You haven't outgrown QuickBooks. You've outgrown QuickBooks alone.
Before you sign for an ERP, see what's missing. Most contractors under $10M need cost codes, change orders, retention and WIP added to QuickBooks. They don't need a new system.
We email you when CFOS for QuickBooks opens, plus a few updates before then. Your address stays with Run On CFOS. One click unsubscribes.
30 days free, a 90-day money-back guarantee, and cancel anytime. It opens January 2027. We email you the day it opens.
It feels like QuickBooks is the problem
You're at $4M or $7M, the jobs are bigger, and the reports don't answer the questions you have. Somebody tells you that you've outgrown QuickBooks and need an ERP. That advice usually comes from someone who sells one.
QuickBooks Online does a good job at what it's built for: bills, payments, payroll, bank feeds and the books. That's a lot. What it doesn't do on its own is handle the parts of a contractor's business that go around the books.
So the question isn't whether QuickBooks is too small. It's which pieces are missing, and whether those pieces can be added on top of what you already have. That's a smaller job than a new system.
Check what's missing first
Make a short list and check each item. Do you see job cost by cost code against the estimate, updated weekly or better? Are change orders tracked from the signed ticket to the pay app? Is retention held on each job visible, with the date it's due? Could you produce a WIP schedule your surety would accept?
If the answer to all four is yes, you probably don't need anything new. If some are no, you've found what's missing, and each one has a smaller fix than replacing the whole system. A cost code structure, a change order log, a retention sheet and a WIP table cover most of it.
Try those for a month on a spreadsheet. If the spreadsheets work, keep going. If they take too much of your office manager's time, that's when software on top of QuickBooks makes sense.
An ERP replaces your accounting system, and it changes how your office works. It means moving your history, retraining your bookkeeper and paying more every month. Be sure you need that before you start.
What the numbers say about your size
If you're deciding whether to spend, it helps to know what contractors your size typically earn. The table below holds the published all-trade averages, and net profit is before taxes. Spending that moves you toward the average is worth it. Spending that doesn't change a number you track usually isn't.
Overhead is worth watching too. A system that adds a hire or a big monthly bill raises overhead, so the benefit has to be larger than the cost. Ask what number will change.
| Revenue | Overhead | Gross margin | Net profit, before taxes |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1M to $5M | 15.1% average 14.1% CFOS target | 22.1% average 25% CFOS target | 7% average 11% CFOS target |
| $5M to $10M | 14.1% average 13.1% CFOS target | 23.4% average 26% CFOS target | 9.4% average 12.9% CFOS target |
Gross margin and overhead come from figures CFMA, Jones Maresca and other sources publish by trade and size. Net profit is computed, not surveyed: net profit = gross margin minus overhead. Nothing comes out for taxes, interest or other income and expense, so it is a before tax figure, on the same basis as CFMA's net income before taxes.
CFMA's 2025 medians are 7.1 percent before interest and taxes and 6.7 percent net income before taxes. Gross margin minus overhead leaves out interest and other income and expense, so a figure here can come in a little above or below a reported net income on the same business.
Above the $10M to $25M band the gross margin and overhead rows are a modeled extension of the same curves. They have not been reconciled against the licensed CFMA Benchmarker, so read those bands as a model and not as a survey result.
How CFOS does it
CFOS for QuickBooks works on top of QuickBooks Online. It reads jobs, cost codes, vendors, bills and invoices, and writes invoices back. QuickBooks keeps the books, and your bookkeeper keeps working in it.
What it adds is the list above: job cost by cost code against the budget, change orders from signed T&M tickets, retainage on the pay app, and a WIP schedule with over and under billing. It also adds a 13 week cash forecast and a CEO Report graded against your trade and size. That's the list, and it fits on top of what you have.
Pricing follows your revenue. Up to $3M is $300 a month. Each started $1M above that adds to the price, so up to $10M is $1,350 a month. Every module is included, it's month to month, and QuickBooks Online is billed by Intuit separately.
What CFOS doesn't do
It needs QuickBooks Online. It doesn't work with QuickBooks Desktop, so if you're on Desktop, it isn't for you yet. More accounting systems are coming.
It isn't an ERP. It doesn't replace your accounting, operate your payroll or keep your general ledger. Time goes to QuickBooks Payroll after you approve it, and your payroll company keeps handling deductions.
If you do want an ERP after trying this, you'll know what you need from it. That alone saves a lot of demos. You'll also have the numbers to judge each one.
At $3M, a spreadsheet next to QuickBooks is usually enough. At $8M the spreadsheet is where mistakes start. That's where an add on pays for itself.
Get on the list for the day it opens
30 days free, a 90-day money-back guarantee, and cancel anytime.
We email you when CFOS for QuickBooks opens, plus a few updates before then. Your address stays with Run On CFOS. One click unsubscribes.
30 days free, a 90-day money-back guarantee, and cancel anytime. It opens January 2027. We email you the day it opens.
What people ask
Have I outgrown QuickBooks at $5M?
Probably not. Most contractors at $5M are missing job cost by cost code, change orders, retention tracking and WIP. Those can be added on top of QuickBooks Online.
When does a $10M contractor actually need an ERP?
When the issue is the accounting engine itself, such as multiple legal entities or complex consolidation. If the issue is job reporting, an add on is cheaper and faster. Check which one you have first.
Does CFOS work with QuickBooks Desktop for a $6M company?
No. It works with QuickBooks Online only. If you're on Desktop, you'd need to move to Online first. More accounting systems are coming.
As an owner, will my bookkeeper have to learn a new system?
They keep using QuickBooks Online. They'll enter the job and cost code on bills. CFOS reads it from there.
Do I have to move my books to try CFOS at $4M?
No. Your books never leave QuickBooks. You connect CFOS. You can have us do the setup or do it yourself.
- Job costing for contractors doing $1M to $10M a year
- Job costing software that runs on QuickBooks
- Know your costs
- Before you sign a six-figure ERP
- One price. Every module. Priced by your revenue.
- Use all of it, or just the part you need
QuickBooks is a trademark of Intuit Inc. Run On CFOS isn't affiliated with Intuit.