Fractional CFO for Project-Based Companies
Financial reporting built around the way you earn revenue: on jobs that cross month-end.
Each month, York Advisory turns your existing books into a concise owner report: margin by job, billing position, cash, and written commentary on what requires your attention.
Every Active Job
Northfield Landscape Co. | September 2026 close
| Job | Complete | Over/(Under) Billed | Margin at Bid | Projected Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside Office Park | 74.2% | 53,165 | 24.0% | 22.4% |
| Maple Grove Retail Plaza | 52.3% | (44,517) | 20.0% | 20.8% |
| Cedar Point Medical Entry | 90.8% | 42,550 | 22.0% | 16.9% |
| Westgate Church Courtyard | 18.4% | 24,079 | 26.0% | 26.0% |
| Lakeside Apartments, Phase 2 | 53.8% | (25,105) | 19.0% | 17.4% |
| Net | 50,172 |
Cedar Point fell to 16.9% from 22.0% at bid. Pavers and walls. Bill CO 4 before the next draw.
Sample report. Fictional company and figures.
You will know which jobs are making money, which are not, and how much cash is in the field. The same math your CPA and your surety use, applied the same way every month.
Which jobs are losing margin?
16.9%
Projected margin on Cedar Point, down from 22.0% at bid. Identified while the job is still open and the cause can still be addressed.
Where is cash sitting uncollected?
(44,517)
Underbilled on Maple Grove: work completed in the field and not yet invoiced to the customer.
What does the business have to work with?
$510,600
Cash across all accounts at month-end, read alongside receivables, payables due, and remaining backlog.
Figures from the sample report above. Fictional company.
What Is Underneath
Every client runs on the same reporting model, built once and configured for each company. It carries the full structure from the first month:
- Cost codes
- Subcontract commitments
- Retainage
- Change orders
- Estimate history
- Labor hours
At the owner level, you see two pages. As your books and your team support more, the same model turns on more detail, down to the individual vendor bill. Nothing is rebuilt and nothing is re-entered.
What Changed in the Estimate
Cedar Point Medical Entry | August to September
| Cost Code | Change | Reason from the Project Manager |
|---|---|---|
| 04 Unit pavers | +18,000 | Quantity overrun |
| 05 Retaining walls | +9,000 | Rework |
| 07 Planting | +5,000 | Material price |
| 02 Sitework | +2,000 | Labor productivity |
| 06 Irrigation | (2,000) | Buyout savings |
| Net Change | +32,000 |
Pending CO 4 ($27,500, paver spec upgrade) would recover most of the paver overrun if approved. It is excluded from the revised contract until then.
The Monthly Owner Report
Two pages, delivered by the 10th of each month, followed by a review call. Built from your accounting system and a brief monthly job update from your team.
Company Performance
Where the business stands at month-end.
- Gross margin, cash, backlog, and net billing position
- Profit and loss for the month, trailing twelve months, and the same month prior year
- Cash position by account
- Accounts receivable by age
Every Active Job
One line per job, in a format your bank or surety will recognize.
- Contract value, cost to date, and estimated cost at completion
- Percent complete and earned revenue
- Over and under billing
- Projected margin and remaining backlog
Written Commentary and Review
Each month I identify the issues that matter most: the job, the dollar amount, the cause, and what to do about it. Then we walk through the report together on a 30-minute call.
Bank and Surety Package
Balance sheet, profit and loss, a work-in-progress schedule, and a schedule of contracts completed this year, prepared in the format your lender or bonding agent expects.
Three Levels of Reporting, One System
Every engagement begins at the owner level. Additional detail is enabled as your operation and your books support it, on the same reporting system, with nothing rebuilt.
| Included | OwnerFor the owner | JobOwner, project managers, and billing | Full DetailOwner, PMs, estimator, and accounting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Owner Report and Job Schedule | Included | Included | Included |
| Written Commentary and Monthly Review Call | Included | Included | Included |
| Quarterly Bank and Surety Package, with Completed Contracts Schedule | Included | Included | Included |
| Interactive Reports for Your Team | Not included | Included | Included |
| Full Work-in-Progress Schedule in Surety Format | Not included | Included | Included |
| Monthly Closed Job Report: Final Margin Against Bid | Not included | Included | Included |
| Change Orders and Retainage | Not included | Included | Included |
| 13-Week Cash Forecast, Updated Weekly | Not included | Included | Included |
| Budget Against Actual by Cost Code | Not included | Not included | Included |
| Subcontract and Purchase Order Commitments | Not included | Not included | Included |
| Estimate Changes by Job, with Reasons | Not included | Not included | Included |
| Labor Hours Against Budget | Not included | Not included | Included |
| Reporting Cadence | Monthly | Weekly | Weekly |
Closed Job Report
At the Job level, every job closed this year is scored against its bid, every month. Owner clients receive the completed contracts schedule each quarter in the bank and surety package.
Over time it shows which kinds of work earn the margin you bid and which do not, so the next bid can account for it.
Closed Jobs, 2026 Year to Date
Northfield Landscape Co. | Through September 2026
| Job | Closed | Final Contract | Margin at Bid | Final Margin | Change (pts) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harbor Point Townhomes | Mar | 480,000 | 22.0% | 23.2% | 1.2 |
| Elm Street Parking Islands | May | 210,000 | 21.0% | 18.1% | (2.9) |
| Northgate Library Plaza | Jun | 905,000 | 20.5% | 21.3% | 0.8 |
| Pine Ridge School Courtyard | Aug | 365,000 | 24.0% | 20.6% | (3.4) |
| Brookside Office Walls | Sep | 540,000 | 19.0% | 19.6% | 0.6 |
| Five jobs | 2,500,000 | 21.0% | 20.9% | (0.1) |
Closed jobs finished $2,260 below bid. Both misses are the two smallest jobs. Review how labor is bid on work under $400,000 before the next one goes out.
Fees are fixed monthly and set out in a written proposal following the readiness assessment.
How an Engagement Begins
You will know the scope, the fee, and what your books need before any commitment is made.
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Step 1
Introductory Call
Thirty minutes to understand how your company runs: your accounting system, how jobs are tracked, and the questions you need answered.
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Step 2
Readiness Assessment
A written review of your books identifying what must be in place, account by account, and what each item makes possible. Your bookkeeper or CPA completes any changes.
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Step 3
Monthly Reporting Begins
Your first owner report is delivered, followed by a review call, and the cycle continues each month.
How the Practice Works
Clear boundaries, so you always know what York Advisory does and what it does not.
Your Books Are Never Changed
York Advisory reads your accounting records and reports on them. It does not enter transactions, post adjustments, or perform bookkeeping. Your bookkeeper and CPA remain in place. Access is read-only where your accounting plan allows it, every login is logged, and you receive an access report with each monthly pack.
A Fixed Monthly Fee
No hourly billing. The scope and fee are agreed in writing before work begins, so the cost of reporting is known in advance.
Your Data Stays Separate
Each client is set up in a dedicated, access-controlled workspace. Your information is never combined or shared with another client's.
The Same Method Every Month
Percent complete, earned revenue, and billing position are calculated consistently, so this month's report can be compared directly to the last.
Josh York
Principal, York Advisory
I lead finance for a commercial general contractor in central Ohio, where I built the accounting, reporting, and business intelligence functions. My work is in construction finance: job cost, work-in-progress reporting, and the schedules that banks and sureties rely on.
York Advisory brings that discipline to owners of project-based companies who are too big to track every dollar and too small for a full-time CFO. Every client works with me directly.
Columbus, Ohio. josh@yorkadvisory.co
Start with a 30-minute introductory call.
A conversation about how your company operates and what you need to see. There is no cost, and if York Advisory is not the right fit, I will say so.
- josh@yorkadvisory.co
- Based in
- Columbus, Ohio
- Serving
- Project-based companies, $5M to $15M in revenue