Flat-rate pricing only works if the books can prove it.
We do the books for plumbing companies — the kind of books that can tell a profitable service call from a construction job that’s still waiting on the builder’s check.
A plumbing company is really two businesses wearing one name — service calls that pay this week, and new-construction work that pays whenever the builder gets around to it. When both run through one undivided set of books, you can’t tell which side is carrying the other. We split them, so you can see each on its own terms.
Then there’s the stuff that quietly eats margin: copper and materials that cost more this month than they did when you priced the job, and warranty callbacks that roll a truck for zero revenue. Your books should surface both — how fast material costs are moving, and what free return trips are really costing you.
- Service and new-construction work behave differently — one set of blended numbers hides both.
- Copper moved again and your flat-rate book didn’t.
- Every warranty callback is a full truck roll billed at nothing.
what a warranty callback bills — the truck rolls, the labor clocks, and your books should show what those free trips cost
Books split the way your work splits
Monthly reconciliation with service and construction revenue tracked apart, materials coded so price creep shows up as a trend instead of a shock, and statements delivered on a schedule you can set your watch by. Clean, current records that hold up when a lender or your tax preparer asks.
Flat-rate reality check
We track what each category of job actually costs against what the flat-rate book charges for it. If drain work holds its margin and water-heater swaps don’t, you’ll see it in the numbers — and you can fix the price book instead of wondering where the money went.
Strategy beyond the next job
Cash planning across the service–construction mix, callback cost tracking so quality problems show up as dollars, and a sounding board when you’re deciding whether to chase more builder work or double down on service. We’ve made those calls in our own companies, with our own money on the line.
We do both service work and new construction — can you keep them straight?
That split is exactly why we set the books up the way we do. Service and construction revenue and costs are coded apart from day one, so you can see the margin on each side, watch how the mix shifts through the year, and decide where to push based on numbers instead of gut.
What does this cost for a plumbing company?
Monthly books start at $159/mo under our current special — the regular rate is $300. If you want a fractional CFO in your corner, CFO Core runs from $1,325/mo (down from $1,500) and Strategic CFO from $5,000/mo. Messy back months get a one-time fixed quote through Catch-Up Cleanup. We quote flat after a 15-minute call; we don’t bill by the hour.
A fixed number.No mystery.
Tell us what you do and how far behind the books are. You’ll have your price this week.
(254) 556-5277