INTEGRATED DELIVERY PARTNER · DEFRAN BOOKKEEPING · CONSTRUCTIONCFO.NET
DEFRAN BOOKKEEPING — THE BOOKS BEHIND THE SYSTEM.
WHAT IS DEFRAN BOOKKEEPING?
DeFran Bookkeeping is a construction-focused bookkeeping firm that handles day-to-day financial recordkeeping for contractors and subcontractors using ControlQore and QuickBooks Online. On integrated SPM engagements, DeFran runs the books — transaction coding, bank reconciliations, and payables — while SPM runs the financial control layer on top: job costing structure, WIP reporting, overhead rate management, cash flow forecasting, and monthly CFO strategy. One coordinated system. No gaps between the bookkeeping and the decisions.
Most subcontractors either have a bookkeeper who doesn't understand construction or a CFO who doesn't get into the books. The SPM and DeFran model closes that gap. DeFran keeps the data clean and current in ControlQore. SPM turns that data into financial control. Both layers run together, on the same platform, with the same job cost structure underneath everything.
BY JOSH LUEBKERPublished: June 2026Updated: June 2026
The Problem This Solves
Bookkeeping and CFO Work Are Not the Same Job.
Most subcontractors know they need someone on the books. What they don't always see is that bookkeeping alone doesn't build financial control. The books can be perfectly clean and the business can still be pricing jobs wrong, running overhead they can't see, and making decisions without real numbers. That's the gap DeFran and SPM close together.
Layer 1
DeFran Handles
Day-to-day transaction coding, bank reconciliations, accounts payable, payroll entry, and keeping the books current in ControlQore or QuickBooks Online. Data in, data clean, data on time.
Layer 2
SPM Handles
Job costing structure, WIP reporting, overhead rate calculation, cash flow forecasting, monthly CEO report, and CFO strategy. Clean books turned into financial control and decisions that actually work.
Together
What You Get
A complete financial system built for how commercial subcontracting actually works. One platform (ControlQore), one job cost structure, two teams working from the same source of truth with no handoff gaps.
How It Works
The Integrated Delivery Model.
On integrated engagements, DeFran and SPM are set up in parallel from day one. The same ControlQore job cost structure that SPM designs is what DeFran codes transactions against. There's no translation layer, no reconciling two different systems, no waiting for month-end to find out what happened on a job two weeks ago.
STEP 01 — SETUP
SPM Builds the Structure. DeFran Gets Into It.
SPM designs the job cost code structure, chart of accounts, and ControlQore setup during onboarding. DeFran is handed that structure and begins coding every transaction against it from day one. No legacy chart of accounts. No misaligned categories. Everything starts clean.
STEP 02 — WEEKLY CADENCE
DeFran Keeps the Books Current. SPM Monitors the Numbers.
DeFran handles weekly bookkeeping so transactions are coded and reconciled before they pile up. SPM monitors job cost performance against estimates in real time — not once a month after the fact. By the time the monthly CFO meeting happens, the numbers are already there.
STEP 03 — MONTHLY CLOSE
Books Close by the Tenth. CEO Report Follows.
DeFran closes the books and completes bank reconciliations by the tenth of each month. SPM pulls the CEO report — revenue, gross profit, overhead, net profit, cash position, 13-month trend — and runs the monthly CFO meeting with the owner. The owner sees the real numbers. Not a guess. Not a lag.
STEP 04 — ONGOING
One Source of Truth. Two Teams Accountable to It.
DeFran and SPM both work from the same ControlQore data. If a job cost code is missing, DeFran flags it. If a transaction is coded wrong, SPM catches it in the WIP review. The system is self-correcting because two sets of trained eyes are on the same numbers all month.
Why ControlQore
The Platform Both Teams Work From.
DeFran works in both ControlQore and QuickBooks Online. On SPM integrated engagements, ControlQore is the platform — because it's built for job-level financial control in a way that QuickBooks Online isn't. DeFran is trained in both. The platform choice is driven by what the engagement needs.
CQ
ControlQore — Job-Level Visibility
ControlQore is SPM's platform of choice for construction subcontractors because it tracks cost at the job level in real time — by phase, by cost code, against the estimate. QuickBooks shows you a P&L. ControlQore shows you whether Job 14 is trending to make money before it's too late to do anything about it. DeFran is a trained ControlQore operator and sets up every engagement in it correctly from day one.
QBO
QuickBooks Online — Where It Fits
For subcontractors who aren't on ControlQore yet, DeFran runs books in QuickBooks Online. SPM can work in QBO as well, though the job costing visibility is more limited. For new SPM clients, ControlQore migration is part of onboarding — DeFran is already familiar with that transition and can run the books on either side of it.
ControlQore is priced at approximately $100/month per $1M in revenue — more affordable and more construction-specific than legacy platforms. SPM handles ControlQore setup and implementation as part of every engagement. Learn more about ControlQore →
FAQ
Common Questions About the Integration.
QDo I have to use DeFran Bookkeeping to work with SPM?
No. Many SPM clients have an existing bookkeeper or handle books in-house. SPM can work with your current bookkeeping setup as long as the data is in ControlQore and coded consistently. The DeFran integration is offered for clients who want both layers handled without managing two separate vendor relationships.
QWhat does DeFran actually do day to day?
Transaction coding, bank reconciliations, accounts payable processing, payroll entry, and keeping the books current on a weekly basis. On ControlQore engagements they also maintain job cost entries so that SPM's WIP reporting reflects real-time actuals — not month-old numbers.
QIs DeFran a construction-only bookkeeping firm?
DeFran works with businesses across industries but specifically built out ControlQore capability for contractor clients. Their site explicitly calls out project-based financial tools for contractors — that specialization is what makes them a fit for the SPM integrated model rather than a generic bookkeeper.
QWhat size contractor is this a fit for?
The SPM and DeFran integrated model is typically a fit for commercial subcontractors doing $1M–$8M in revenue who need both bookkeeping and CFO oversight but aren't large enough to justify a full-time controller and full-time CFO in-house. The combined cost is a fraction of two full-time hires with more construction-specific expertise than most in-house accounting teams at that size.
