A Denver construction C-Corp had no job-cost tracking, all 18 projects ran through one account. We rebuilt books by project type and found two job categories losing money on every contract.
01The Situation
The owner had been in construction for 22 years. Revenue had grown to $4.2M. But all revenue and all costs were coded to a single account. Government maintenance contracts and emergency repair work, 35% of revenue, were generating negative net margins after overhead allocation. Nobody knew. His bank balance never reflected what the P&L suggested he should have.
Cash was always tighter than it looked on paper. The consolidated average had been masking the slow bleed from two unprofitable job types for years.
02What We Did
We restructured the chart of accounts with four project categories and rebuilt three years of historical data from contracts, invoices, and subcontractor bills. Overhead was allocated proportionally by revenue for the first time. Government maintenance contracts were losing 4 cents on every dollar after overhead. Emergency repair was worse at -11%.
The owner restructured his bidding model immediately and stopped accepting emergency repair work below a minimum job size. Net margin improved from 15% to 23% within one year.
03Client Impact
The owner had been running on instinct for 22 years. Two of his four revenue streams were losing money. The job-cost rebuild changed what work he takes and how he prices it. His net margin improved from 15% to 23% in the first year.
Breakdown
| Project Type | Jobs/Yr | Avg Contract | Gross Margin | Net Margin | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Fit-Out | 6 | $280K | 38% | 24% | |
| Residential Remodel | 8 | $145K | 41% | 27% | |
| Government Maintenance | 4 | $82K | 12% | -4% | |
| Emergency Repair | Varies | $28K | 18% | -11% | |
| TOTAL / AVG | ~18 | $233K avg | 32% | 15% avg |
What changed
Job-Cost P&L Built for All 18 Projects
Three years of historical data restructured by project type. Owner sees margin by job category in real time.
Two Losing Categories Identified
Government maintenance and emergency repair confirmed loss-making. Bidding strategy revised immediately.
Revenue Mix Optimized
Pipeline shifted toward commercial and residential. Net margin 15% to 23% in year one.
Monthly Close in 3 Days
New system closes within 3 business days. Previously took 3 weeks.
The owner had been running on instinct for 22 years. Two of his four revenue streams were losing money. The job-cost rebuild changed what work he takes and how he prices it. His net margin improved from 15% to 23% in the first year.
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