SYSTEM HUB
The system,
step by step
8 steps in sequence. Each one depends on what came before it and changes what comes after.
THE 8 STEPS
In order
CFOS-01 · CHAPTER 1
Job cost structure
Seven cost categories and three levels of granularity, built so the estimate and the ledger use the same words.
CFOS-02 · CHAPTER 2
Equipment cost basis
A true internal rate per machine covering ownership, maintenance, fuel, and transport, charged to the projects that used it.
CFOS-03 · CHAPTER 3
Overhead calculation
What indirect cost really comes to at your size, and the rate your estimating template should be carrying.
CFOS-04 · CHAPTER 4
Estimating system
The estimate maps one to one onto the job cost codes, so variance means something the day it appears.
CFOS-05 · CHAPTER 5
Software and bookkeeping alignment
Live job costs inside thirty seconds, with the bookkeeping cadence that keeps them true.
CFOS-06 · CHAPTER 6
Project management
Billing dates, change orders, and notices, run as standards that hold without anyone chasing them.
CFOS-07 · CHAPTER 7
Monthly cadence
Weekly bookkeeping, cost to complete, and one CEO report, on the same days every month.
CFOS-08 · CHAPTER 8
Standards and accountability
Five hours a month of owner time, spent ahead of the work.
BENCHMARKS
The published figures
CFOS-03
Overhead
What your trade carries at your size, what the CFOS target is, and why the number on your bid sheet stopped matching either one.
CFOS-01
Gross margin
What your trade earns above direct cost at your size, and the margin the system is built to hold.
CFOS-07
Net profit
What is left after everything, by trade and by size, and the number the system is built to reach.
Most contractors don't have a money problem. They have a visibility problem. Josh has built the rare book that fixes it the right way: not with a pep talk, but with a system. Eight steps, one monthly cadence, and a set of numbers you can actually hold your business to. Every chapter earns its place with a real contractor and a real result. If you want control and clarity over where your money goes, read this and then do what it says. The process works. Whether you show up for it is the only variable left.
AUTHOR
JOSH LUEBKER
MASTER ELECTRICIAN · 150+ PROJECTS · $2.1B+ MANAGED
Wrote CONTROL, the 8 step system these figures sit inside. More about the author.