WHEN CAN I AFFORD TO HIRE FOR MY CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, THE FINANCIAL ANALYSIS.
The question isn't whether you can make the payroll. It's whether the revenue the hire enables justifies the overhead increase it creates. Every hire above field labor raises the overhead rate from day one, so the bid template has to be updated before the next bid. The revenue breakeven is fully burdened cost divided by gross margin rate. And the working capital for the ramp period has to be available before the offer is signed. Most contractors make hiring decisions on workload and gut feel. The financial analysis takes 20 minutes and produces a specific breakeven number, so make the call from both.
Hiring is the one decision where the cost is certain and the benefit is a forecast. The salary reaches the P&L in the first pay cycle and every one after it, whether the extra work came in or not. The revenue that person adds depends on bids you haven't won yet and jobs that haven't started. That's why the math has to work in both directions: what the hire costs fully burdened, and what it has to produce to pay for itself. Once both numbers are on the table, the decision usually makes itself in about five minutes.
WHAT IT MEANS.
The revenue breakeven on a hire is the fully burdened cost of that person divided by your gross margin rate, which is the extra revenue the business has to produce to cover them.
THREE QUESTIONS, IN THIS ORDER.
What's the fully burdened cost and the overhead rate impact?
A $60,000 base salary hire costs $78,000 to $84,000 fully burdened, which is salary plus payroll taxes, workers comp, health insurance, and 401k. At $3M in revenue that's 2.6 to 2.8 points of overhead, and at $2M revenue it's 3.9 to 4.2 points. The overhead rate increases by that amount from the day the person starts. Every bid submitted after the hire at the old overhead rate is underpriced by the new overhead contribution, so the bid template has to be updated before the next bid goes out rather than at year end.
Does the revenue this person enables justify the overhead increase?
A PM hire lets the owner bid and win projects the current portfolio is too full to pursue. A bookkeeper hire lets the financial close happen on time so the cost-to-complete is reliable. A superintendent hire lets more simultaneous projects operate without quality dropping. In each case the hire is financially justified if the incremental revenue it enables, at current gross margins, exceeds the fully burdened cost of the hire within 12 months, which is what the revenue breakeven calculates: fully burdened cost divided by gross margin rate equals the revenue required to offset the hire.
Is the working capital available to fund the hire through the revenue ramp?
A new hire costs money from day one. The revenue that hire enables doesn't reach the bank until 30 to 60 days after the first projects they enable are billed. For a PM hire on a 6-week project start-to-first-billing cycle, the working capital requirement for the ramp period is 6 weeks of fully burdened PM cost, roughly $9,000 to $12,000, which most businesses can absorb without difficulty. For a superintendent hire on a $2M project with 10 weeks between mobilization and billing, the ramp capital is a much bigger number, so model it before the offer is signed.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN DOLLARS.
Take a PM hire at $75,000 base salary. Fully burdened cost is $75,000 times a 1.32 burden rate, which is $99,000 a year. At a current gross margin of 22%, the revenue breakeven is $99,000 divided by 0.22, or $450,000 in incremental revenue. The overhead rate impact at $4M revenue is plus 2.5 points. If that PM lets the owner pursue and win $450K or more in projects that would otherwise be passed, the hire pays for itself in year one. If not, it's a net cost in year one that needs a longer horizon to justify.
WHAT HAPPENS AROUND THE DECISION.
The overhead rate calculation is redone the week the hire starts, and the bid template reflects the new rate immediately. Waiting until year end means every bid in between is priced on a business that no longer exists. It's also the cheapest part of the whole exercise, because the math takes an afternoon.
Projects bid and won that the owner would have passed without the hire are tracked as their own number. That's the ROI measurement on the hire. It's also the only thing that answers, a year later, the question you asked before signing the offer.
A PM doesn't fix a cash flow problem, and a bookkeeper upgrade doesn't fix a profitability problem without the financial system underneath it. Build the financial infrastructure first. Once the numbers are visible, they will tell you whether the hire is justified and when.
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.
