Straight answers to the questions owners actually ask

What is a good profit margin for an HVAC business?

Aim for 45% to 55% gross margin on service, 30% to 40% on installs, and 8% to 12% net profit for the whole company.

Read the full answer · case study · 4 follow-up questions

How much should an HVAC company charge per hour?

Work backward from the true cost of an hour in the truck — usually $65 to $95 fully loaded — then add your target margin, which puts most residential rates between $125 and $200 an hour.

Read the full answer · case study · 4 follow-up questions

How do I manage HVAC cash flow in the slow season?

Set aside a fixed share of every peak-season week, go into the slow months with 8 to 13 weeks of cash, and know your monthly break-even before the phones quiet down.

Read the full answer · case study · 4 follow-up questions

How much does a fractional CFO cost?

Most small businesses pay $1,000 to $5,000 a month for a fractional CFO, or $150 to $400 an hour with an independent consultant.

Read the full answer · case study · 4 follow-up questions

What does a fractional CFO do?

A fractional CFO plans your cash, checks that your prices cover your costs, shows which work makes money, and puts numbers behind big decisions.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

When should I hire a CFO?

Hire finance leadership when growth stops feeling like progress: revenue is up but cash is tight, profit is a mystery, or a big money decision is coming.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

What is the difference between a fractional CFO and a controller?

A controller makes sure the numbers are right. A CFO decides what to do with them. Controllers look back; CFOs look forward.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

How much does a bookkeeper cost per month?

Most small businesses pay $250 to $900 a month, driven by transaction volume, number of accounts and how far behind the books are.

Read the full answer · case study · 5 follow-up questions

What is the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant?

A bookkeeper records and reconciles what happened each month; an accountant interprets it and files your taxes. Most businesses need both, and the bookkeeper first.

Read the full answer · case study · 4 follow-up questions

How do I catch up a year of bookkeeping?

Gather statements for every account, rebuild oldest month first, reconcile each month before moving on, then lock it. Most years take two to five weeks.

Read the full answer · case study · 5 follow-up questions

Is QuickBooks enough without a bookkeeper?

QuickBooks records and suggests, but it does not reconcile, judge or close. Without review, 20 to 35 percent of auto-categorized transactions land in the wrong place.

Read the full answer · case study · 4 follow-up questions

How long should a monthly close take?

A small business close should finish within ten business days of month end. Past fifteen, the numbers arrive too late to change anything you do.

Read the full answer · case study · 4 follow-up questions

Should I use cash or accrual accounting?

Use cash basis if you are small, service-based and paid quickly. Use accrual if you hold inventory, invoice on terms, or need a lender to trust the numbers.

Read the full answer · case study · 4 follow-up questions

What does a bookkeeper need from me each month?

Account access, receipts for large or unusual purchases, payroll reports, and quick answers to a short list of questions — usually under thirty minutes a month.

Read the full answer · case study · 4 follow-up questions

Do I need a bookkeeper for my small business?

If you have more than one account, any payroll, inventory, loans, or over about 100 transactions a month, yes. Below that, disciplined self-management can work.

Read the full answer · case study · 4 follow-up questions

How do you price a roofing job?

Add up squares of material, crew labor, dumpster, permit and subs to get job cost, add your overhead recovery rate, then divide by one minus your target margin.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

How do you calculate overhead and profit in roofing?

Overhead is last year's operating costs divided by revenue, added to job cost. Profit is applied by dividing that total by one minus your target margin.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

What KPIs should a roofing company track?

Track gross margin by job, material cost share, close rate, average job size, weeks of cash and days to get paid. Six numbers, once a month.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

How do you bid electrical jobs?

Count material, estimate labor hours at your loaded labor cost, add overhead recovery, then divide the total by one minus your target margin.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

What markup should an electrical contractor use?

For a 40 percent margin you need a 67 percent markup on cost. Pick the margin first, then convert: markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin).

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

What should an electrician charge per hour?

Most electrical contractors need $95 to $175 an hour. Take loaded labor cost per billable hour, add overhead recovery per hour, then divide by one minus your target margin.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

How do you price HVAC jobs?

Start from the loaded cost of the job — labor hours, parts, and a share of overhead — then divide by one minus your target margin to get the price.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

What markup should HVAC companies use on parts and equipment?

Most HVAC companies mark parts up 2x to 3x cost and equipment 1.4x to 1.8x, which lands them at 30 to 55 percent gross margin depending on the work.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

Is flat rate pricing better than hourly for HVAC?

Flat rate is better for residential HVAC because the customer approves one clear number, and your margin no longer depends on how fast the tech works.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

What goes in an HVAC business plan?

An HVAC business plan needs a market and service mix, a staffing and truck plan, and a financial plan with seasonal revenue, loaded labor cost, break-even and a cash forecast.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

What KPIs should an HVAC company track?

Track average ticket, gross margin by revenue line, billable hour percentage, close rate, maintenance agreement count and weeks of cash on hand.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

How does job costing work for an HVAC company?

Job costing tags every labor hour, part and subcontractor cost to a specific job so you can see the gross profit of that job instead of a monthly average.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

How should I price HVAC maintenance agreements?

Price from the loaded cost of the visits plus your target margin — commonly $180 to $360 a year for two visits on one system — and treat the pull-through repair work as a bonus, not a subsidy.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

How do you grow an HVAC business?

Growth comes from four levers in order: raise average ticket, raise close rate, add maintenance agreements, then add a truck once margin and cash can carry the ramp-up.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

What is a good profit margin for a contractor?

Most trade contractors should run 25 to 45 percent gross margin depending on how material-heavy the work is, and 8 to 12 percent net profit.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

What is a good profit margin for a plumbing business?

Plumbing service work should run 50 to 60 percent gross margin, remodel and repipe work 30 to 40 percent, with 10 to 15 percent net profit for the company.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

How much should a plumbing company charge per hour?

Work from loaded plumber cost of roughly $60 to $90 an hour, add overhead recovery and target margin, and most residential shops land between $120 and $200 an hour billed.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

What is a good profit margin for an electrical contractor?

Electrical service work should run 45 to 55 percent gross margin, project and new construction work 22 to 32 percent, with 8 to 12 percent net profit.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

What is a good profit margin for a roofing company?

Residential roofing should run 30 to 40 percent gross margin and 8 to 12 percent net profit; repair work carries higher margins than full replacements.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

What is a good profit margin for a landscaping business?

Maintenance work should run 45 to 55 percent gross margin, installs and hardscape 30 to 40 percent, with 10 to 15 percent net profit.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

What is labor burden rate and how do you calculate it?

Labor burden is everything an employee costs beyond wages — taxes, insurance, benefits, vehicle and tools — and it usually adds 25 to 60 percent on top of the hourly wage.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

How do contractors manage cash flow?

Forecast cash weekly for thirteen weeks, invoice the day work is complete, collect deposits on material-heavy jobs, and keep a cash floor equal to six to eight weeks of outflow.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

How do you calculate break-even for a small business?

Divide your fixed monthly overhead by your gross margin percentage to get the revenue you need each month just to cover costs.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions

What is the difference between a CFO, a controller and a bookkeeper?

A bookkeeper records what happened, a controller makes sure it is accurate and closed on time, and a CFO uses it to decide what to do next.

Read the full answer · case study · 3 follow-up questions