It is not about revenue. It is about whether the financial system problems in your business are costing more than the CFO fee to fix them. Here is how to know.
These are not hypothetical indicators. They are the specific financial system failures that cost contractors real money every month and do not resolve on their own. If two or more apply to your business, the CFO fee pays for itself in month one.
The P&L shows profit. The bank account disagrees. This is a financial system problem — billing timing, overhead rate, uncollected AR — not a revenue problem. A bookkeeper records both numbers correctly but cannot explain or fix the gap. A CFO diagnoses it and eliminates it.
You find out a job lost money at closeout. The bookkeeper recorded all the costs. Nobody was tracking actual versus budgeted cost at current percentage complete. Job costing mid-job — the CFO function — is the only way to catch a losing job while there is still time to act.
You set an overhead rate when you started bidding and have not recalculated it since. The business grew. Overhead grew with it. The rate in bids did not. Every job you win is underpriced by the difference — silently, every bid.
SPM audits outstanding AR at engagement start — every invoice over 30 days, every uncollected balance. Most contractors have $50,000–$300,000 in AR at 45+ days with no follow-up. Collecting it generates immediate cash. At SPM's rate for a $4M contractor ($3,800–$5,500/month), one month's AR collection typically covers 3–6 months of fees.
Pull SG&A from the P&L. Divide by revenue. Compare to what is in bids. A 7-point gap on $5M in revenue is $350,000 per year in underfunded overhead. The correction takes one number change in the estimating model and applies to every future bid permanently.
Chart of accounts restructuring, cost code build, QuickBooks migration, active job entry for WIP accuracy. By week eight, the contractor has a functioning WIP schedule and job-level margin reporting — typically for the first time.
Every GC's pay app cut-off date mapped. Billing calendar built. 13-week cash flow forecast live. Pay app submission is on time every cycle. The cash gaps that were surprises are now visible 8 weeks in advance.
A free call with Josh takes 30 minutes. Bring your last P&L and current bank balance.
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