A construction fractional CFO gives a growing contractor CFO-level leadership — cash forecasting, Work in Progress (WIP) and bonding reporting, pricing and margin strategy, lender and buyer readiness — for typically $6,000 to $12,000 a month instead of a $150,000+ full-time hire. Will Abberger has done the job in-house: CFO of a pool company he helped grow from $3M to $42M, and COO of General Roofing Services, a national roofing company that grew from $30M to $265M.
In person across Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Manatee and Sarasota counties. Remote engagements nationwide.
A fractional Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is a senior finance executive who works part-time, on retainer, inside your company. A construction fractional CFO does that job with the tools contractors live and die by: job costing, WIP schedules, retainage, bonding capacity and project cash flow. These are the five things Will delivers in a typical engagement.
A rolling 13-week cash forecast tied to your billing schedule, retainage and payables, so payroll and material buys never surprise you.
Monthly Work in Progress reporting with over- and under-billings, so bonding capacity and bank lines grow with you instead of capping you.
Departmentalized statements and job-cost reviews that show which work makes money, which bids to reprice, and where costs are drifting.
An annual budget, break-even math and a growth plan your management team can run against every month.
Clean, consistent financials and a lender-ready reporting package for bank lines, equipment financing, a partner buyout or a sale.
Fractional CFO work fits contractors who are big enough to have real financial complexity but not ready to carry a full-time CFO. In practice that usually means:
Smaller contractors, roughly under $5 million, are usually better served by construction bookkeeping with monthly reviews first. Will offers both, and many clients move from one to the other as they grow.
Fractional CFO engagements typically run $6,000 to $12,000 a month. The level depends on how much hands-on work your company needs. A full-time construction CFO typically costs $150,000 or more a year in salary alone, before benefits, bonus and a search fee.
| Level | Typical monthly fee | Best fit | What's included |
|---|---|---|---|
| CFO Oversight | About $6,000 | Stable companies with a capable bookkeeper or controller | Monthly close review and financial statements you can trust · 13-week cash forecast · monthly WIP schedule with over- and under-billings · job-cost and margin review · monthly meeting with ownership · coordination with your CPA |
| Full CFO | About $8,000–$10,000 | Growing companies, outside owners or a parent company, an operating team that needs financial direction | Everything in CFO Oversight, plus: functional direction of your accounting staff · revenue recognition set up correctly (percentage of completion, deposits, customer credits) · reporting to owners, a parent company or a board · annual budget and break-even · pricing and markup reviews · KPI (key performance indicator) dashboard · regular on-site time with your general manager and project managers |
| CFO + Stabilization | Up to $12,000 | Rapid growth, a margin or cash crisis, a turnaround, a lender or surety deadline, an acquisition or sale | Everything in Full CFO, plus: weekly cash meetings · weekly on-site presence · cost-to-complete review of open jobs and backlog · a 30-60-90 day stabilization roadmap · lender, surety and stakeholder packages and meetings · financial due diligence for an acquisition, merger or sale · systems and software selection for accounting and estimating |
Larger one-time projects, such as a full re-estimate of a construction backlog, are scoped separately in writing. Every engagement starts with a free Bottom Line Blueprint Session and a written proposal. How fractional CFO pricing works →
Most fractional CFO firms are built for software startups or ecommerce brands. Construction runs on different math: revenue recognized by percentage of completion, cash locked in retainage, margins that move job by job, and sureties who read your WIP schedule line by line. Will has run that math from the inside, at companies that scaled to $42M and $265M. He also holds the Enrolled Agent (EA) credential, so he can represent you directly before the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) if a tax issue ever comes up.
| Bookkeeper | CPA firm | Construction fractional CFO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main job | Record transactions | Taxes, compliance, audits | Forecast, steer and grow profit |
| Looks | Backward | Backward, once a year | Forward, every month |
| WIP and bonding | Rarely | At year-end | Monthly, standard |
| Typical cost | $300–$3,500/mo | Per project or annual | $6,000–$12,000/mo |
Will works alongside your CPA rather than replacing them. See the full comparison →
A fractional CFO is an experienced Chief Financial Officer who works for your company part-time, on a monthly retainer, instead of as a full-time employee. You get CFO-level forecasting, reporting and strategy for a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire.
Usually when revenue passes about $5 million, when a bank or surety starts asking for better reporting, when cash stays tight despite a full backlog, or when owners are planning growth, an acquisition or a sale.
Will's engagements typically run $6,000 to $12,000 a month, depending on revenue, job count, number of entities and whether bookkeeping is included. A full-time construction CFO typically costs $150,000 or more a year before benefits.
Yes. Will meets clients in person across Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Manatee and Sarasota counties and works remotely with contractors anywhere in the United States. Most monthly CFO work is done remotely.
No. Will directs and reviews the work of your existing bookkeeper or controller and coordinates with your CPA. If you need bookkeeping too, The Contractor's Bookkeeper can provide it.
Terms are set in each written proposal after the free Bottom Line Blueprint Session.
Book a free Bottom Line Blueprint Session. Will reviews your actual financials, live, and tells you the top three things he would fix first.
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