We already have a bookkeeper — do we still need a fractional CFO?

Yes. Your bookkeeper records what has already happened. A fractional CFO helps you plan what happens next — cash flow, pricing, margins and strategy — and translates the numbers into clear decisions for your construction business. We work alongside your existing bookkeeper, not instead of them.

How much does a fractional CFO cost for a construction business in Australia?

It depends on the size and complexity of your business, but most of our clients invest a fraction of the cost of a full-time CFO. After your free strategy session and health check, we will outline a fixed monthly fee so you know exactly what you are paying and what you are getting.

Do we have to leave our accountant to work with Your CFO Partner?

No. We regularly partner with existing accountants and tax agents. Our role is to sit between your day-to-day bookkeeping and year-end tax, giving you the monthly financial leadership and construction-specific insight most accountants do not provide.

How do we get started with a fractional CFO?

Start with a free strategy session. We will talk through your current projects, numbers and goals, and if we are a good fit we will move into a structured financial health check and a clear proposal for ongoing support.

CFO advisory for builders: what it actually covers, and when you need it

Q: Is CFO advisory the same as a fractional CFO?

Functionally yes — CFO advisory, fractional CFO, virtual CFO and outsourced CFO describe the same service at different levels of involvement. What matters is construction specialisation: generic advisors miss WIP, retentions, progress-claim timing and profit fade because they've never lived them.

victorzhou
2 days ago
5 min read

CFO advisory for builders is senior financial leadership applied to a building business — project-level margin oversight, WIP reporting, cash flow forecasting and pricing strategy — delivered by an advisor rather than a full-time hire. It sits above bookkeeping and compliance: instead of recording what happened, it changes what happens next. Here's what it should cover, and how to tell whether you need it.

What does CFO advisory for builders actually cover?

Six things, and if a proposal you're reading covers fewer, ask why.

Project-level margin oversight. Not a blended P&L — forecast margin per job, re-estimated monthly. A builder running five jobs at a blended 11% can be running four at 14% and one at negative 3%, and the blended number hides it. In Australian commercial construction, profit fade of 5–12 margin points between tender and final account is routine. Catching three points on one $2M job six months early is $60,000.

WIP reporting. The monthly reconciliation between what you've earned and what you've claimed. Over-claimed means the cash in the bank belongs to work you haven't done; under-claimed means you're financing your client for free. We've written out the 15-minute monthly WIP discipline in full.

Cash flow forecasting. A rolling 13-week forecast built on claim timing, retention releases, wages, super and BAS — not accounting periods. This is the report that turns "can we make payroll in six weeks?" from a feeling into a number.

Pricing and tender input. Margin set deliberately before you bid, sanity-checked against capacity and cash — not discovered at final account.

Bank, bond and insurer readiness. Financials presented the way lenders, sureties and home-warranty schemes (icare, VMIA/BPC, QBCC) want to see them. This matters more as you grow: eligibility is a numbers test, and it's failable.

The monthly conversation. Reports nobody discusses change nothing. The advisory part of CFO advisory is a standing meeting where the numbers get challenged and end in actions: claim it, re-price it, or fix the process that leaked it.

How is CFO advisory different from what my accountant does?

Your accountant looks backwards and works to a compliance deadline — BAS, tax, year-end statements. All necessary, none of it tells you which of your live jobs is bleeding. CFO advisory looks forwards and works to a decision: which project to take, what margin to bid, when the next cash dip lands, whether you can afford the next hire.

The practical test: if you currently get forecast margin per job, a monthly WIP schedule and a 13-week cash flow — and someone sits with you to act on them — you're already getting CFO advisory, whatever it's called on the invoice. If you get a P&L a few weeks after quarter end, you're getting compliance.

What are the signs a builder needs CFO advisory?

Five, in the order we usually see them:

Cash is tight even though jobs are "profitable". The construction cash-flow gap — costs daily, revenue on 30-plus day claims, 5–10% locked in retentions. Profit and cash run on different timetables, and profitable builders run out of cash exactly this way.
You find out job margins after handover. If margin news arrives at final account, every lever — variations, re-pricing, re-sequencing — has already expired.
You're pricing from gut feel. Tender margins set by market habit rather than your own cost history and capacity.
Growth is being funded by the next deposit. Revenue is climbing and the bank balance is falling — the classic sign the working-capital gap is growing faster than profit.
The bank or insurer is asking harder questions than your reports can answer. Facility reviews and home-warranty eligibility both run on numbers most builders' reporting can't produce on demand.

Two or more of those, and advisory will almost certainly return more than it costs. Our value calculator puts rough numbers on it in about two minutes.

What does CFO advisory cost for a builder?

In Australia, most engagements run $3,000–$8,000 a month on a fixed retainer, with construction typically in the upper half of that range because project-level WIP, retentions and claim timing add monthly work a standard SME engagement doesn't have. A full-time construction CFO is $250,000–$350,000 all-in. We've published a full, honest breakdown in what a fractional CFO costs in Australia — including when it's not worth it.

What should you get every month? The checklist

Forecast margin per job, compared to last month — not just costs to date
A WIP schedule reconciled to claims, refreshed monthly
A rolling 13-week cash flow with claims, retentions, wages, super and BAS
Debtor days by client, with the trend
A variations register with owners and dates — nothing "in someone's inbox"
A standing monthly meeting that ends in actions with names against them

If cash forecasting or WIP is quoted as an optional extra, the base fee isn't the real fee.

FAQ

What is CFO advisory for builders?

CFO advisory for builders is part-time senior financial leadership for building businesses: project-level margin tracking, WIP reporting, 13-week cash flow forecasting, pricing input and bank-ready reporting, delivered on a fixed monthly retainer rather than a full-time salary. It sits between bookkeeping and year-end tax, and focuses on decisions rather than records.

Is CFO advisory the same as a fractional CFO?

Functionally yes — "CFO advisory", "fractional CFO", "virtual CFO" and "outsourced CFO" describe the same service at different levels of involvement. What matters is construction specialisation: generic advisors miss WIP, retentions, progress-claim timing and profit fade because they've never lived them.

What size builder needs CFO advisory?

Typically $2M–$50M turnover. Below about $2M the complexity usually isn't there — a good bookkeeper and a quarterly accountant session cover it. Past $50M with multiple entities and real complexity, a full-time CFO starts to make sense.

How quickly does CFO advisory pay for itself?

Visibility — the forecast and WIP position — lands in the first month. Cash and margin improvements typically follow within one to two claim cycles. On a $10M builder, catching three points of margin fade on a single $2M job covers most of a year's fees on its own.

Do I have to change accountants or bookkeepers?

No. CFO advisory sits between day-to-day bookkeeping and year-end tax and makes both more effective. We work alongside your existing accountant and bookkeeper, not instead of them.

See what advisory would find in your numbers

Book a free 30-minute strategy session — bring your current job list and we'll show you what project-level reporting would reveal, including a straight "you don't need us" if that's the truth. Or read what's included in our fractional CFO service, or call 1300 886 347.