Practical weekly scorecard for protecting project margin, cash flow, & business health. When you’re approaching $3 million in annual revenue, looking at five key performance indicators on a Monday morning may be enough to determine if your business is on track. When you’re at $10 million to $70 million, it’s not. Projects are larger. Financing is more complex. A single underperforming job can materially affect overall profitability. The challenge is knowing which financial s

Many construction owners think: “I’ll bring in a CFO when we get bigger.” We understand the instinct. But in almost every case, the financial problems we find when we start working together, the margin erosion, the cash gaps, the underpriced jobs were building for years before we arrived. The cost of waiting is larger than the cost of the service itself. The question is not whether your company can afford a CFO. The question is how much the absence of one has already cost yo

Week 7: What Rising Material Costs and Labour Shortages Mean for Your Canadian Contracts Lumber volatility, softwood tariffs exceeding 35%, a structural skilled trade shortage, and ongoing US Canada trade tensions are compressing margins on signed contracts across the country. Here’s how Canadian CFOs are protecting them. A fixed-price contract signed today and delivered 12 to 18 months from now is carrying material price risk for the entire duration. Most Canadian contractor

The better a fractional CFO is, the less visible their work becomes. That's one of the hardest things about the profession. Most work creates value people can see. ⚡ A contractor builds something. ⚡ A lawyer wins a case. ⚡ A marketer generates leads. ⚡ A bookkeeper closes the books. The result is tangible. Fractional CFOs create value differently. ⚡ We prevent the bad hire. ⚡ We catch the pricing problem before it results in a loss. ⚡ We make the business lender-ready before

WEEK SIX: Your Financial Reports Should Tell You What to Do Next Not Just What Happened Last Year Your P&L, balance sheet, WIP schedule, AR aging, cash forecast, and holdback report contain the answers to your next major business decision. Most construction owners never learn to read them the way a CFO does. They show what happened. They help the accountant file the return. They satisfy the bank, the CRA, or the year-end process. But they should do more than that. Your financ

WEEK FIVE: From Spreadsheet Chaos to Financial Clarity - The Financial Processes Growing Contractors Need Scattered spreadsheets, duplicate invoices, and paper receipts stuffed in a truck console aren’t bookkeeping problems. They’re growth problems. And they cost more than most owners realize. At $2M in revenue, a good bookkeeper and QuickBooks Online may be enough to stay compliant. By $4M, the problem usually isn’t QuickBooks — it’s the lack of disciplined processes around

WEEK FOUR: FINANCING THE NEXT BIG CONTRACT: EQUIPMENT, BONDING & WORKING CAPITAL Winning a major contract can feel like the breakthrough a construction company has been waiting for. But bigger projects don't just bring bigger revenue. They also bring bigger upfront costs, larger working capital requirements, increased bonding demands, and more pressure on your operating line. For many contractors, the most dangerous moment is not losing a job. It is winning a great job withou

WEEK THREE: Forecasting: From Gut Feel to Growth Plan - Building a Forecast Your Bank Will Believe. A pipeline full of bids is not a financial plan. Here is how CFOs turn backlog data and project history into a 12-month forecast that drives real decisions and supports stronger conversations with lenders. Your banker certainly wants to know how busy you are but they are even more interested in what that work means for your future cash flow. A forecast built on actual project d

WEEK TWO: Is Your Job Costing Lying to You? How to Find the Profit Killers on Every Project Most Canadian contractors know their bid margin. Few track their actual margin job by job. The difference will surprise, and probably frustrate, you. Profit is made or lost at the project level, not the company level. Until you can see the margin on every job in progress, you are managing your business with the lights off. KEY OBSERVATIONS FROM CANADIAN CONSTRUCTION PRACTICE THE ESTIM

WEEK ONE: Why Construction Companies Run Out of Cash, Even When Business is Booming Your construction company can be profitable, busy, and growing, but still be heading toward a cash crunch. The crews are working. The backlog is strong. Revenue is up. The income statement may even show a strong profit. But the bank account tells a different story. The reason is simple: profit and cash flow are not the same thing. Profit is what is left after expenses on a financial statement.

In this episode of Mastery CFO’s “Punchy” Podcast , host Ryan Chenier , Founder and CEO of Mastery Fractional CFO Services , sits down with Senami Saibu , the visionary CEO behind Senami’s Luxury Decor . What began as a creative outlet during the pandemic has evolved into a thriving design and event styling business, driven by excellence, integrity, and a passion for transformation. From Science to Style Senami’s journey into entrepreneurship took an unexpected turn. With a b

In construction, it’s easy to focus on the job in front of you: estimating accurately, managing the crew, staying on budget, etc... But...

Welcome to another episode of Mastery Fractional CFO’s Punchy Podcast — the short, sharp show where we bring you impactful insights from...

Most business leaders didn’t start their company to read financial statements. They started it to make an impact, to serve customers, and...

In this episode of the Punchy Podcast, host Ryan Chenier (Founder & CEO of Mastery Fractional CFO Services) sits down with Colin...

In this episode of Mastery Fractional CFO’s Punchy Podcast , Ryan Chenier, founder and CEO of Mastery Fractional CFO Services, sits down...

Welcome to another episode of Mastery Fractional CFO’s Punchy Podcast , the show where we bring you sharp, actionable insights from...

Podcast with David Solomon | Hosted by Ryan Chenier, Founder and CEO of Mastery Fractional CFO Services In this episode of the Mastery...

The construction and trades industries face a myriad of financial challenges that can hinder growth and profitability. Understanding...

Introduction In today's competitive business world, staying top of mind with clients is more than just a catchy phrase—it's a necessity....