MARGIN · $1M to $100M+

Margin

Straight knowledge on cash, cost and profit for subcontractors doing $1M to $100M+.

WHAT IT IS

Margin is the CFOS newsletter from Run On CFOS. Straight knowledge on cash, cost and profit for subcontractors doing $1M to $100M+. Each issue takes one problem an owner deals with, explains how it works and what fixes it, and points to the step in the CFOS system that covers it.

THE ISSUES

Every issue, newest first

MARGIN · October 22, 2026 · STEPS 01, 03, 07

The line of credit has no rules on it

A line with no rules stops being a backstop and becomes the operating account.

MARGIN · August 25, 2026 · STEPS 03, 07

Winter costs you every year

You know it's coming. Winter comes anyway, and every year the bank account takes it as a surprise.

MARGIN · July 28, 2026 · STEPS 01, 03, 06, 07

Where the money goes in a construction company

Crews are busy, the backlog is full and bids keep going out. At the end of the month the money is gone anyway, and the owner can't say where it went.

THE SYSTEM

Where the issues fit in the CFOS system

CFOS-01

Job cost codes that match how you bid the work

Seven cost categories and three levels of granularity, built so the estimate and the ledger use the same words.

CFOS-03

The overhead rate your bid sheet should cover

What indirect cost really comes to at your size, and the rate your estimating template should be using.

CFOS-06

Billing and change orders that hold without follow up

Billing dates, change orders, and notices, written as standards that work without anyone following up on them.

CFOS-07

The monthly close that takes a contractor 5 hours

Weekly bookkeeping, cost to complete, and one CEO report, on the same days every month.

SYSTEM HUB

All 8 steps in sequence

What each step depends on, what it supplies, and why the order decides whether the numbers can be trusted.

QUESTIONS

What owners ask

What is Margin?

Who is Margin written for?

Owners, presidents and operators of subcontractors doing $1M to $100M+ a year. It's written for the person who signs the payroll, not for an accountant. No issue asks you to buy anything or book a call.

How many issues are there?

There are 3 so far, and each one has a page on this site with the date it was first released. Some are pages of their own, and some extended a page that already covered the subject. New issues are added to this list as they go live.

How do I get Margin by email?

Leave your address in the form at the bottom of this page. You get one email when a new issue goes up. One click unsubscribes, and the list belongs to Run On CFOS alone.

AUTHOR

JOSH LUEBKER

MASTER ELECTRICIAN · 150+ PROJECTS · $2.1B+ MANAGED

Wrote CONTROL, the 8 step system this page comes from. More about the author.

MARGIN BY EMAIL

Get each new issue of Margin in your inbox. Straight knowledge on cash, cost and profit for subcontractors doing $1M to $100M+. Each one covers a single problem and the step that fixes it.

One email when a new issue goes up. Your address stays with Run On CFOS. One click unsubscribes.

The sister newsletter is Margin Call, from SPM The Construction CFO.