ELECTRICAL: 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 net profit target is 12.5 percent before taxes at $1M to $5M, the trade average plus 3.5 points. Electrical has the highest gross margins of the site trades, which means the gap to target is usually in overhead and AR, not in the field. Every net profit figure here is gross margin minus overhead, stated before taxes, the same basis CFMA reports net income on.

Because the job structure ties cash up in the middle. Wire and labor go in at rough-in, trim-out billing comes 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 stays 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. Strategic is where every job shows its margin while it is still open: a bookkeeper we choose does the books and the bank reconciliations, and the job costing and WIP software is set up and managed for you, on your own online software or ours. Platinum is where you approve and the money side gets handled: a controller we choose handles your bills and receivables the way an in-house controller would, and you approve every payment. No payroll. No scope gaps.

Sixty days. We migrate your books back to the start of your last taxable year and build your job costing structure from scratch, and on Strategic and Platinum we set up the job costing and WIP software too. Fully operational in two months. The onboarding fee is one time, the same for every tier, and set by your revenue band.