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.
Across the hundreds of home services P&Ls we’ve reviewed — including dozens of roofing companies — roofing profit margins look fundamentally different...
Cash vs. accrual accounting for contractors explained. When each method works, when to switch, and the hybrid approach that gives you the...
HVAC owner compensation benchmarks by company size. How to structure salary vs. distributions and avoid the mistakes that cost owners during due...
Most of the content around selling a business focuses on the exit itself — multiples, deal structure, due diligence. But the decision...
How to calculate and benchmark your home services overhead rate. Category-by-category targets and the five most common overhead problems contractors face.
Electrical contractor profit margin benchmarks from a PE buyer's perspective. Service mix, overhead targets, and what drives valuations for electrical companies.