WHAT CFOS REPLACES IN CONSTRUCTION.
Most construction subcontractors already have a bookkeeper, a CPA, and a spreadsheet, and they still can't say whether they made money on an individual job. CFOS replaces that setup rather than adding a layer on top of it. Each of those three pieces does something useful, none of them talk to each other, and the owner ends up doing the interpreting that none of them are positioned to do.
Before CFOS, the financial setup for a $3M to $8M subcontractor is three vendors and one tired owner. The bookkeeper records what happened, the CPA files taxes in March, the spreadsheet holds numbers nobody fully trusts, and the owner decides off the bank balance. CFOS replaces the structure that produces those outcomes. A controller closes the books and produces the WIP, a CFO works the numbers with you every month, and ControlQore holds the job cost and WIP so it reconciles to the books. The owner gets about 5 hours a month and an action list.
WHAT IT MEANS.
CFOS is a financial operating system for construction subcontractors that replaces the bookkeeper, CPA, and spreadsheet setup with one structure covering bookkeeping, controllership, and CFO advisory.
Each piece of the old setup does something. None of them talk to each other. The owner ends up as the integration layer between three vendors who have never spoken, which is the most expensive job in the company and the one nobody was hired for.
FOUR BLIND SPOTS.
The bookkeeper can't read the numbers forward
A bookkeeper codes transactions and reconciles accounts accurately. They can't produce WIP, build a cash forecast, or tell you whether Job 14 is losing money. That describes the role rather than the person, and it leaves the interpreting to whoever is left holding the file.
The CPA looks at the business once a year
A tax firm reviews the business in March and files the return. Nobody is reviewing job margins in July or flagging the overhead rate problem in October. Nobody is in the room when you decide whether to take a $2M job that will break cash flow.
The spreadsheets don't reconcile
Numbers stitched together manually are numbers nobody fully trusts. The WIP is three months old by the time a decision gets made off it. Job cost doesn't tie to the bookkeeping because the two live in different systems, so every meeting starts by arguing about which file is right.
The owner is doing the interpreting alone
You get bookkeeping output, a tax return, and a spreadsheet, then work out what it all means by yourself. Cash flow decisions get made off the bank balance because that's the one figure you trust. The business operates on instinct, because the setup doesn't produce anything you can act on.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN DOLLARS.
A concrete sub had a bookkeeper, filed taxes on time, and tracked jobs in a spreadsheet. The business netted $161K on $4.9M of revenue, or 3.3 percent, and nobody could say where the rest went. Overhead was 28 percent against the 10 percent used in the estimates, so every job was priced 18 points below what it cost to execute. After the bid structure was rebuilt, net profit went to $1.1M on $5.2M of revenue the following year.
One job closed $80K worse than estimated and nobody saw it coming. Under CFOS that job gets flagged in month two, when cost is 12 points above estimate and the PM is in the room. The problem gets worked while there's still job left to fix it.
An owner took an MCA loan at 48 percent APR to cover payroll, working the math out alone at 11pm. A 13 week cash forecast reports that payroll shortfall eight weeks ahead of it. The line of credit draw gets planned, the MCA never happens, and nobody is doing math at 11pm.
THE FOUR REPLACEMENTS.
A controller closes the books, reconciles the accounts, produces the WIP, reviews cost to complete on every job, and reports to the CFO monthly. You keep the same transaction accuracy and get the interpreting layer that turns records into decisions. It's one team, so nothing gets tossed between vendors.
Monthly strategic meetings on cash position, job margins, and the overhead rate. Not tax advice, operating advice, covering the decisions you make between January and December. CFOS works alongside your CPA rather than instead of them.
A job costing and WIP platform connected to the books, so the numbers reconcile because they come out of the same system. WIP is produced monthly from closed books. The cash forecast gets built from the AR aging and the billing schedule instead of somebody's memory of what's coming.
One monthly meeting with the CFO and an action list that comes out of it. You manage the business and CFOS operates the financial operating system. Same team, no scope gaps.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Under $1M | $1,900 to $3,300 | $1,000 |
| $1M to $3.5M | $2,600 to $5,300 | $1,500 |
| $3.5M to $6.5M | $3,800 to $8,300 | $3,000 |
| $6.5M to $9.5M | $5,100 to $11,800 | $4,500 |
| $9.5M to $12.5M | $6,100 to $14,900 | $6,000 |
| $12.5M to $15.5M | $7,400 to $17,650 | $7,500 |
| $15.5M to $18.5M | $9,400 to $22,400 | $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.
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.
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.
