Most home services owners came up through the trades, not the books. You can run a profitable job and still end the month wondering where the cash went — and that gap between “busy” and “actually making money” is where financial management lives.
The articles in this category cover the things we see blow up most often inside HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing businesses: job costing that actually ties back to the P&L, cash flow forecasting when receivables are choppy, labor burden math nobody wants to do, pricing floors that don’t leave margin on the table, and the monthly close discipline that separates a $2M shop from a $20M one. Every piece is written from the seat we sit in — working hands-on with home services contractors as fractional CFOs — not from a textbook.
If you’re trying to get a cleaner read on your numbers, fix a margin that’s been sliding, or just stop flying blind between tax returns, start here.
Key sales metrics for home services: revenue per lead, close rate, average ticket, and how they drive profitability and valuation.
How PE consolidation affects home services operators. What happens when competitors are acquired, pricing pressure, and defensive strategies for independents.
HVAC pricebook guide: cost-plus pricing, markup vs margin, tiered pricing, labor calculations, and benchmarks to protect a 50% blended gross margin.
HVAC technician commission structures: revenue vs profit, benchmarks, common mistakes, and what PE buyers scrutinize. Build alignment and protect margins.
Five years ago, if you owned a roofing company doing $8 million in revenue, your most likely buyer was a slightly larger...
Plan for HVAC seasonality with quarterly strategies for cash, staffing, and marketing. Lift trough revenue 30-50% with maintenance agreements and IAQ upgrades.