ELECTRICAL: THE 2026 MATERIAL SQUEEZE

Two ways. Deposits of 10 to 30 percent are now standard to hold a production slot, which is cash out years early. And gear quoted at 16 weeks to 128 weeks means stored-materials billing and early buyout language have to be in the contract, or the contractor finances the wait.

On any fixed-price work crossing more than a quarter, yes. Copper moved 24.75 percent in a year and tariffs added 50 percent on top; a bid without an escalation or tariff clause is an unhedged commodity position. Index the clause to a published copper reference and date-stamp the bid basis.

Electrical contractors at $1M to $5M net 7.5 percent on average, rising to 9.5 percent by $25M to $50M; the CFOS target at $1M to $5M is 11 percent. Electrical carries 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 before taxes, the same basis CFMA reports on, so the two are directly comparable.

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 run the bookkeeping and the controllership as well. Strategic is where every job shows its margin while it is still running, 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.