CFO services for roofers - insights your roofing business needs for growth

Running a roofing business comes with plenty of challenges. Seasonal fluctuations mean some months are busy, while others are slow. Roofing business has slow payments that leads to cash flow issues, and it is very difficult to predict or calculate the profit.

CFO services for roofers provide best financial strategies to address the pain points. They offer cash flow forecasting to make sure funds are available during lean periods, assist in job costing to estimate the project profitability, and implement budgeting techniques. These give a clear financial roadmap for roofing business owners.

Working with financial experts helps you manage money better. The right CFO services guide you, improve cash flow, and make it easier to grow your roofing company.

The Financial Gap in Growing Roofing Companies

Roofing companies start with strong crews and excellent skills, but most of the business owners struggle in managing their capital.  20% of companies cite poor cash flow management as the primary reason for their failure.

Without strong financial leadership, even a successful roofing companies can hit cash flow problems and miss growth opportunities. It is overwhelming to track expenses, plan for offseason, and invest the profits

Why a General Accountant Isn’t Enough?

Standard accountants manage basic bookkeeping and taxes, but roofing businesses follows a different pattern. High seasonality affects revenue, insurance claims delay payments, and accurate job costing is important to know which projects are profitable.

For example: A roofing company books $80,000 in sales during storm season, but because of pending insurance payouts and delayed invoices, only half of that money hits the bank for months.

So, in short, such business need a professional expert who understand the core and fundamentals of accounting, so that they don’t overestimate profits, and run into cash shortages.

Introducing the Virtual CFO Solution

A virtual CFO provides roofing businesses with expert financial guidance without the cost of a full-time hire. They track cash flow, monitor project profitability, manage budgets, and plan for every seasons.

CFOs offer strategic advice, helping owners make decisions on investments, hiring, and expansion. With them, roofing companies gain a clear view of their finances and can scale their business confidently.

The Four Critical Financial Functions a CFO Provides

A CFO’s role is very broad - they help roofing companies make quick financial decisions and build long-term stability. Here are the four key areas where CFO services for roofers make the biggest impact:

Maximizing Job Profitability and Estimating Accuracy

A roofer’s bid starts with an estimate, but profit comes from tracking what happens on the job. A CFO builds simple systems that compare estimated costs to real costs for every project and flags gaps early so owners can act.

How a CFO implements this in practice

1. Set up job-level cost tracking

• Create cost codes for materials, direct labor, subcontractors, equipment, and permits.
• Require timesheets tied to job codes and capture material receipts and subcontractor invoices against the same job.
• Record purchase orders and commitments as liabilities so expected costs appear before invoices arrive.

2. Calculate and apply labor burden correctly

• Labor burden = all payroll-related costs beyond gross wages. Typical components: payroll taxes (employer share), workers’ compensation, overtime premiums, benefits, and paid time off.
• ACFO gathers your payroll reports and insurance bills, sums these employer costs for a period, and divides by total gross wages to get a labor-burden rate(expressed as a percent).
• Example (not universal): if gross wages =$100,000 and employer payroll taxes + WC + benefits = $30,000, labor burden rate = 30%. Apply this rate to labor hours on each job to capture true labor cost.

3. Allocate G&A (overhead) to jobs fairly

• Identify G&A items (office rent, admin salaries, insurance, office supplies). Sum them for a period.
• Choose an allocation base (direct labor dollars, direct labor hours, or direct job costs). Many roofing firms use direct labor dollars because labor drives most job costs.
• G&A rate = total G&A ÷ allocation base. Multiply the rate by each job’s base to charge a fair share of overhead.

4. Run regular estimate vs. actual reports

• Produce an “Estimate vs. Actual” report weekly or biweekly. Show actual costs to date, remaining budget, forecasted final cost, and variance.
• Include a simple “cost-to-complete” line: current costs + estimated remaining costs =projected total. Compare projected total to the original estimate to see true margin.

5. Use variance drilldowns and corrective actions

• When a job shows a negative variance, break it down: materials, labor hours, labor burden, or subs.
• Take targeted steps, re-negotiate sub pricing, adjust labor scheduling, or change procurement based on the root cause.

Reports and controls a CFO puts in place

• Job Cost Ledger by cost code
• Labor Burden Summary and applied labor cost by job
• G&A Allocation schedule and applied overhead by job
• Estimate vs. Actual & Cost-to-Complete dashboard
• Alerts for jobs drifting beyond a set variance threshold (for example, 5–10%)

Why these steps matter?

Accurate labor burden and fair overhead allocation stop “paper profits.” They show the true cost of each job so you bid correctly, protect margin, and make clearer decisions about which jobs to take or reject

Strategic Cash Flow Management for Seasonality

Roofing businesses face major cash flow swings. Storms or peak seasons can bring a flood of work, whereas winter or slow periods may leave bank accounts nearly empty. A CFO focuses on managing cashflow through every season to avoid surprises and keep operations stable.

Key strategies include:

1. Working Capital Management

• Track accounts receivable and payable carefully. Know exactly when clients are expected to pay and when bills are due.
• Maintain a cash reserve to cover slow periods, usually 1–3 months of operating expenses.

2. Line of Credit Usage

Keep a pre-approved line of credit for short-term gaps. Use it strategically rather than as a crutch, paying it down when cash inflows peak.

3. Forecasting Off-Season Expenses

• CFOs create rolling forecasts that include payroll, equipment maintenance, insurance, and overhead during low-work months.
• This maintains enough liquidity to cover essential costs even when jobs slow down.

Example: A roofing company may earn 70% of annual revenue from spring storms. With CFO-managed cash flow, they save a portion of peak-season profits to cover winter payroll and equipment storage, avoiding emergency loans or missed payments.

3. Performance Measurement and KPI Development

Revenue cannot reveal how well a roofing business is performing. CFOs set measurable KPIs that show both profitability and efficiency, helping owners make informed decisions. Important metrics include:

• Cost per Lead: Tracks marketing efficiency and identifies which channels deliver the best return.
• Gross Profit per Job: Shows true profitability after labor, materials, and subcontractor costs, factoring in labor burden and overhead.
• Average Days to Collect: Especially important for insurance-driven projects, it measures how quickly payments are received and highlights cash flow bottlenecks.

With these KPIs, CFOs help roofing companies:

• Adjust marketing spend to maximize leads and ROI.
• Identify projects or customer types that are consistently profitable.
• Improve billing and collections processes to reduce cash flow gaps.

Example: If the average days to collect is 60, the CFO implements follow-up processes and negotiate faster insurance payouts, improving cash availability.

Securing Capital and Supporting Bonding

Growing roofing companies need additional capital to take on larger projects. Whether it’s a line of credit, equipment financing, or a surety bond, lenders and sureties require clear, accurate financial statements. A CFO like Atheneum builds these statements to show the company’s true financial health, making it easier to qualify for financing or bonding.

Key steps a CFO takes:

Prepare Accurate Financial Statements

• Consolidate income, expenses, liabilities, and assets clearly.
• Include project-level data so lenders see profitability per job.

Surety Bond Assistance

• Sureties review revenue, cash flow, and job completion capacity.
• CFOs provide detailed WIP (Work-in-Progress) reports that show what portion of each job is complete, costs incurred, and projected margins.

Financial Forecasting and Modeling

• Project cash needs for new jobs, that includes labor, materials, and overhead.
• Show the company can complete projects on time and cover all obligations.

Example: A roofing company wants to bid on a $500,000commercial project. With a CFO-prepared WIP report and financial statements, the surety can see the company’s ability to manage cash flow and complete the job, increasing the chance of bond approval.

Conclusion

A strong financial strategy is the backbone of a successful roofing business. With professional CFO services, companies can optimize cashflow, track true job profitability, and plan for growth across every season.

A CFO translates complex financial data into actionable insights, enabling roofing businesses to take on larger projects, make informed decisions, and scale sustainably. By partnering with experts like Atheneum, roofing companies can focus on operations and project delivery while their finances are managed strategically.

Book a call today to geta CFO guidance that provides the knowledge and services that will help your business grow efficiently and achieve long-term stability.