CONTROLQORE FOR UNDERGROUND UTILITY CONTRACTORS.
Generic accounting software can't track actual cost per linear foot by pipe type and depth band, document a utility conflict change order inside 48 hours, or split overhead between prevailing wage and private work. ControlQore can.
ControlQore for underground utility contractors uses cost codes built to the estimate format, meaning 8-inch water main by depth band, 12-inch sewer by depth band, service connections per unit, and restoration by SF. Actual cost per linear foot by pipe type is compared to the estimated unit price every week, and any cost code more than 10% over estimate for two consecutive weeks gets flagged for review. The WIP schedule is produced monthly from cost-to-cost percentage complete. Setup takes 30 days and clients are fully operational in 60.
A generic cost code template rolls every foot of pipe into one job total, so the only reading you get is whether the job as a whole came out ahead, and that reading comes after the last restoration is done. Cost codes cut to pipe size and depth band do something different. They turn the same crew hours into a cost per linear foot you can hold against the bid unit price in week two. Week two is early enough to move a crew, change the method, or write a change order while the superintendent still remembers what the crew encountered.
THE NUMBERS GENERIC SOFTWARE MISSES.
WHAT IT IS.
ControlQore is a job costing and WIP reporting platform for commercial subcontractors at $1M to $12M that tracks cost by job and cost code, so an underground utility contractor can read actual cost per linear foot by pipe type and depth band against the bid unit price the same week the pipe goes in.
WHERE IT GOES WRONG.
No Cost Per Linear Foot Visibility
QuickBooks shows total labor cost by job. It can't tell you what an 8-inch water main at the deeper cover band cost per linear foot last week against the unit price you bid it at. Generic cost code templates produce blended totals, and a blended total conceals the losing stretch behind the profitable one until closeout. By closeout the pipe is in, the restoration is done, and every hour you would have changed is already paid.
Utility Conflicts Absorbed Instead of Billed
Most utility conflicts are billable under the differing site conditions clause in the subcontract. They get absorbed anyway, because nobody wrote the GC inside 48 hours, nobody photographed the conflict before the crew rerouted, and the daily report went in with no superintendent acknowledgment on it. Six weeks later the claim is one crew's memory against a schedule, and the GC has no reason to pay it. That cost stays in your job and comes straight out of gross margin.
One Overhead Rate Across Prevailing Wage and Private Work
DOT and municipal underground utility work comes with fringe benefit requirements of $12 to $20 per hour above base wages. A contractor using one blended overhead rate across prevailing wage and private jobs loads part of that fringe cost onto private work that never had it, and understates it on the public work that does. Both bids come out wrong in opposite directions. The private jobs read worse than they're and the public jobs read better, which is the reverse of what you need to price the next one.
WHAT WE BUILD.
SPM builds ControlQore cost codes for underground utility clients to match the estimate format: 8-inch water main by depth band, 12-inch sewer by depth band, service connections per unit, and restoration by SF. Each cost code points at the corresponding estimate category. When a foreman posts hours, those hours post to the same bucket the bid was built in, so the comparison of actual against estimated is direct rather than reconstructed.
Actual cost per linear foot by pipe type is compared to the estimated unit price 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, so the conversation is about a specific stretch of pipe at a specific depth and not about the job feeling tight.
The documentation sequence is fixed and it applies every time. Written GC notice within 48 hours of discovering the utility conflict. Photo documentation before the crew reroutes anything. Daily reports with superintendent acknowledgment. A cost proposal within 48 hours. Most utility conflicts are billable under differing site conditions clauses, and this is the paperwork that keeps them billable.
DOT and municipal underground utility work comes with fringe benefit requirements of $12 to $20 per hour above base wages. SPM calculates separate overhead rates for prevailing wage work and private work rather than one blended rate across both. Each bid then takes on the burden it will genuinely absorb, and the closeout comparison on a public job stays comparable to the next public job.
The WIP schedule is produced monthly from cost-to-cost percentage complete on live ControlQore data. Overbilled and underbilled positions are visible by job, along with projected final margin. The schedule goes out in a form you can put in front of a bonding agent or a banker without a cleanup pass first.
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.
