Heavy Civil and Industrial

Part-Time CFO and Controller for Heavy Civil and Industrial Contractors

Big equipment, long jobs and thin margins. Monthly numbers by job and by machine, from a team led by a former heavy construction CFO.

Sound Familiar?

You can’t tell what your equipment really costs per hour.
Fuel, repairs and idle machines sit in overhead instead of on the job.
Retainage on long jobs ties up cash for months.
Extra work for site conditions gets done before it’s priced.
Your WIP schedule is late, or nobody trusts it.
Your bank or surety wants statements you can’t produce on time.

If two or more of these sound familiar, let’s talk.

What We Do

Accounting for Heavy Civil and Industrial Contractors

Heavy civil accounting turns on two things: what your equipment really costs, and how long you carry a job before you’re paid in full. We close your books every month and give you job costs with equipment charged to each job, a WIP schedule your surety can rely on and a cash forecast built for long jobs.

Every month

Books closed and reconciled on time
Job costing on labor, materials, equipment and subcontracts
Equipment charged to jobs at rates that cover what it costs to own and run
A WIP schedule with over and under billing
A 13-week cash flow forecast
A monthly meeting to walk you through the numbers

When you need it

Buy, lease or rent decisions on equipment
Lines of credit and equipment loans
Bank and surety meetings, with the reports your surety asks for
Cleanup of books that have fallen behind
Getting ready to sell or bring in a partner

Learn more in our guide to cash flow vs profit, see how we handle WIP and job costing, or see all our construction services.

Why It Matters

Why Heavy Civil Numbers Are Different

Equipment is a cost you can’t see on the job unless someone charges it there. A machine that sits idle still costs money in payments, insurance and repairs. Charging equipment to jobs at a rate that covers what it really costs shows which jobs make money and whether to own or rent.

Long jobs stretch cash. In the work we see, a contractor can win a job at a 7% or 8% margin. The owner then holds back 10% retainage until 90 to 120 days after the job ends. That can leave you cash negative for the whole job, even when it’s profitable in the end, so you need reserves, a line of credit or other jobs to carry it.

Most of the heavy construction work we’ve done is excavation, site work, foundations and superstructure, along with materials recycling. Before founding CFO Strategies, Alan was CFO of a heavy construction company working on major New York projects.

What We Track for Heavy Civil Contractors

Profit by Job

Costs against the budget for every job, while it’s still running.

Equipment Costs

What each machine costs per hour, and how much of it reaches the jobs.

Retainage and Change Orders

What’s held back, what’s pending and when you’ll collect it.

Backlog and Cash

The work ahead and the cash it will take to carry it.

Results

Results for Contractors

Obtained over $10 million in lines of credit, term loans and mortgage loans for a construction company.

Meet Alan

Led by a Former Construction CFO

Alan G. Lefkowitz, CPA, founded CFO Strategies in 2009 and has 46 years of business experience. For over 10 years he was CFO of mid-sized construction and real estate companies, overseeing the financial performance of major New York projects, including the Yankee Stadium and the Goldman Sachs office tower. Today he and his team bring that experience to contractors who need CFO-level help without a full-time hire.

From First Call to Monthly Reporting

1. Book a Call

Tell us about your company, your software and what isn’t working.

2. Free Cash Flow Review

We look at your books, WIP and cash position and tell you what we’d fix first.

3. Cleanup and Setup

We clean up what needs fixing and set up job costing and monthly reporting.

4. Monthly Reporting

Every month you get clear reports on job profitability, WIP and cash.

We can usually start within a couple of weeks, after a short review of your books. See how it works or view our pricing.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Straight answers for heavy civil and industrial contractors.

Do you work with heavy civil contractors?

Yes. Most of our heavy construction work has been excavation, site work, foundations and superstructure, and we’ve also worked with a materials recycling company.

How should equipment costs be charged to jobs?

At an hourly or daily rate that covers what the machine costs to own and run: payments or depreciation, insurance, fuel, repairs and the time it sits idle. Charging less makes jobs look better than they are and leaves the gap in overhead.

Why do we run short of cash on profitable jobs?

Because the cost goes out long before the last dollar comes in. Retainage, slow change order approvals and pay applications that take weeks to clear can leave you funding a job for months. A cash forecast built on your WIP shows the gap before it hits payroll.

Can you help with our bonding?

Yes. We keep the WIP schedule and financial statements your surety reads current, help prepare the reports it asks for and can sit in on your surety and bank meetings.

Which accounting software do you work in?

QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, Sage 100 Contractor, Sage 300 CRE, Foundation, Sage Intacct, Viewpoint Vista and Plexxis. See what we do in each one.

Do you work on site or remotely?

Mostly remotely. In New Jersey and New York we can be in your office part of the week, or full time when the job needs it.