WHY PAVING CONTRACTORS LOSE MARGIN ON JOBS THAT LOOK PROFITABLE.
Paving cost per ton is your production standard — total labor and equipment cost divided by tons placed, tracked by phase type. Parking lot paving runs at one cost per ton. Road paving runs at a different rate. Patching and overlay work has a completely different cost structure — more setup time per ton, smaller batch sizes, more equipment moves. A paving contractor who tracks all labor and equipment in one job code cannot see which phase types are profitable and which are absorbing margin from the ones that work.
CFOS builds tonnage-based cost tracking into every paving engagement — labor and equipment cost per ton by phase type, tracked weekly against the estimated rate so variance is visible before it consumes the remaining scope.
A paving contractor who places 2,000 tons of parking lot base and surface in a single pour builds a cost-per-ton history based on that efficient operation. The same contractor then wins a patching contract — 200 discrete patches across a 40-acre industrial site, ranging from 10 to 80 tons each. The estimate uses the parking lot cost-per-ton as the benchmark. The patching job runs 40% over because the setup time, equipment repositioning, small load premiums, and crew idle time between patches were never captured in the parking lot history.
Phase-type cost tracking creates separate cost-per-ton benchmarks for each work type. Patching history informs patching estimates. Parking lot history informs parking lot estimates. Each phase type builds its own accurate cost baseline over time.
Paving equipment cost is typically charged as an all-in daily or shift rate — paver, roller, and support equipment. On large continuous pours, that equipment is running efficiently and the cost per ton is low. On patching work, the paver may run for 20 minutes, sit for 45, run for 15, sit for 60. The daily equipment cost is the same. The tons placed are a fraction of a full-day pour. Cost per ton on patching work with an inefficient equipment utilization day can be three to four times the cost per ton on a continuous parking lot pour.
CFOS tracks tons placed by phase type against equipment hours running — not just equipment hours on site. When cost per ton exceeds the estimated rate by more than 15%, the cause is investigated: equipment utilization, batch size, load delivery timing, crew composition, or changed conditions on site layout.
Asphalt mix price is tied to liquid asphalt cement, which moves with oil prices. On a fixed-price paving contract signed 6 months before mobilization, a $12 per ton increase in mix price from the time of bid to time of placement is a direct margin hit. Most paving contracts have no escalation clause for material price changes. On a 3,000-ton job, that $12 swing is $36,000 in unrecovered material cost.
CFOS tracks material cost per ton — not just total material cost — against the bid price every delivery. When actual mix price exceeds bid price by more than 5%, CFOS reviews the contract for any escalation provisions and, if none exist, factors the variance into the cost-to-complete and future bid pricing.
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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