THE ASSEMBLY LINE TEST.
Does the work repeat in a predictable unit? That's the whole test. If your work is priced and performed in consistent, measurable units that repeat from job to job, then job costing in ControlQore can tell you weekly whether the true cost per unit matches the estimated cost per unit. If the work doesn't repeat that way, job costing turns into expensive custom accounting instead of something you can manage the business with.
This came out of years managing commercial construction and reviewing more than 50 subcontractor financials a month. The contractors who catch a problem in week two rather than at closeout have one thing in common: their work produces a trackable unit every day. The ones who find out at closeout are doing work that resists unit tracking, and no amount of software fixes that. Eighteen trades pass the test. Mechanical, plumbing, fire protection, HVAC, and most interior finish trades don't, and that's not a judgment about those businesses.
WHAT IT MEANS.
The assembly line test is one question: does the work repeat in a predictable unit?
Eighteen trades pass: civil, concrete, concrete flatwork, electrical on commercial new construction only, SWPPP and erosion control, underground utility, sitework, grading, masonry, framing, drywall, insulation, excavation, demolition, paving, structural steel, waterproofing, and EIFS and stucco. Each one produces work that repeats in a unit you can count, whether that's linear feet, cubic yards, square feet, tons, floors, or pieces set. Cost codes built to match those units give you a job cost report you can read every week instead of a postmortem at closeout.
Civil work gets tracked in linear feet of pipe and cubic yards of excavation. Concrete gets tracked in cubic yards placed per pour, with cost codes sequenced by formwork, rebar, pump, placement, and finishing. Masonry gets tracked in units per mason hour by wall type and floor. The unit is different in every trade and the math underneath it's the same one every time.
WHERE UNIT TRACKING BREAKS DOWN.
Mechanical contractors
The phase matrix for commercial HVAC covers design, procurement by equipment category, several labor classifications, inspection phases, startup, and commissioning. That produces dozens of cost code combinations, and the setup time is more than the engagement is worth. Unit price comparison fails because the units aren't consistent from one project to the next.
Plumbing contractors
Plumbing has the same problem as mechanical. Underground, above slab rough in, trim out, and service work each have a different cost structure. Service work adds per call cost allocation, callback tracking, and dispatcher overhead, which needs a different system than assembly line job costing.
Fire protection
Design, specialty suppression equipment procurement, rough in, trim out, AHJ inspection, and commissioning each have different cost drivers, lead times, and billing events. The assembly line idea breaks down at the design and specialty procurement phases. There's no unit repeating across jobs to measure the work against.
Electrical remodel and TI work
Commercial new construction electrical passes, because floor by floor and phase by phase tracking works on a new building. Remodel and tenant improvement fail, because the phase matrix moves with the building type, the existing conditions, and the owner's requirements. Consistent unit cost tracking isn't practical when every job is a different animal.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN DOLLARS.
A civil contractor estimates pipe installation at $42 per linear foot. ControlQore tracks the true cost per linear foot every week. When the true cost reaches $58 in week three, the variance is visible, the cause can be found, and there's still time to do something about it. That's the whole benefit, and it only exists when the unit repeats.
SPECIALIZATION IS THE POINT.
A fractional CFO who serves every trade builds one generic setup, and then the civil contractor gets the same structure as the mechanical contractor. Neither one ends up with a system that matches how they estimate and how they produce. Turning down the trades that fail the test is what makes it possible to build something that fits the ones we take.
A civil contractor's cost codes match the unit price categories in the bid. A masonry contractor's codes match wall types. A framing contractor's codes match the floor by floor estimate. That level of fit is only possible when the work repeats in a unit, which is what the test is checking for.
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.
Built for subs doing $1M to $12M. Above $12.5M we quote.
| Last 12 months revenue | Core | Strategic | Platinum | One-time onboarding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $1M | $1,900 | $3,100 | $3,300 | $2,500 |
| $1M to $3.5M | $2,600 | $4,100 | $5,300 | $4,500 |
| $3.5M to $6.5M | $3,800 | $5,900 | $8,300 | $6,000 |
| $6.5M to $9.5M | $5,100 | $7,600 | $11,800 | $7,500 |
| $9.5M to $12.5M | $6,100 | $8,900 | $14,900 | $9,000 |
| Above $12.5M | Quoted | Quoted | Quoted | Quoted |
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, and it moves with your revenue band. Your first month is prorated, and your monthly engagement starts on the first of the first full month.
Just want the setup? Onboarding only is the same onboarding work with no monthly service after it, one time, at the onboarding fee plus $2,000. Start a monthly engagement later and $2,000 counts toward it. It starts at $4,500, and the price for every band is on the pricing page.
The three tier columns are the whole price. Which one fits 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.
- Online software only: QuickBooks, Sage, Viewpoint and similar. No VPN or hosted desktop.
- Not in any tier: payroll, pay applications, collections on receivables.
- Pricing valid through 2027.
CFO work. Your own bookkeeper keeps doing the books.
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.
Core, plus bookkeeping and bank reconciliations, plus job costing and WIP software set up and managed for you. Use your own online accounting software or we supply it, one price.
Every job shows its margin while it is still open.
Everything in Core, plus the bookkeeping and bank reconciliations done for you, and the job costing and WIP software set up, loaded with your cost codes, and managed every month. Use your own online software, or move to ours and we cover it.
A bookkeeper we choose does the books and reconciliations. No payroll.
Strategic, plus a controller who handles payables and receivables the way an in-house controller would. You approve every payment.
You approve, and the money side gets handled.
Everything in Strategic, plus a controller we choose who handles your bills and receivables for you the way an in-house controller would. They call vendors, pay the bills and keep the accounting current. We plan the cash flow first, and you approve every payment because it is your money.
A controller we choose does the payables and receivables. No payroll, no pay applications, no collections.
FREQUENTLY ASKED.
