CONTROLQORE FOR STRUCTURAL STEEL CONTRACTORS.
Generic accounting software can't read actual cost per joint against the rate you bid it at, cost crane standby to the day the GC wasn't ready, or bill a fabrication deposit the week the money leaves. ControlQore can.
ControlQore for structural steel contractors uses cost codes aligned to the estimate, meaning bolted joints by type, welded joints by type, deck installation by SF, and column erection by piece, broken out by building zone and elevation. Foremen post actual costs daily. Every week you read actual joints set per crew-day against the estimated rate by elevation, and any cost code more than 10% over estimate for two consecutive weeks gets flagged. The WIP schedule is produced monthly from actual data. Setup takes 30 days and the system is fully operational in 60.
A steel P&L tells you the month came in fine or it didn't, and by then the sequence is topped out and the crane is off the site. Cost codes built to the estimate format turn the same posted hours into a cost per joint you can read in week two, against the rate you bid it at. Two weeks of one cost code 10% over estimate is early enough to add a bolt-up crew, re-sequence the lifts, or open a change order conversation while the GC still has a reason to take the call. Owner time in the system is about 5 hours a month.
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 structural steel subcontractor can read actual cost per bolted and welded joint against the estimated cost per joint, by building zone and elevation, while the steel is still going up.
The cost code structure is the foundation of all of it. Cost codes built to match the structural steel estimate format produce a direct comparison of actual against estimated by cost category every week. Cost codes built from a generic template produce blended totals that conceal variance until closeout, and closeout is the point where the steel is already up, the crane is already released, and the money is already spent.
WHERE IT GOES WRONG.
One Labor Number for the Whole Steel Package
QuickBooks job tracking gives you total labor cost by job. It can't tell you what a bolted joint at the fourth level cost to make against what you bid it at, or how many joints a crew set per day in one zone compared to another. Cost codes built from a generic template blend bolt-up, welding, deck, and column erection into one figure, so a code that is over estimate averages against a code that is under and the job reads normal. The read you needed in week two comes in as history at closeout.
Fabrication Deposit Funded Out of Your Own Cash
The fabricator wants a deposit before a single piece is cut, and the steel doesn't reach the site for weeks after that. When the deposit isn't tracked as its own line item on the schedule of values, there's nothing to bill against the day the money leaves, so the subcontractor funds the fabrication float out of working capital. On a $112,000 fabricator deposit that's $112,000 of your cash held in somebody else's shop until the steel is delivered and the pay app catches up.
Erection Sequence Changes Agreed on the Phone
The GC calls and asks for a different erection sequence because a foundation isn't poured or an inspection hasn't cleared. The crew re-rigs, the crane works a longer day, and the whole cost of that decision posts as your own productivity problem because there's no written record tying it to the request. Crane time is the most expensive spread on the project, and standby that's not documented the same day is standby you paid for and can't claim.
WHAT WE BUILD.
SPM builds ControlQore cost codes for structural steel clients as bolted joints by type, welded joints by type, deck installation by SF, and column erection by piece, broken out by building zone and elevation. Each cost code points at the corresponding category in the steel estimate. When a foreman posts hours, they post to the same bucket that was used in the bid, so actual against estimated is a direct read rather than a reconstruction after the fact.
Actual joints set per crew-day is compared to the estimated rate by elevation every week. When any cost code is more than 10% over estimate for two consecutive weeks, SPM flags it. The cause is identifiable in the cost code detail rather than guessed at from a blended total, and if a change order applies, SPM builds it and submits it.
SPM negotiates the fabrication deposit as a separate schedule of values line item, billed at deposit payment and not at steel delivery. A $112,000 fabricator deposit should produce a $112,000 billing event the same period the deposit is paid. That one line item removes the fabrication float from your working capital, and it applies for the full duration of the contract.
Every verbal sequence change request from the GC gets written notice back within 24 hours. Crane time and crew cost impact are calculated at the time of the request, not reconstructed at closeout, and the cost proposal goes in before the change is put into the field. The GC gets to decide whether the new sequence is worth what it costs, which is the conversation that keeps the cost off your P&L.
THE OUTPUTS, LISTED.
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.
