FOR INVOLVED OWNERS OF $2M–$50M COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES
Grow Profitably Without Losing Control of Cash or the CompanyAtlas CFO helps you improve profit, protect cash, strengthen bonding, and make better decisions about where the company goes next.
Whether your team needs help producing the financials, using them to make decisions or both, Atlas helps build and manage the financial process behind those decisions, so you have numbers you can trust.
You do not have to diagnose the problem or figure out which service you need. Tell us what is happening, and we’ll help you determine the next step.
Build a Company That Makes Money and Runs Well
More revenue does not always mean more money.
Growth can strain cash, add overhead, overwhelm the accounting department, and leave you taking on more risk without knowing whether the company is becoming more profitable.
Atlas CFO helps you build a company where:
- You know which jobs and types of work make money.
- Cash needs do not keep catching you by surprise.
- Financial reports arrive consistently and make sense.
- Your working capital supports the work you want to pursue.
- Banks and sureties receive information they can understand.
- You can make hiring and equipment decisions with confidence.
- The accounting department runs without constant intervention.
- You have time to lead the company instead of chasing numbers.
Accurate financials make this possible. We help you get them, understand them, and use them.
Built by People Who Have Run the Financial Side of Construction Companies
Construction finance is different.
Profit does not always mean cash. Revenue can grow while working capital shrinks. One bad estimate can erase the profit from several good jobs.
WIP, retainage, backlog, job costing, overbillings, underbillings, bonding, and cash timing all affect the decisions you make.
Atlas CFO was built by Shane and Melissa, who have spent nearly 30 years working as construction CFOs, COOs, accountants, consultants, and business owners.
We have dealt with the same problems inside construction companies:
- Financial statements that could not be trusted
- WIP reports that did not match the jobs
- Accounting departments that were always behind
- Tight cash despite strong revenue
- Owners unsure where the money went
- Software that created more work instead of less
- Banks and sureties asking hard questions
- Growth decisions made without reliable projections
We know the accounting. We also know what it takes to run the company behind it.
Start With the Financial Foundation
Before projections or financial strategy are useful, you need financial information you can trust. We call the process behind that the Atlas CFO Financial Foundation. During the first one to three months, we work through the current problems while installing the financial foundation process your company will use going forward.
The foundation can include a defined month-end close, producing part or all of the monthly financial package, improving WIP, reconciliations, , or moving directly into forward-looking CFO work.
We start with the problems creating the most risk or holding you back the most. The scope and timeline depend on what your company actually needs.
Once the numbers are reliable, Atlas stays involved to keep it running and help you use the numbers to manage the company.
You do not need to decide before you call whether your team should do the work, Atlas should do more of it or you need help using the numbers. We will help you determine the right next step.
How Atlas Gets You There
1 . Understand the Company
We start with your goals, current problems, team, software, reports, and the decisions you are trying to make.
We also look at how information moves from the field to the accounting department and eventually to you.
This shows us where the process is breaking down and what deserves attention first.
2 . Build the Financial Foundation
We work with your team to correct the problems affecting your financials.
Depending on the company, that may include:
- Balance-sheet accounts
- Reconciliations
- WIP
- Job costing
- Month-end close
- Reporting
- Cash forecasting
- Staff responsibilities
- Software and data flow
We focus first on the issues that affect the accuracy of your reports and the decisions you are making from them.
3 . Make the Monthly Work Easier
Once the process is correct, we simplify it.
We train your team, document responsibilities, connect systems, and use software or AI to reduce repetitive work where it makes sense.
Automation supports a good process. It cannot repair a bad one.
4 . Produce Reliable Reports Consistently
A clean set of financials once is not enough.
Your team may produce the financial statements using the process we build together, or Atlas may take on more of the financial statement preparation. Either way, the goal is reliable information produced consistently. We help your team repeat the process every month, review the results, and deal with problems before they pile up.
You receive reliable information without having to chase reports or rebuild spreadsheets yourself.
5 . Use the Numbers to Run the Company
With accurate financials in place, we help you use them.
You can see where profit is coming from, what is consuming cash, what your backlog supports, and how a decision could affect the months ahead.
That is where financial reporting becomes useful.
One Financial System. Different Ways to Use Atlas CFO
Running the company well starts with reliable financial statements, then adds a clear view of where you are headed and experience financial judgement when you need it.
Atlas can help at each layer. You do not have to decide which combination you need before talking with us.
Reliable Financial Statements
Financial statements have to be produced before they can be used. There are two ways Atlas can help:
DONE WITH YOU – We help your team build and use the process to produce reliable financial statements.
DONE FOR YOU – Atlas takes responsibility for more of the month-end financial statement process, working with your team to get the information we need.
Either path can include:
- Managing the month-end close
- Reviewing reconciliations and financial statements
- Preparing and reviewing WIP
- Improving job-cost reporting
- Clarifying accounting-team responsibilities
- Fixing reporting problems
- Improving software and data flow
- Automating repetitive work
- Keeping the process on schedule
Forward Financial Visibility – The Atlas Growth Model
The Atlas Growth Model gives you a forward-looking view of the company.
It uses your current financial information and operating assumptions to project:
- Revenue
- Gross profit
- Overhead
- Net profit
- Cash flow
- Working-capital needs
- Break-even revenue
We can then test the effect of decisions before you make them.
The model helps you see what the company can support and where growth could put pressure on cash or profit.
It can also give your banker or surety a clearer view of where the company is headed.
CFO Advisory Services
Work with an experienced construction CFO who knows your company and your numbers.
We analyze and interpret financials and projections, watch the trends that matter and help ownership think through decisions involving:
- Reviewing monthly results with ownership
- Finding changes in job and company profitability
- Forecasting cash
- Planning for hiring, equipment, and overhead
- Preparing for banking and bonding conversations
- Evaluating growth decisions
- Identifying the financial issues that need attention next
The mix depends on your company. Some teams want Atlas to take on more of the financial statement preparation while others want the tools and model with less ongoing involvement.
Most need some combination of both.
You do not need to decide which path fits before you talk with us.
How it All Works Together
Reliable financials statements tell us where the company stands.
The Atlas Growth Model uses that information to look ahead and test decisions.
CFO Advisory adds an experienced construction CFO who knows the business and can help interpret what the numbers mean and engage in strategy.
Together, these layers help you see:
- Where the company stands
- Where it is headed
- What could get in the way
- What deserves your attention now
You do not have to choose between the services before talking with us. We will learn what you are trying to accomplish and recommend the level of support that fits.
What This Helps You Do
Improve Profit
See which jobs, customers, divisions, and types of work produce the best returns.
Track margin changes early enough to do something about them.
Understand how much revenue the company needs to cover its overhead and reach its profit goal.
Protect Cash
See expected collections, payroll, vendor payments, debt, equipment purchases, and other cash needs before they arrive.
Understand why reported profit and cash in the bank are different.
Plan growth around the cash and working capital it requires.
Strengthen Bonding
Give your surety cleaner financial statements, more reliable WIP, stronger projections, and better answers to financial questions.
Atlas cannot guarantee bonding approval, but we can help you present clearer information and address financial problems that may be limiting your capacity.
Improve Banking Relationships
Know what your bank sees when it reviews your company.
Prepare for lending conversations with accurate financials, useful projections, and a clear explanation of what is happening in the business.
Make Better Growth Decisions
Understand whether the company can support another employee, truck, office, division, or large project.
See how those decisions could affect profit, overhead, cash, and working capital before committing.
Run a Smoother Accounting Department
Give the team a clear monthly process, defined responsibilities, better tools, and experienced financial leadership.
Reduce the amount of work that falls back on the owner when something gets missed.
Spend Less Time Chasing Numbers
Stop piecing together reports from different people and systems.
Get the information you use most in a consistent form, with someone available to explain what it means.
Your Team Does Not Have to Figure This Out Alone
Your team knows how the company operates. We bring the construction finance experience and lead the financial process.
You provide:
- The company’s goals and priorities
- Access to the information we need
- Context about jobs and operations
- Decisions that only ownership can make
- Participation from the employees involved
Atlas handles the financial work defined in the engagement. That may mean helping your team build the Financial Foundation, taking on more Financial Statement Preparation, operating the Atlas Growth Model, providing CFO Advisory or a combination.
The exact responsibilities are agreed on before the work begins. Everyone knows who owns what.
Atlas Is Built for an Ongoing Relationship
Getting the numbers right once does not solve the problem.
Jobs change. Estimates change. Employees change. Software changes. The company grows, and the financial process has to grow with it.
Depending on the relationship, Atlas can stay involved to:
- Keep monthly reporting on schedule
- Catch problems early
- Improve the process as the company changes
- Help the accounting team stay accountable
- Update forecasts and projections
- Prepare for major financial decisions
- Support banking and bonding conversations
- Help ownership understand what the numbers mean
You work with people who know your company, understand its history, and can see when something starts moving in the wrong direction.
What Contractors Say
“Working with Atlas has taken our accounting practices to the next level. Shane and Melissa both have worked “IN” construction businesses, so they understand our software and the industry to provide the best accounting solution for us. They are organized and available when we need them. I’ve learned a tremendous amount from Atlas, and they have aided in growing our business.”
-Renee, Construction Contractor
“I actually enjoy doing the WIP now! It does not scare me like before. Thank you for all your help.”
– Katherine, Roofing Contractor
“The Atlas Growth Model provides so much clarity to our business. It helps me to know what steps I should take to make the next month better than the last. It’s the one day of the month that I feel really good about my business.”
– Darren, Construction Contractor
“They realize a problem before it even becomes an issue. They know our industry and know our business.”
– Mike, Mechanical Contractor
Start With a Conversation
You don’t have to diagnose the problem or choose a service before contacting us.
Tell us:
- What you want to improve
- What is frustrating you
- What your current reports show
- Where the accounting process is getting stuck
- What decisions you are trying to make
We will ask a few questions, talk through the situation, and tell you whether Atlas appears to be a fit.
If we can help, we will explain what we recommend and what the next step would look like.
If we are not the right fit, we will tell you.
Common Questions
How long does it take?
Most companies need three to six months to install the new process and get monthly reports coming out consistently well.
The condition of the books, the current team, the software, and the amount of cleanup required all affect the timeline.
After that, Atlas continues managing and improving the process with your team.
What if our financials are already a mess?
That is common.
We do not expect your reports, WIP, reconciliations, or accounting process to be in good condition before we start.
We determine what needs attention first and work through it in a sensible order.
Do we need to know whether we need a controller or CFO?
No.
We will determine whether the company needs controller oversight, CFO support, software improvements, team training, cleanup, automation, or a combination.
You only need to tell us what is happening and what you want to improve.
Does Atlas replace our accounting team?
No.
Sometimes we fill a missing role. More often, we work with the people already there.
We can lead the process, train the team, review the work, and handle responsibilities that require more construction finance experience.
The right structure depends on your staff and the needs of the company.
Will we need to change accounting software?
Not necessarily.
We first look at whether the current software can support the process the company needs.
If the software is part of the problem, we can help evaluate and install a better option. If the current system works, we improve how it is being used.
Does Atlas use AI and automation?
Yes, when it saves time, reduces errors, or helps the monthly process run more consistently.
We fix the accounting process first. Automating a broken process creates faster problems.
Can Atlas help with bonding?
We can help improve the quality of the financial information provided to your surety, prepare projections, address problems in the WIP or financial statements, and help you understand what the surety is reviewing.
Bonding decisions remain with the surety.
Does Atlas provide tax services?
No.
Atlas focuses on construction accounting, financial reporting, WIP, cash flow, forecasting, financial leadership, and business decisions.
We can coordinate with your tax CPA when needed.
Does Atlas work virtually?
Yes.
Atlas works with commercial construction companies across the United States.
What should we prepare before the call?
You do not need to prepare a presentation or clean up your reports.
Come ready to explain what is happening, what you want to improve, and where you feel stuck.
Who We Work Best With
Atlas works best with:
- Commercial construction companies producing $2 million to $50 million in annual revenue
- Owners who are involved in the company
- Companies that want better profit, cash flow, reporting, bonding, or financial control
- Owners willing to make changes when the current process is not working
- Teams that need construction-specific controller or CFO experience
- Companies looking for an ongoing financial partner
Atlas may not be a good fit for absentee owners, companies looking only for tax preparation, or owners who want a quick cleanup without changing the process that caused the problem.
Prefer to Start on Your Own?
Our free training and tools help construction owners understand their financials and use them to run a stronger company.
Learn how to:
- Read construction financial statements
- Understand WIP
- Track cash
- Evaluate job profitability
- Plan overhead
- Prepare for growth
- Ask better questions of your accounting team
Run the Company With Numbers You Can Trust
Know where the company stands.
See where it is headed.
Make better decisions about profit, cash, bonding, hiring, equipment, and growth.
Book a call and tell us what you want to improve. We will help you determine the next step.