HOW TO STOP THE CASH FLOW PROBLEM.
Construction cash flow problems get fixed by rebuilding the billing cycle to match real cost timing, forecasting cash 13 weeks ahead, and correcting the overhead rate that's often eating margin without anybody seeing it. Together those three fixes address the causes rather than the symptom of a tight bank account.
A tight bank account is the symptom, and there are three stacked causes underneath it. The first is a billing cycle that runs behind when the costs hit, so you fund the job out of your own money for weeks. The second is no forward view, which makes a shortfall in week nine a surprise in week nine. The third is an overhead rate that was never checked against the books, which thins the margin on every job you win. Borrowing or stretching vendors delays all three. Fixing the mechanisms is what stops the cycle from repeating.
WHAT IT MEANS.
A construction cash flow problem is a timing mismatch between when a subcontractor spends money on a job and when the money for that work reaches the bank.
Borrowing buys time without fixing why the shortfall exists. The same shortfall tends to come back, often worse, because there's now debt service sitting on top of the original problem. Stretching vendors works the same way, since it moves the date without changing the math underneath it.
ADDRESS THE CAUSE, NOT THE SYMPTOM.
The billing cycle runs behind the cost
Costs hit the job in week one, the pay app goes out at the end of the month, and it gets paid 30 to 60 days after that. You funded the work out of your own cash the entire time. When the schedule of values isn't structured to match when the money goes out, every job borrows from the business before it pays anything back.
There's no forward view of the cash
Without a rolling forecast you find out about a shortfall in the week it happens, which is the week you have the fewest options left. A 13 week forecast built on your real billing cycle, payroll schedule, and vendor terms gives roughly 8 weeks of notice before a shortfall hits. Eight weeks is enough time to bill faster, hold a purchase, or call the bank, and one week isn't.
The overhead rate was never checked against the books
An overhead rate that hasn't been rebuilt from real financials inside the past year is usually higher than the number sitting in the bid model. Many contractors are running overhead 10 or more points above what they assumed, which compresses margin on every job and compounds the cash problem. The bid keeps winning work that can't pay for the office.
FOUR THINGS THAT CHANGE THE TIMING.
Front load the schedule of values to match when the costs really hit, within what the contract and the GC will accept, and bill for stored materials where the contract allows instead of waiting for installation. The billing structure gets negotiated at signing rather than argued about at pay app three. Moving cash earlier in the job costs nothing but the conversation.
A rolling forecast built around your real billing cycle, payroll schedule, and vendor terms gives roughly 8 weeks of warning before a shortfall hits. It gets updated weekly rather than quarterly, because a stale forecast is just a spreadsheet. The point of it's the funding decision you make before the week starts.
The rate gets rebuilt from the last twelve months of financials instead of repeated out of habit. If the real number is higher than what the bids use, every bid since the last recalculation was underpriced by the difference. The corrected rate applies to the bid sitting on your desk today, not next quarter.
AR that gets chased inconsistently ages into a real cash problem. A scheduled, systematic collections process turns billed work into cash on a predictable timeline instead of whenever somebody remembers to call. It's the cheapest cash in the business, because the work is already done and the invoice is already out.
FLAT MONTHLY FEE. NO SURPRISES.
Three tiers, priced by your trailing twelve month revenue. Which one you're in depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. No hourly billing. No payroll. The one-time onboarding fee is right here in the table.
| Last 12 months revenue | Monthly fee | One-time onboarding |
|---|---|---|
| Up to $1M | $1,900 to $2,900 | $1,000 |
| $1M to $3.5M | $2,600 to $3,900 | $1,500 |
| $3.5M to $6.5M | $3,800 to $5,700 | $3,000 |
| $6.5M to $9.5M | $5,100 to $7,100 | $4,500 |
| $9.5M to $12.5M | $6,100 to $8,500 | $6,000 |
| $12.5M to $15.5M | $7,400 to $11,000 | $7,500 |
| $15.5M to $18.5M | $9,400 to $13,500 | $9,000 |
| $18.5M+ | Quoted individually | Quoted individually |
The onboarding fee covers migrating your books back to the start of your last taxable year and getting you fully operational in 60 days. It's billed once, with your first invoice. It's the same for all three tiers. Your first month is prorated, and your monthly engagement starts on the first of the first full month.
Range reflects the three tiers below. Which one you're in depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. No payroll. No hidden line items. The onboarding fee is right here in the table.
You stop guessing.
You get the CFO work. Job costing built against the way you estimate, a 13 week cash forecast, monthly WIP, and a meeting every month that ends in decisions and never in a report.
Your bookkeeper still does the books.
You stop touching the books.
Everything in Core, and we run the bookkeeping and the controllership as well. Your office stops answering coding questions and stops chasing a reconciliation on the last day of the month.
We do the books. No payroll.
Every job shows its margin while it's still running.
Everything in Executive, plus the job costing and WIP platform set up, loaded with your cost codes, and managed for you every month. You never have to learn it.
We do the books, the job costing, and the software. No payroll.
FREQUENTLY ASKED.
