DAVIS BACON JOB COSTING: PREVAILING WAGE AND CERTIFIED PAYROLL

Build fully burdened rates per classification before the bid, not after the audit. Fringe handling, classification mapping, and weekly certified payroll are systems problems; misclassification claws margin back retroactively. Software handles the filing; the rate discipline protects the margin.

Electrical contractors at $1M to $5M net 9 percent on average, rising to 16 percent by $25M to $50M; the CFOS target at $1M to $5M is 12.5 percent. Electrical has the highest gross margins of the site trades, which means the gap to target usually sits in overhead and AR, not in the field. Every net profit figure here is stated after taxes. CFMA reports net income before taxes, so a CFMA figure runs higher than an after tax figure on the same business.

Because the job structure buries cash in the middle. Wire and labor go in at rough-in, trim-out billing lands months later, retainage holds 5 to 10 percent, and switchgear deposits leave the account years before the gear bills. Profit shows on the statement while the cash sits in walls, holdbacks, and OEM production slots.

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 do the bookkeeping and the controllership as well. Strategic is where every job shows its margin while it is still open, because the job costing and WIP platform is set up and managed for you. No payroll. No scope gaps.

Sixty days. We migrate your books back to the start of your last taxable year, set up ControlQore, and build your job costing structure from scratch. Fully operational in two months.