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 run the business on.
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 running 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 arithmetic 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 runs past what 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 carry 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 hits $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, and no add-ons.
| Last 12 months revenue | Monthly fee |
|---|---|
| Up to $1M | $1,900 to $2,900 |
| $1M to $3.5M | $2,600 to $3,900 |
| $3.5M to $6.5M | $3,800 to $5,700 |
| $6.5M to $9.5M | $5,100 to $7,100 |
| $9.5M to $12.5M | $6,100 to $8,500 |
| $12.5M to $15.5M | $7,400 to $11,000 |
| $15.5M to $18.5M | $9,400 to $13,500 |
| $18.5M+ | Quoted individually |
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.
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 rather than a report.
Your bookkeeper keeps doing the books.
You stop touching the books.
Everything in Core, and we run the bookkeeping and the controllership as well. Nobody in your office is answering coding questions or chasing a reconciliation at month end.
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 job costing.
FREQUENTLY ASKED.
