Michael King

I help fractional CFOs and accountants build multiple 6 and 7-figure advisory firms through coaching and community.

If you run a construction company, growth was supposed to make money stress go away.

Instead, revenue is up, profit is flat, and it still feels like you are one bad month away from a big problem.

Most contractors we work with are:
• Bidding 20 to 25 percent and banking a fraction of that
• Losing sleep over payroll and upcoming draws
• Unsure which jobs are actually making money
• Looking at financials that feel like a foreign language
• Making big decisions based on gut, not clear numbers

At Civil CFO, we provide Fractional CFO services for $10M to $70M contractors.

Our job is simple to say and hard to do - we bridge the gap between bid and bank so you can consistently hit 10 percent plus net profit, with clear cash flow and confidence in every major decision.

What we do for construction companies:
• Build clear forecasts and cash flow plans so you know what is coming before it hits
• Install practical job cost and WIP reporting so you can see which projects are winning or bleeding
• Help you set realistic, data backed profit targets and hold the team accountable to them
• Prepare bank, bonding, and lender ready financial packages
• Sit at the leadership table as your finance partner for growth, exits, or succession

We are not your bookkeeper or tax accountant.

We work alongside them and give you the forward looking financial strategy they cannot provide.

Why this matters:
• More cash in the bank and less time worrying about it
• Cleaner, more profitable jobs
• Reduced debt and stronger balance sheet
• A company that is ready for whatever you want next - growth, sale, or hand off

I founded Civil CFO so construction CEOs did not have to figure this out alone. Our team has worked with contractors across the country to turn financial confusion into a clear plan and disciplined execution.

If you are a contractor between $10M and $70M and you are tired of bidding 25 percent and banking 3, let's talk.

Founder

I help fractional CFOs and accountants start, scale, and optimize their advisory services.

Nic Parish crushed it on stage today at CONEXPO-CON/AGG! 

He talked about how to build a people-first company, particularly about the importance of systematizing that process. 

The thing that stood out the most to me was when Nic asked “if you have a people problem in your company, what are you going to doc about it?” 

Great job Nic.

Founder, Civil CFO | Fractional CFO Firm for $10M–$70M Contractors | We bridge the gap between bid and bank so you can hit 10%+ net profit

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Any better way to spend two days? 
Civil construction + operations excellence. 

I've had a great week in PHX at Benjamin Holmgren's Operations Excellence workshop. 

Having the chance to learn from Zack Estes and some pretty stellar leaders in the civil world has been a blessing. 

The road show continues in 2 weeks in Orlando at the NAHB International Builders'​ Show!

This week in Vegas is a who’s who for the dirt world. 

Just got to hang out with Jason Richmond and Luke Eggebraaten and talk dirt!  

Who else do I need to meet this week before I leave?

I'm so grateful for the chance to sit with these folks last night and talk about the construction industry. 

We talked about: 
• Where the industry is
• Where the industry is going
• What the biggest risks are right now
• And the biggest opportunities that are ahead

Thanks for the time and perspective Mrs. Sargent, Herb Sargent, and Zack Estes. 

(We also had some world-class guac as well!)

Most contractors don’t have a profitability problem.
You have a Work In Progress problem. 

And in a $10M-$70M construction company, it’s one of the only reports that shows what's actually happening inside your projects. 

WIP shows you, job by job: 
➜ How far along the project really is 
➜ How much you’ve billed 
➜ How much cost you’ve burned 
➜ Whether you’re overbilled or underbilled
➜ Your projected margin based on percent complete

We’ve had clients say, “But the P&L looks fine.” 

To which we say, “Then why are you still cash broke?”

Things we see (on the regular): 

• You’re 60% complete, but only billed 40% of the job 
• Approved change orders that were never recorded
• Labor being applied inconsistently across projects

The estimate says 10%.
Reality says 3%. 

A properly maintained WIP catches these issues early.

When WIP is accurate (and reviewed every month!), you stop discovering that a job lost money after it’s already finished.
 
You see it while there is still time to do something about it.

We had a client come to us through a referral from a former client. They were hanging on by a thread. 


They weren’t just “using” their line of credit.
They had fully maxed it out.
They were borrowing just to cover payroll and keep the doors open.

Most owners assume the solution at that point is to “go sell more.”

But that wasn’t the real problem.

The real problem was cash trapped inside the business.

They were sitting on $2.2M in inventory.
And $700K of it hadn’t moved in five years.

So they were literally burning cash to build inventory… to keep people busy.

The intention was good! 
They wanted to take care of their team.
But financially, it was killing the company.
Pretty soon, no one was going to have a job.

So we did an inventory analysis and made the hard calls.
➜ We helped them sell what could be sold
➜ We reworked the schedule to reduce labor costs

Within 6 months, the entire $250K LOC was paid down.
The client had $500K sitting in the bank.
And hours for employees were increased.

That’s a $750K swing.

“Sell more” isn’t always the answer. 
First, you’ve got to stop the bleeding.

One thing that makes me nervous the second I see it?


Backlog and revenue are way up. 
…but cash is way down.

That combo is a flashing red light in a $10M–$70M construction company.

Because it usually means you “grew” by winning big jobs that came with
:➜ Slow payers
➜ Thin margins
➜ Bad billing terms
➜ Big upfront labor and material costs

So yes, the backlog looks great.

But what you actually won is a cash crunch with a demanding schedule.

This is how contractors end up saying things like, “We’re busier than we’ve ever been… but I feel broke.”

That’s what happens when you scale revenue faster than you scale cash discipline.

In our world, backlog isn’t a trophy.

Backlog is a liability until you know two things:

1. What it does to cash over the next 13 weeks
2. Whether you’re actually billing and collecting at the pace you’re building

If you’re running a $10M+ construction company and you’re feeling that “we’re growing, but I’m freaking out” tension…

You’re not crazy.
You’re seeing the right problem.

It’s fixable.
And we can help.

In the last 30 days, I’ve watched multiple $10M+ construction company owners make the same mistake. Almost all of them thought it was normal.

You’ve got 1 or 2 big clients sitting 60–90 days past due, and you’re not treating it like an emergency.

Because you tell yourself:
“They always pay.”
“It’s just part of construction.”

So your follow-up is light.
[Or non-existent.]

And at the exact same time…
You’re paying subs and vendors like clockwork.Because you’re “a good partner.”

So here’s what’s actually happening.

You’re running AP like you’re the premium client… while your AR is treated like it’s optional.

And it gets worse.

On more than one job, I saw projects that were 55% complete, but had only billed 45%.

Because the pay app didn’t go in on time.
Because approved change orders didn’t make it into the billing.
Because nobody wanted to “rock the boat” with the GC or the owner.

That 10% gap doesn’t sound like a big deal until you do the math.

On a $5M job, that’s $500,000 of cash you already earned… just sitting there twiddling it's thumbs.

While you live under the constant pressure of making payroll. 

If that’s you? 
You don’t have a profitability problem.
You have a billing + collections discipline problem.

If you’re running a $10M–$70M construction company and this feels familiar, DM me.

“Can we afford to take this job?”

That’s a loaded question!

It’s about timing.
It’s about cash flow.
It’s about current backlog strain.
Field supervision bandwidth.
Equipment, bonding, and overhead factor in too.

Most contractors look at a new opportunity and ask, “Is it profitable?”

That’s the wrong first question.

A job can look profitable on paper and still create a cash crunch.

Without cash flow forecasting and backlog planning, you’re guessing.

When you can’t confidently say, “Yes, we can take this and here’s why,” or “No, this isn’t the right move right now,” that’s when you’ve outgrown basic bookkeeping.

At $5M, you can (usually) still muscle through.
But at $20M+, that stops working.
            
The clear sign you’re ready for CFO-level planning?
 
When opportunity feels stressful instead of exciting.
 
Growth should feel controlled.

If every new job feels like a gamble, the financial system behind the business hasn’t caught up to the growth yet.

FIRED UP to attend the CONEXPO-CON/AGG conference next week. 

Who do I need to meet while I'm there?

Last day at ConExpo! 

Had a chance to have a coffee and a great convo with Cody Epp this morning. 

Anyone else I need to see before I leave this afternoon?

Helping accountants get to their first $1M and beyond

My story begins years ago when I had an advisory firm but was struggling to increase margins.

I was a one person firm 100% remote.

I was trying to be everything to everyone.

I did not have a niche.

I did not have an ideal client.

I took any business that would hire me.

I did not stand out among the thousands of other consulting firms.

I competed mostly on low price. 

My friends and family would always see a stressed-out, black circles under eyes, 80+ hours/wk working person would have zero personal life.

I took a hard look at my business and found a lot of waste.

Too many services and too many different kinds of clients.

I decided that I needed to focus.

I began to focus on how I could productize my services.

With a business partner I helped develop an automated payment and Google reviews platform (BizPayO) that helps accountants get paid faster, without the expensive fees and which snagged a Google Review after every successful payment.

Through the payment app I found that most accountants were not charging enough.

That inspired me to launch a second SaaS company, a pricing application (Taxplow) that shows accountants what they should be charging based on the services they offer, their location, the client’s situation, and a couple dozen other key data points.

But the problem is bigger than this.

Accountants needs help differentiating themselves and coming up with a unique offering.

One that would help create a moat around their business.

So they would not become just another H&R Block or low-cost accounting firm that would position them as just a commodity.

I'm now sharing everything I learned over the years at my newsletter firmlever.com

My latest venture is still under wraps but aiming to be the Crunchbase for accounting fIrms.

All aboard. 🚆

Marc Howard

I built a pricing model that tells you exactly how many clients you can lose and still hit your profit goal.

The reason is I used to raise fees based on gut feel.

Turns out my gut is a terrible CFO.

So I built something that does the math for me.

You plug in what you already know:
- Current revenue and profit
- Service line mix
- Average fee today vs. where you want to be
- Expected churn
- Competitor pricing
- Your profit target

And it spits out the one number that actually matters:

Max Churn You Can Survive.

That's the ceiling.

The line where your plan still works vs. where it breaks.

Most firm owners overestimate churn risk and underestimate pricing power. 

This tool shows you exactly how much room you have—so you move with math instead of vibes.

It also includes a sensitivity table that maps fee increases against churn scenarios.

Five price points. Five churn rates. Twenty-five outcomes.

No spreadsheet gymnastics required--I did the formulas for you.

And because I know nobody wants to reprice 200 clients in one week (and deal with the inbox chaos), I added a Client Planner.

List your clients. Assign waves. Roll out in phases. Track your lift as you go.

There's even a "Start Here" tab so you're not staring at cells wondering what to do, and a Glossary that explains every term in plain English.

Is it fancy? No.

Does it beat "I think we can raise fees 15%"? Every time.

Want the sheet?

Drop "Pricing" in the comments and I'll DM you the link.

📌 Marc Howard

🎙️ Host of Pitch Your Firm | Founder @ Firmlever & Taxplow

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The Battle

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