Fractional CFO for contractors.
A fractional CFO is a senior finance executive you share part-time instead of hiring full-time. Ours speaks construction: job costing, WIP, a 13-week cash forecast, and bank-ready reports, with the books handled inside the engagement. A flat fee instead of a $170,000 to $360,000 hire.
What is a fractional CFO for a construction company?
A fractional CFO for a construction company is a senior finance leader who runs your numbers part-time, for a flat fee, instead of on a full-time payroll. The job is construction-specific: NAHB job costing, WIP schedules, a 13-week cash forecast, and reports your banker and surety actually trust. You get CFO-level judgment without the cost of a full-time hire.
The numbers make the case. A full-time construction CFO costs about $170,000 to $360,000 a year all-in, per CFMA 2025 compensation surveys. Smaller contractors average roughly $173,000 all-in (base near $142,249 plus bonus near $30,853), and larger contractors approach $357,000 total. A standalone fractional construction CFO runs $3,000 to $9,000 a month, most between $4,000 and $9,000. For a contractor under about $15M in revenue, the finance work is rarely full-time, so paying for a full-time seat is paying for a chair nobody sits in.
A fractional CFO is not a bookkeeper and not a CPA. A bookkeeper records what happened. A CPA files taxes and keeps you compliant. A fractional CFO looks forward: which jobs are bleeding, where cash goes in week seven, and what you can afford to bid. We sit alongside your bookkeeper and CPA, with your books handled inside the engagement.
Why do profitable contractors still run out of cash?
Profitable contractors run out of cash because profit and cash are not the same thing. You can earn a job on paper while under-billing it, paying for materials upfront, and waiting 45 days on a draw. Without a WIP schedule and a 13-week cash forecast, that gap stays hidden until payroll is due and the account is empty.
The hidden culprit is usually under-billing. A WIP schedule, built to percentage-of-completion, shows exactly how much of each open job is billed versus earned. It is a construction-specific report, not part of standard small-business bookkeeping, and it is the first thing a fractional CFO installs. Healthy contractors carry a backlog of 6 to 18 months and watch days-sales-outstanding stay under 60 days. When those drift, cash drifts with them.
The fix is forward visibility. A rolling 13-week cash map ties your draws, payroll, material buys, and retainage into one view, so you see the crunch weeks before it lands and plan around it. Learn the mechanics in our guide to construction cash flow management and WIP reporting that bankers trust.
What does a fractional CFO cost for a contractor?
A fractional CFO for a contractor costs $3,000 to $9,000 a month on the open market, most between $4,000 and $9,000. We package it as a 3-phase ladder so you can start with a low-risk diagnostic and step up only when it pays. The entry point is a $3,500 14-Day Financial X-Ray, not a long contract.
| Phase | What it is | Price |
|---|---|---|
| The 14-Day Financial X-RayThe front door | We connect QuickBooks and produce your baseline in 14 days: a financial snapshot, a 7-KPI scorecard against construction benchmarks, your real cash position, the top profit and cash leaks, and a 90-day roadmap. The deliverable is the plan. | $3,500Free for exit or PE-track owners above $10M. |
| The 6-Week Profit Command SprintThe core program | Six weeks, defined scope, fast cash wins. We clean the data, build job costing and a WIP schedule, recover under-billing, set a driver-based budget and a 13-week cash forecast, then hand you a board-grade package and a live plan. | $9,800 to $14,500Paid upfront. Tiered by revenue. |
| The Command RetainerOngoing | Your fractional CFO every week. We keep the forecast live, run the monthly board package, review jobs weekly, and steer the numbers, with your books handled inside the engagement. | $3,500 to $12,000/moBy revenue tier, up to $15M+ at $9,000 to $12,000/mo. Month to month after 90 days. |
Key takeaway: you can start for $3,500 and never sign a long contract. The retainer is month to month after 90 days, and your books are handled inside the engagement, never billed as a separate tier.
Sources for the open-market range: CFMA 2025, nstarfinance, cfoadvisors, madrasaccountancy, thecashflowcfo, 2025 to 2026.
Is a fractional CFO cheaper than hiring one?
Yes, a fractional CFO is far cheaper than a full-time hire. A full-time construction CFO costs about $170,000 to $360,000 a year all-in, per CFMA 2025. A fractional CFO retainer of $3,500 to $12,000 a month is about $42,000 to $144,000 a year, often a quarter to half the cost, for the same senior judgment on the part-time hours a growing contractor actually needs.
| Role | All-in cost | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time construction CFO | Salary, bonus, benefits, and payroll tax (CFMA 2025) | $170,000 to $360,000 |
| Full-time controller | Owns close, reporting, AR, AP, payroll | $130,000 to $200,000 |
| Fractional CFO retainer (ours) | $3,500 to $12,000 a month, by revenue tier (up to $15M+ at $9,000 to $12,000) | $42,000 to $144,000 |
Key takeaway: a fractional CFO buys senior financial leadership at a fraction of a full-time seat, and you only pay for the hours the work actually takes.
One more cost layer to know: hourly fractional CFO rates run about $150 to $450 an hour, which is why a flat monthly retainer beats project billing once the work is steady. By revenue, standalone fractional CFOs run about $3,500 to $5,000 a month for a $500K to $2M contractor and $5,000 to $10,000 a month for a $2M to $10M contractor. Our retainer sits inside that band and never bills the books as an add-on.
Sources for the cost figures: CFMA 2025 compensation surveys (CFO and controller), nstarfinance, cfoadvisors, madrasaccountancy, thecashflowcfo, 2025 to 2026.
Fractional CFO vs CPA vs bookkeeper vs controller
A bookkeeper records what happened, a CPA files taxes and keeps you compliant, a fractional CFO looks forward and turns numbers into decisions, and a full-time controller runs the whole finance department in-house. Most growing contractors need at least two of the four. They are different jobs on the same team, not competitors.
| Role | What they do | Typical cost | When to hire |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bookkeeper | Records what happened. Categorizes transactions, reconciles accounts, files the monthly P&L. | Lowest cost of the four. Hourly or a small monthly fee. | Your books are clean and you mainly need reliable monthly close, not forecasting. |
| CPA | Files taxes and keeps you compliant. Plans entity structure, handles audits and IRS correspondence. | Project or seasonal fees, usually billed at tax time. | Every contractor needs one. CPAs are the foundation of compliance. |
| Fractional CFOUs | Looks forward. Builds the 13-week cash forecast, calls out underperforming jobs, turns numbers into decisions. | $3,000 to $9,000 a month standalone. Our retainer runs $3,500 to $12,000 a month. | You have a bookkeeper and a CPA, but nobody is telling you what the numbers mean for next month. |
| Full-time Controller | Runs the entire finance function in-house. Owns close, reporting, AR, AP, payroll, and banking. | $130,000 to $200,000 a year all-in. | Your finance workload has grown to the point where it needs full-time, in-house ownership. |
Key takeaway: a full-time controller runs $130,000 to $200,000 a year all-in. A fractional CFO gives you the forward-looking half of that seat for a flat monthly fee, alongside the bookkeeper and CPA you already trust.
We operate as your fractional CFO, sitting next to your CPA and bookkeeper, not in place of them. If you do not have a CPA or bookkeeper yet, we will refer good ones in your state who already understand construction.
How does the engagement work?
The engagement runs in three phases so you can start small. Phase 1 is a 14-day diagnostic that ends in a roadmap. Phase 2 is a 6-week sprint that installs the systems. Phase 3 is the ongoing retainer. Each phase stands on its own, and you only step up when the last one has paid for itself.
- 01
The 14-Day Financial X-Ray $3,500
We connect QuickBooks and produce your baseline in 14 days: a financial snapshot, a 7-KPI scorecard against construction benchmarks, your real cash position, the top profit and cash leaks, and a 90-day roadmap. The deliverable is the plan.
- 02
The 6-Week Profit Command Sprint $9,800 to $14,500
Six weeks, defined scope, fast cash wins. We clean the data, build job costing and a WIP schedule, recover under-billing, set a driver-based budget and a 13-week cash forecast, then hand you a board-grade package and a live plan.
- 03
The Command Retainer $3,500 to $12,000/mo
Your fractional CFO every week. We keep the forecast live, run the monthly board package, review jobs weekly, and steer the numbers, with your books handled inside the engagement.
Our promise: we find at least 3x our fee in recoverable cash, margin, or tax within 90 days, or you do not pay.
It is in writing on every engagement letter, with no fine print. We only take on contractors we are confident we can help, so the risk sits with us, not you.
When should a contractor hire a fractional CFO?
A contractor should hire a fractional CFO when the numbers start driving real decisions and nobody owns them. A first CFO touch usually makes sense in the $500K to $2M revenue band. By $2M to $10M, weekly job costing and a live cash forecast pay for themselves many times over.
At $500K to $2M, the open-market rate for a standalone fractional CFO runs about $3,500 to $5,000 a month. The triggers are simple: you are bidding work you cannot fully cost, cash feels tight on good months, or your banker keeps asking for a clean WIP schedule. This is where a $3,500 X-Ray earns its keep, because it tells you exactly where the money is leaking before you commit to a retainer.
At $2M to $10M, standalone CFO work runs about $5,000 to $10,000 a month, and the stakes are higher: bigger cash swings, bonding requirements, and the need to see 60 days out before you bid. If you are chasing a bond line or planning to grow, a fractional CFO builds the financials sureties and lenders want before you walk in the door.
What does a fractional CFO actually change on your numbers?
A CFO makes profit and cash visible job by job, then moves your metrics toward the healthy end of the benchmark bands. The lever is accurate job costing and WIP, so every dollar of labor, materials, subs, and burden lands on the right job and margin fade shows up the week it happens, not at year-end.
Gross-margin bands vary widely by trade, which is why a generic advisor gets it wrong. Here are the benchmark ranges a construction CFO measures you against.
| Trade | Weak | Median | Healthy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial general contractor | 12% | 16% | 22% |
| HVAC service | 55% | 62% | 70% |
| Roofing (retail) | 38% | 45% | 52% |
Key takeaway: knowing your trade band turns a vague gross margin into a target. A commercial GC at 12% and one at 22% run the same trade, and the gap is almost always job costing and WIP discipline.
Sources: CFMA Annual Financial Benchmarker, NAHB Cost of Doing Business, ABC, as of 2024.
What that discipline finds is real cash. With one custom home builder we recovered $8,400 in missed change orders in 60 days. With one commercial contractor we collected $34,000 in retainage in a single quarter. At a $4.5M general contractor we cut AR by 21 days, from 52 to 31. These are single-client results, not cross-client averages, but they show the kind of money job-level visibility surfaces.
Questions contractors ask before they hire
What is a fractional CFO for contractors?
A fractional CFO is a senior finance executive you share part-time instead of hiring full-time. For a contractor, the work is construction-specific: NAHB job costing, WIP schedules, a 13-week cash forecast, and bank-ready reporting. You get CFO-level judgment for a flat monthly fee, with the books handled inside the engagement.
How much does a fractional CFO cost for a construction company?
Standalone fractional construction CFOs run $3,000 to $9,000 a month, most between $4,000 and $9,000. Our ladder starts with a $3,500 14-Day Financial X-Ray, then a 6-Week Sprint at $9,800 to $14,500 upfront, then a Command Retainer of $3,500 to $12,000 a month by revenue tier, up to $15M+ at $9,000 to $12,000 a month. A full-time construction CFO costs about $170,000 to $360,000 a year all-in, per CFMA 2025.
Is a fractional CFO cheaper than hiring one full-time?
Yes, by a wide margin. A full-time construction CFO costs about $170,000 to $360,000 a year all-in once you add salary, bonus, benefits, and payroll tax, per CFMA 2025. A fractional CFO retainer of $3,500 to $12,000 a month is about $42,000 to $144,000 a year. You get senior financial leadership without the full-time overhead a sub-$15M contractor rarely needs.
When should a contractor hire a fractional CFO?
Hire one when the numbers start driving real decisions and nobody owns them. A common trigger band is $500K to $2M in revenue for a first CFO touch, and $2M to $10M where weekly job costing and a live cash forecast pay for themselves. If you are bidding bigger work, chasing a bond line, or cannot see 60 days of cash, it is time.
Do you replace my CPA or bookkeeper?
No. Your CPA files taxes and keeps you compliant, and that role is non-negotiable. A bookkeeper records what happened. A fractional CFO looks forward and tells you what the numbers mean for your next bid. We sit alongside both. Your books are handled inside our engagement, so your CPA gets clean numbers at year-end.
What does a fractional CFO actually change on my numbers?
They make profit and cash visible job by job, then act on it. Real client outcomes include $8,400 in missed change orders recovered in 60 days, $34,000 in retainage collected in one quarter, and AR cut by 21 days at a $4.5M GC. Those are single-client results, not averages, but they show the kind of cash a CFO finds.
Why do profitable contractors still run out of cash?
Because profit and cash are not the same thing. You can earn a job on paper while under-billing it, paying for materials upfront, and waiting 45 days on a draw. Without a WIP schedule and a 13-week cash forecast, the gap stays hidden until payroll is due. A fractional CFO builds both so you see the crunch weeks early.
What is a WIP schedule and why do bankers want it?
A work-in-progress schedule shows how much of each open job is billed versus earned, using percentage-of-completion. It surfaces over-billing and under-billing before they bite. Sureties and lenders trust it because it ties your backlog to real cash. We build it monthly in the exact format your bank and bonding agent already accept.
How does the engagement work?
Three phases. Phase 1 is the 14-Day Financial X-Ray, a $3,500 diagnostic that ends in a 90-day roadmap. Phase 2 is the 6-Week Profit Command Sprint that installs job costing, WIP, and a cash forecast. Phase 3 is the Command Retainer, your fractional CFO every week, month to month after 90 days. You can start small and step up.
What is your guarantee?
We find at least 3x our fee in recoverable cash, margin, or tax within 90 days, or you do not pay. It is written into the engagement letter, not buried in fine print. We only take on contractors we are confident we can help, so the promise is real and the risk sits with us, not you.
Do you only work with construction companies?
Yes, 100%. Custom home builders, remodelers, general contractors, spec builders, and commercial and specialty trades. We do not do restaurants, e-commerce, or retail. Construction money moves differently, with retainage, draws, change orders, and WIP, and a firm that only does construction is the entire point.
How fast do I see results?
Most contractors see the first fix inside 30 days, usually a mispriced job or a margin leak we catch early. Full job-level profit visibility lands by day 90, once your chart of accounts and integrations are dialed in. We put that timeline in writing, so you are not guessing about when the work pays off.
Want the full list? Read every question contractors ask, or see the full pricing breakdown.
You'll meet with
Cory Salisbury
30 minutes. One profit leak, found on the call.
We will find at least one leak in your books on the call, and tell you straight whether we are the right fit.
What we'll cover
- A 10-minute look at where your numbers are today.
- 3 specific profit leaks I'd chase first for a business your size.
- Whether we're a fit - honest yes or no, no pressure either way.
Pick a date
Weekdays, 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM MT