From $8M to $40M in 3.5 Years — Without Outgrowing the Financial Systems
A Montana general contractor was generating $8M in revenue but couldn't see where the money was going. Broken AP and AR processes were masking the true cost of every job. We fixed the foundation — and the business grew 5x in three and a half years.
$8M → $40M
Revenue growth over 3.5 years
5×
Revenue multiple
30–45 days → 0
Billing lag eliminated
Weekly
Job profitability reviews
The Challenge
The owner had built a solid reputation in the Montana market. Work was coming in. The crew was growing. On the surface, things looked good. But underneath, the financial picture was murky at best. Accounts payable was a mess — subcontractors weren't being paid on schedule, which was starting to affect relationships and job timelines. Accounts receivable was worse — draws weren't being billed correctly or on time, creating cash gaps that forced the owner to lean on a line of credit just to make payroll.
Job costing was essentially nonexistent. The owner knew which jobs had finished, but not which ones had actually made money. Every estimate was based on gut feel and past experience — not data. When subcontractors aren't paid on schedule, they deprioritize your jobs. That causes delays. Delays cause cost overruns. Cost overruns eat the margin you thought you had. By the time the job closes, the profit that looked good on the estimate has quietly disappeared.
Construction billing is complex — AIA draw schedules, lien waivers, retainage, change order documentation. When any of these are late or incorrect, the GC doesn't get paid. When the GC doesn't get paid, the line of credit fills the gap. This company was consistently billing 30–45 days behind where they should have been. That lag was costing them real money in interest — and creating the illusion that cash flow was a revenue problem when it was actually a billing process problem.
Our Approach
We implemented a structured AP workflow — invoice approval tiers, payment schedules aligned to draw receipts, and a subcontractor payment calendar. The owner went from approving every invoice manually to reviewing a weekly exception report. Subs started getting paid on time. Job timelines stabilized.
We built a draw billing calendar tied to project milestones. Every draw application went out on schedule with proper documentation — AIA G702/G703 forms, lien waivers, change order logs. The 30–45 day billing lag disappeared within 60 days. Cash flow stabilized without touching the line of credit.
For the first time, the owner could see the actual cost and margin of every job — not just at close, but in real time. We set up WIP (work-in-progress) schedules, cost codes by trade and phase, and a monthly job profitability review. Unprofitable job types became visible. Estimating accuracy improved because it was now grounded in real cost history.
With clean books, accurate job costing, and a functioning billing process, the owner could finally make decisions based on data. Bonding capacity increased. Banking relationships improved. The owner stopped being the bottleneck for every financial decision and started focusing on business development — which is where the growth came from.
The Outcome
The growth didn't happen because we found a secret strategy. It happened because the owner finally had the reporting strength to make good decisions, pursue the right jobs, and build a team he could trust with the numbers.
Scaling from $8M to $40M in revenue is not just a revenue achievement — it is a financial infrastructure achievement. Without job costing, WIP accounting, and a reporting system that could handle multi-project complexity, that growth would have created chaos rather than value.
The systems built during this engagement gave the owner real-time visibility into every job, gave the bank confidence in the financials, and gave the business the foundation to keep growing without the financial function becoming the bottleneck.
Services involved
Industries
Selected client result. Details adapted for confidentiality.
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