QuickBooks vs. ControlQore — Construction Job Costing — $1M–$12M
QuickBooks · ControlQore · Job Costing Software · Time to Switch · $1M–$12M
When QuickBooks
Stops Working.
QuickBooks works for basic bookkeeping. It breaks down when you need real construction job costing — cost-to-complete, WIP reporting, earned revenue, estimate vs. actual variance. Here's exactly when it's time to switch, what to switch to, and how SPM makes the transition painless.
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SPM vs. Other CFO Firms
Most CFO Firms Serving This Trade
- High revenue minimums — most won't serve under $5M
- Advisory only — no bookkeeping, no implementation
- No job costing setup or ControlQore management
- No monthly WIP as standard deliverable
- No pricing published — discovery call required
- No vetted partner network for bonding, lending, or liens
- No prevailing wage specialty
The Construction CFO — SPM
- Serves $1M–$12M — starts at $1,900/month
- Full implementation — bookkeeping, job costing, CFO advisory
- ControlQore setup and managed for you every month
- Monthly WIP standard in Executive tier
- Full pricing published — no discovery call to find out costs
- Vetted partners for bonding, lending, lien services, payroll
- Prevailing wage and Davis-Bacon specialty
What We See in This Business
01
QuickBooks Tracks Costs. It Can't Manage Jobs.
QuickBooks records what you've spent on a job. It cannot tell you what you expect to spend to finish, whether you're overbilled or underbilled, or what your earned revenue position is. That's bookkeeping with a job number — not job costing. Most contractors running QuickBooks don't know if a job is profitable until it's done.
02
No WIP Capability Whatsoever
There is no native WIP schedule in QuickBooks. You can export data and build one manually in a spreadsheet — but it's disconnected from your live books and takes hours to produce. Banks and sureties require WIP. QuickBooks cannot deliver it without significant manual effort.
03
Estimate vs. Actual Requires Manual Spreadsheets
Comparing estimated cost to actual cost by job in QuickBooks requires exporting data, reformatting it, and manually reconciling numbers every time you want to see the comparison. By the time you have the analysis the job has moved on and the information is already stale.
How SPM Fixes It
ControlQore Does What QuickBooks Can't
ControlQore is built specifically for construction job costing. Cost-to-complete, WIP, estimate vs. actual variance, earned revenue, overbilled and underbilled position — all native features, all integrated, all updated monthly by SPM. No spreadsheets, no exports, no manual work.
SPM Handles the Migration
We migrate your QuickBooks data to ControlQore during the 60-day onboarding process. Historical data comes with you. You don't lose anything and you don't manage the migration. Most clients are fully operational in ControlQore within 60 days.
You Don't Have to Learn New Software
SPM sets up ControlQore and manages it for you. Your team learns what they need to know to enter time and code transactions — we handle the configuration, maintenance, and monthly updates. The switch is operationally painless.
Service Tiers
Tier 01
Core Financial
Starts at $1,900 / month
- ControlQore setup and management
- Job costing aligned to your estimate structure
- Cost-to-complete tracking — updated monthly
- Full-service bookkeeping — minimum 30 min/week
- Vendor payments via ACH (you approve, we initiate)
- Accounts receivable management
- Bank reconciliations and transaction matching
- Controllership
- 1 monthly CFO meeting
- 60-day onboarding — books migrated to last taxable year
Most Popular
Tier 02
Executive Financial
Starts at $2,900 / month
- Everything in Core Financial
- Monthly WIP schedule — delivered every month, standard
- 13-week cash flow forecasting
- CEO Report — monthly financial dashboard
- 3 CFO advisory meetings per month
- Strategic accountability and actionable to-dos
- Direct access to Josh Luebker
Pricing by Revenue
Revenue Range
(Last 12 Months) |
Core Financial
Monthly |
Executive Financial
Monthly |
| Under $1M | $1,900 | $2,900 |
| $1M – $3M | $2,600 | $3,600 |
| $4M – $6M | $3,800 | $5,500 |
| $7M – $9M | $5,100 | $6,900 |
| $10M – $12M | $6,100 | $8,500 |
| $13M+ | Quoted | Quoted |
Vetted Partner Network
National Lien Services
When AR gets too long, we connect you directly to our lien services partner to protect what you've earned.
Additional cost — not included in monthly fee
Payroll Integration Partners
Prevailing wage and regular payroll software partners integrated directly with ControlQore job costing.
Additional cost — not included in monthly fee
Bonding Partners
Surety relationships and bonding capacity support. We prepare the financials — our partners get you bonded.
Additional cost — not included in monthly fee
Lending Partners
Working capital lines and equipment financing through vetted lenders who understand construction.
Additional cost — not included in monthly fee
Reviewed Financials
CPA-level financial statement reviews for banking, bonding, and large contract requirements.
Additional cost — not included in monthly fee
CPA Coordination
We work alongside your existing CPA — not replacing them. Clean books and job costing make tax time easier.
Included — no extra cost
Common Questions
Straight answers.
Can SPM work with clients who want to stay on QuickBooks?
No. All SPM clients run on ControlQore. It's the foundation of the job costing and WIP system we build. Clients migrate from QuickBooks during the 60-day onboarding — SPM manages the migration.
What does ControlQore cost?
ControlQore is approximately $100/month per $1M in revenue. A $3M contractor pays about $300/month — less than most project management tools that don't even do job costing. Setup is included in the SPM engagement.
At what revenue level should a contractor switch from QuickBooks?
The moment job costing matters — which is usually around $1M–$2M in revenue when you have multiple active jobs simultaneously and need to know which ones are profitable. If you're running more than 3–4 active jobs at a time and using QuickBooks, you're flying blind on job profitability.
What about Sage, Foundation, or Procore financials?
Sage and Foundation are powerful but expensive and complex for contractors under $10M. Procore is a project management tool — its financial module is not a replacement for dedicated job costing software. ControlQore is right-sized for $1M–$12M contractors — more capable than QuickBooks, more affordable than Sage, purpose-built for the revenue range SPM serves.
What's included in Core Financial?
ControlQore setup, job costing aligned to your estimates, cost-to-complete tracking, full bookkeeping (minimum 30 min/week), ACH vendor payments (you approve, we initiate), AR management, bank reconciliations, transaction matching, controllership, and 1 monthly CFO meeting. Starts at $1,900/month.
What does Executive Financial add?
Everything in Core plus monthly WIP schedule, 13-week cash flow forecasting, CEO Report, and 3 CFO advisory meetings per month. Starts at $2,900/month. WIP, cash flow forecasting, and the CEO Report are Executive tier only.
Do you handle payroll?
No. We have vetted payroll software partners — including prevailing wage integrations — that connect directly with ControlQore. Those are separate engagements at additional cost.
How long does onboarding take?
60 days. We migrate your books to the start of your last taxable year, set up ControlQore, and build your job costing structure. Fully operational in two months.
What software do clients use?
ControlQore. All SPM clients run on ControlQore for job costing and WIP. We set it up and manage it — you don't have to learn it. Clients switching from QuickBooks, Sage, or other platforms migrate during onboarding.
Do you work alongside our CPA?
Yes. We work alongside your existing CPA — not replacing them. Clean books and accurate job costing make their job easier at tax time.
What happens when we grow past $12M?
We have a clear graduation path. We prepare your financials, systems, and team for the transition and connect you with the right firm for your next stage of growth.