Trades
See how we’ve helped construction and trades businesses gain financial clarity, fix cash flow, and turn their numbers into momentum.
Roofing & Solar
Scaling a Storm Restoration Division
Titan Roofing & Exteriors
Challenge:
Titan added a storm repair division but lacked visibility on project backlog and cash flow timing.
Solution:
We created a backlog forecast and integrated AR timing by insurance payment stage.
Results:
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Forecast accuracy within 5%
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19% growth in storm division revenue
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Added CFO-level insights for leadership decisions
From Clean-Up to Strategic Growth
Apex Roofing Solutions
Challenge:
Books were six months behind; owner couldn’t qualify for a business loan.
Solution:
We performed a full clean-up, reconciled financials, and built lender-ready reporting with projections.
Results:
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Books current within 30 days
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Secured $250K line of credit
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Owner now reviews monthly Scoreboard and forecast
Margin Visibility Improved
PeakPro Roofing & Restoration
Challenge:
Owner couldn’t see which project types (commercial vs. residential) were more profitable.
Solution:
We created a segmented P&L by service line, integrated CRM job data, and presented monthly insights.
Results:
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Discovered commercial jobs were 6% more profitable
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Refocused marketing and bidding accordingly
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Overall profit up $137K in six months
Cash Flow Forecasting for Seasonal Work
Skyline Roofing Co.
Challenge:
Weather-driven project delays and uneven cash inflows made forecasting impossible.
Solution:
We built a 13-week forecast accounting for seasonality and added vendor payment scheduling tools.
Results:
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Cash flow stabilized year-round
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22% reduction in short-term borrowing
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100% on-time payroll during rain delays
HVAC Contractors
Profit Leaks Sealed
Stark Cooling Solutions
Challenge:
The owner couldn’t see true job margins — materials, labor, and subcontractors were lumped together in one account.
Solution:
We rebuilt the chart of accounts, added job-level reporting, and created a monthly scoreboard showing margin by service type.
Results:
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$112K in undercharged jobs corrected
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9% increase in average gross margin
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100% job profitability transparency
Cash Flow Under Control
CoolZone Heating & Air
Challenge:
CoolZone struggled with seasonal swings — strong summer months but recurring winter cash shortages.
Solution:
We created a rolling forecast, implemented maintenance agreement tracking, and restructured AR/AP timing for off-season stability.
Results:
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0 winter cash shortages
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18% increase in recurring maintenance revenue
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Budget-to-actual variance under 3%
Electrical Contractors
Scaling With Confidence
Volt Builders, LLC
Challenge:
The company was growing rapidly but lacked a CFO function. Leadership couldn’t evaluate project backlog profitability or plan new hires.
Solution:
We developed a project forecast dashboard, quarterly financial review cadence, and leadership-level financial KPIs.
Results:
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$500K in working capital unlocked
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15% stronger backlog margin
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New crew hiring plan tied to cash availability
From Reactive to Predictable
Sparkline Electrical Services
Challenge:
Cash flow was unpredictable due to inconsistent invoicing and technician billing. The owner couldn’t forecast payroll coverage week to week.
Solution:
We built a 13-week cash flow model, automated invoice batching, and trained the office team on daily deposit tracking.
Results:
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Payroll coverage visibility 3 weeks out
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Cut AR days from 27 to 8
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100% on-time vendor payments after 2 months
Lighting the Way to Profitability
BrightCore Electric, Inc
Challenge:
BrightCore had strong sales but no visibility into project profitability. Estimates were solid, but actual margins kept coming in low due to untracked change orders and labor overruns.
Solution:
We implemented job-level costing, added change order tracking to QuickBooks, and created a monthly Scoreboard comparing estimated vs. actual margins.
Results:
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12% improvement in average project margin
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$94K in missed change orders recovered
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Owner reviews profit by project weekly
Construction
Bringing Financial Clarity to a Remodeling Firm
Red Oak Renovations
Challenge:
Red Oak’s books were months behind, vendor bills were missed, and the owner couldn’t tell which projects made money. They needed a clean-up and a system for consistent reporting.
Solution:
We completed a full clean-up and reconciliation, introduced a standardized month-end close, and created a visual Profit & Cash Flow dashboard accessible to the owner in real time.
Results:
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Cleaned up 9 months of books in 30 days
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Cut late vendor payments by 80%
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Gave the owner instant visibility into profitability and cash flow
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Provided confidence to hire an additional project manager
Finding Profit Leaks in a Custom Home Builder
Havenwood Custom Homes
Challenge:
The owner was pricing builds competitively but constantly felt “tight on cash.” Hidden costs, late vendor invoices, and poor markup tracking were eating into margins.
Solution:
We performed a pricing and margin analysis across 12 recent projects, rebuilt their job costing model, and added monthly forecasting and cash dashboards.
Results:
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Identified $175K in profit leaks
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Increased markup accuracy by 9%
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30-day invoicing turnaround reduced to 7 days
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Owner now reviews a simple monthly Profit Scoreboard
Scaling Without Losing Control
Fairview Homes, LLC
Challenge:
Fairview doubled revenue in two years but outgrew their financial systems. They had no rolling forecast or budget process and couldn’t project the impact of new subdivisions on cash flow.
Solution:
We developed a full financial model tied to project phasing and draws, implemented quarterly forecasting, and advised leadership on capital allocation and lender communications.
Results:
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Improved forecasting accuracy and investor confidence
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Secured $1.2M in new construction financing
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14% improvement in working capital efficiency
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Financial reviews integrated into monthly leadership meetings
From Chaos to Control in Job Costing
Granite Peak Builders
Challenge:
Granite Peak’s QuickBooks setup lumped all project costs together, making it impossible to see which jobs were profitable. The owner was constantly surprised at year-end when margins came in lower than expected.
Solution:
We restructured their chart of accounts by project, automated job cost tracking, and created custom dashboards showing profitability by job, client, and superintendent.
Results:
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Job cost visibility in real time
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Discovered $61K in underbilled materials
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Increased net profit margin from 11% to 15% within 6 months
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Monthly reporting now reviewed in 30-minute leadership calls
Fixing Cash Flow for a Growing Contractor
Mason Ridge Construction
Challenge:
Mason Ridge was landing more projects than ever but still struggling to make payroll between draws. Their financial reports were outdated, and the owner was making decisions based on guesswork rather than data.
Solution:
We implemented a 13-week cash flow forecast, aligned billings and vendor payments with project timelines, and built a monthly Scoreboard tracking gross profit per project manager.
Results:
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Eliminated cash crunches within 60 days
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Improved forecasting accuracy to within 5%
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Increased project-level profit margins by 8%
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Owner gained weekly cash visibility and confidence in growth
Plumbing
Turning Busy Into Profitable
PipePro Services
Challenge:
The company was landing big projects but couldn’t see why profits weren’t improving. Their pricing didn’t fully cover overhead, and project overruns were hidden in the books.
Solution:
We conducted a pricing and margin analysis, identified underperforming contracts, and implemented a project costing dashboard integrated with QuickBooks. We also introduced monthly leadership reviews to stay proactive.
Results:
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Identified $210K in annual profit leaks
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Raised average project bid margin by 6%
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Implemented a monthly Scoreboard for cash & project KPIs
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Owner now has full visibility across crews, projects, and cash position
Profit Leaks Fixed, Growth Funded
TruFlow Plumbing & Heating
Challenge:
TruFlow was growing quickly but operating without a budget or reliable forecasting. The owner wanted to hire two new crews but wasn’t confident they could afford the additional overhead.
Solution:
We created a rolling 12-month budget, built a margin-based pricing model, and ran three hiring scenarios using our cash flow forecast. This helped the owner plan growth without cash strain.
Results:
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$250K line of credit approved using our financial package
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Forecast accuracy improved to within 3% month-to-month
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Two new crews added profitably
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15% increase in average job profit per crew
From Bookkeeping Chaos to Clarity
Apex Plumbing Solutions
The company’s books were several months behind, job deposits weren’t tracked properly, and the owner couldn’t see which projects were profitable. Their CPA only focused on tax prep — no insights, no strategy.
Solution:
We performed a full bookkeeping clean-up and reconciliation, restructured their chart of accounts by job type, and created monthly management reports tied to key performance drivers: labor utilization, overhead %, and gross margin.
Results:
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Clean financials within 30 days
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Monthly close cycle reduced from 3 weeks to 5 days
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9% increase in gross margin through better job-cost tracking
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Owner now reviews a monthly Scoreboard with actionable KPIs
Restoring Cash Flow Stability
Clearwater Mechanical, Inc.
Clearwater Mechanical struggled with unpredictable cash flow due to unbilled work orders, late invoicing, and inconsistent job-cost tracking. Despite strong sales, they were constantly short on cash before payroll.
Solution:
Palmer’s Strategic Advisors implemented a 13-week cash flow forecast, streamlined billing processes, and created a weekly cash management plan. We also built a Job Profitability Scoreboard to track gross margin per crew.
Results:
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Cash shortages eliminated within 45 days
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Invoicing cycle reduced from 15 days to 3 days
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Identified $87K in underbilled work orders
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Owner gained weekly visibility into profit by job