HOW A CONSTRUCTION CFO MANAGES JOB COST TRACKING.
A bookkeeper enters costs into cost codes. A CFO manages costs against estimates, compares actual to budgeted at the phase level, tracks cost-to-complete weekly, and flags variances before they compound. The difference between those two functions is the difference between a job costing system that produces data and one that produces decisions. Most subcontractors have the first. Almost none have the second.
Job costing without a CFO layer is a filing system. It tells you what happened after the fact. Job costing with a CFO layer is a management tool. It tells you what is going to happen while there is still time to change it.
A bookkeeper enters a concrete delivery invoice into the material cost code for job 112. The entry is correct. The cost is in the right place. The job costing system now has accurate data. What happens next is where the gap appears.
A CFO looks at that entry against the material budget for job 112. The concrete delivery is $18,000. The material budget for this phase is $14,500. There is a $3,500 variance. Why? Was the scope different? Did prices change? Was there a change order that was not captured? That question gets asked this week — not at job closeout when there is nothing left to do about it.
The most important number in any job cost system is not what has been spent. It is what remains to be spent. Cost-to-complete is the PM's current best estimate of what it will cost to finish the job from today. That number, combined with costs incurred, produces the projected final cost — and the projected final margin.
A CFOS engagement builds cost-to-complete into the weekly PM scorecard. Every Friday, every active job has a projected final margin based on that week's field reality. When a job is projecting 14% margin instead of the 23% estimated, that is a problem that gets addressed in week 6 — not week 14.
When an accountant sees a labor variance, they document it. When a CFO sees a labor variance, they ask why and what is being done about it. That distinction changes the outcome of every job review meeting. The CFO who brings a week-6 job cost scorecard showing 8% labor overrun to a PM meeting is producing a decision — not a report.
CFOS structures monthly job reviews as accountability meetings. The PM presents cost-to-complete. The CFO presents variance analysis. The owner asks one question: what are we going to do about it. The answer determines whether the job recovers or fades.
FLAT MONTHLY FEE. NO SURPRISES.
Two tiers based on trailing 12-month revenue. No hourly billing. No payroll. No add-ons.
| Revenue | Core Financial | Executive Financial |
|---|---|---|
| Under $1M | $1,900/mo | $2,900/mo |
| $1M–$3M | $2,600/mo | $3,600/mo |
| $4M–$6M | $3,800/mo | $5,500/mo |
| $7M–$9M | $5,100/mo | $6,900/mo |
| $10M–$12M | $6,100/mo | $8,500/mo |
| $13M+ | Quoted | Quoted |
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