02

Scope Growth With No Documentation Behind It

Sitework scope grows on almost every job, because the site under the topsoil is never the site on the plan. Most of that growth is billable work. Without a scope comparison, site condition photos, daily production logs, and a cost impact calculation built while the crew is still there, the extra work becomes a cost with no invoice attached to it. The owner absorbs it and calls the job a bad bid.

03

Billing That Trails the Work by a Month

When the schedule of values isn't tied to phase completion, a phase finishes and nobody bills it for another 30 days. The contractor has already paid the crew, the fuel, and the trucking for that phase. Waiting a full billing cycle to invoice work that was finished last week means the company funds its own production, and on a large development that hole gets wide before anyone reads it on a report.

THE SETUP

HOW SPM BUILDS IT.

Cost Codes by Sitework Phase

SPM builds ControlQore cost codes for sitework clients by phase: clearing and grubbing, rough grading by cubic yard, underground by linear foot, fine grading by square foot, and paving by ton. Each code maps to the matching category in the estimate, so when a foreman posts hours they hit the same bucket the estimator priced. Actual against estimated becomes a direct comparison by phase every week instead of a reconciliation exercise after the job is closed.

Weekly Variance Review by Phase

Actual cost per phase is compared to estimated cost per phase every week. When any cost code runs more than 10% over estimate for two consecutive weeks, SPM flags it. The cost code detail points at the cause, whether that's crew hours, equipment time, trucking, or material. When the cause is a condition outside the contracted scope, the change order gets built while the work is still in front of the crew.

Scope Creep Change Order Documentation

When sitework scope grows beyond the original plan, SPM builds the scope comparison, the site condition photos, the daily production logs, and the cost impact calculation. Most sitework scope growth is billable, and the reason it goes unbilled is a documentation problem rather than a contract problem. The package gets assembled from ControlQore cost data the same week the extra work is performed, which is the difference between a change order and a write-off.

Billing Calendar by Phase Milestone

SOV line items are tied to phase completion and not to a calendar month. Pay apps are submitted within 24 hours of a milestone being completed, so there's no more waiting 30 days to bill work that finished last week. Pulling each phase's billing forward to the week the phase closes shortens the distance between paying for production and getting paid for it, on every job, for the full duration of the contract.

WHAT YOU GET

THE OUTPUTS, LISTED.

WIP schedule from actual ControlQore data, with cost-to-cost percentage complete, overbilled and underbilled positions, and projected final margin by job, ready for bonding and banking discussions.
Job-level P&L by cost code for every active job, plus completed jobs showing actual against estimated at closeout so the next sitework estimate gets calibrated.
13 week cash flow forecast, with every cash outflow and inflow mapped 13 weeks forward and cash shortfalls visible 8 weeks before they happen.
AR aging and collections report, with every invoice over 30 days flagged and collections calls made every Monday. Most clients have $50,000 to $200,000 in earned AR cleared in the first 30 days.
$10.7M+
Client AR Recovered Since 2023
48
Active Trade Specializations
60 DAYS
Average Onboarding Time
PRICING

FLAT MONTHLY FEE. NO SOFTWARE INVOICE.

Three tiers, priced by your trailing twelve month revenue. ControlQore comes with Strategic, 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.

Last 12 months revenueMonthly 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.

Core

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.

Executive

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.

Strategic

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.

COMMON QUESTIONS

FREQUENTLY ASKED.

SPM builds ControlQore cost codes aligned to the sitework estimate structure. Foremen post actual costs daily by cost code. Every week the report compares actual cost per phase to the estimated cost per phase, and every month the WIP schedule is produced from that same data. The owner sees job-level profitability in week two rather than at closeout.
Cost codes for sitework contractors include clearing and grubbing, rough grading by cubic yard, underground by linear foot, fine grading by square foot, and paving by ton. Each cost code maps to the matching category in the estimate, so the actual against estimated comparison is direct and weekly in the unit each phase is bid in.
Yes. SPM migrates every client from QuickBooks to ControlQore at engagement start. ControlQore handles all of the accounting functions plus the construction job costing and WIP reporting that QuickBooks can't do at the depth a commercial subcontractor needs.
Setup is 30 days and full operation is 60 days. Month one covers the cost code build aligned to the sitework estimate structure, the chart of accounts migration, and the WIP schedule template. Most sitework clients are fully operational in ControlQore within 60 days.
Three tiers, and which one you are in depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. Core is where you stop guessing: job costing built against the way you estimate, a 13 week cash forecast, monthly WIP, and a monthly meeting that ends in decisions, while your bookkeeper keeps doing the books. Executive is where you stop touching the books, because we run the bookkeeping and the controllership as well. Strategic is where every job shows its margin while it is still running, because the job costing and WIP platform is set up and managed for you. No payroll. No scope gaps.
WHAT THIS TIES INTO
Josh Luebker, The Construction CFO
Josh Luebker
FRACTIONAL CFO · THE CONSTRUCTION CFO

Former commercial project manager and master electrician: 150+ projects worth $2.1B combined, from $50,000 to $300M. Now fractional CFO to commercial subcontractors.

WANT TO SEE THIS ON YOUR OWN SITEWORK JOBS?

Bring one open sitework job and your last full year. We will show you what the cost codes would look like and where the current numbers are wrong before we talk about working together.

You don't hire a CFO because it's safe, you do it because the real risk isn't having one.
Book a 20 minute diagnostic

20 minutes. No sales pressure. We will tell you exactly what's broken before we talk about anything else.

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