MASONRY: PRODUCTION RATE ROULETTE

200 to 1,000 depending on complexity: ornate fireplace work is at the low end, simple walls at the high end, and experienced masons average 400 to 600 on standard work. The number that protects margin is your own crews' tracked rate by wall type, compared to the estimate weekly.

Masonry contractors at $1M to $5M net 7 percent on average, rising to 13 percent by $25M to $50M; the CFOS net profit target is 10.5 percent before taxes at $1M to $5M, the trade average plus 3.5 points. The gap to target in this trade almost always is in three labor-side leaks: unpriced scaffold, lay-rate variance, and material waste above the estimate. Every net profit figure here is gross margin minus overhead, stated before taxes, the same basis CFMA reports net income on.

8 to 10 percent on standard work; complex patterns, cuts, and repair work are up to 15 percent. Estimate below the real number and the material line reduces margin on every pallet. Track waste variance per job so the estimating factor comes from your own history, not a rule of thumb.

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.