Financial Operations

FINANCIAL
VISIBILITY FOR HVAC COMPANIES

Real reporting that shows which jobs make money, where profit is disappearing, and exactly what to do about it.

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HVAC Only
Fixed Monthly Pricing
No Hourly Billing
No Unnecessary Mtgs

The Numbers Don’t Add Up. And You Know It.

Industry Reality

The Numbers Behind The Problem

Most HVAC owners feel like something’s off. Here’s what the data actually says.

4%
Average HVAC Net Profit Margin

Best-run operators hit 12–18% — the gap is almost entirely operational.

IBISWorld · ACHR News industry surveys
82%
Of Business Failures Tied To Cash Flow

The money was there — they just couldn't see where it was going.

SCORE · U.S. Bank small business study
60%
Of Contractors Price Jobs On Gut Feel

No job cost data, no margin analysis — just instinct on high-risk jobs.

NAHB contractor operations survey
Your HVAC makes $1.
Why do you only make 4 cents?
The money is coming in. This is where it’s going out.
IBISWorld · ACHR News industry surveys
Labor
35¢
35%
Materials
28¢
28%
Overhead
22¢
22%
Other
11¢
11%
Net Profit
~4¢
~4%

Your Numbers Are Already There.We Make Sense Of Them.

We turn disconnected HVAC financial and operational data into insights you can actually act on — so you can price jobs with confidence, find where profit is leaking, and see which crews are actually making you money.

How much is your HVAC losing?

Your annual revenue

$10,000,000
$1M drag to see your numbers $30M
Most HVAC
companies		 With clean
financials
Net margin 4% 12%
Annual net profit $400,000 $1,200,000
Annual profit gap -$800,000 / yr

That's a monthly loss of

-$66,667

This profit is already inside your business. It's leaving through gaps you can't see — in labor, materials, job costing, and overhead you've never tracked.

★ HVAC companies with clean financial systems average 12–18% annual net margin.

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What Your NumbersCould Look Like

Click through three sample Built Tough Books views: owner overview, financial red flags, and an interactive pricing calculator.

HVAC Financial Visibility Dashboard
Owner Overview
Sample HVAC Co. - QuickBooks + ServiceTitan - Day 10 Close
Revenue MTD
$1.18M
+12.6% vs prior MTD
Net Profit MTD
$49.6K
+15.1% vs prior MTD
Net Margin
4.2%
7.8 pts under target
Cash Balance
$524K
+3.3% vs May
Uncollected A/R
$428K
$118K over 60 days
Profit Loss MTD
$92K
Underpricing + labor overruns
6-Month Financial Trend
Revenue and net profit margin
RevenueProfitNet margin %
Revenue +93.4%Net margin -7.8 pts
$1.2M$900K$600K$300K
$610K11%Jan
$815K8%Feb
$1.02M7%Mar
$1.12M5%Apr
$880K4%May
$1.18M4.2%Jun
Revenue + Net Margin by Service Line
Revenue mix and net margin
Install
42%3.8%
Service
26%7.4%
Maint.
16%12.5%
Replace
16%2.8%
Margin flagInstall + replacement: 58% of revenue, weakest margins.
P&L Summary (MTD)
Revenue$1,180,000+12.6%
COGS($687,600)+10.9%
Gross Profit$492,400+15.1%
Overhead($442,800)+9.9%
Net Income$49,600+26.0%
Net Margin %4.2%7.8 pts under target
Cash + A/R Snapshot
Cash inflow$1,284,000
Cash outflow($1,206,000)
Net cash movement$78,000
Ending cash balance$524,000
Cash target31 days to collect. 18-day target frees $72,600 per cycle.
Owner Action Items
1

Jobs completed not invoiced

$196,000 sitting outside the billing cycle

21
2

Margin compression

Net margin 7.8 pts below target

$92K
3

Overdue receivables

$118,000 across 18 customers

18
4

Labor budget review

42 jobs exceeded estimated hours

42
Problems Costing You Money
Financial Red Flags
Margin, labor, pricing, A/R · Annualized impact
Profit Loss MTD
$92K
Underpricing + labor overruns
Profit Loss Annualized
$1.1M
If trends continue
Jobs Over Budget
42
This month
Budget Overrun
$188K
Labor + materials
Profit % Under Target
7.8 pts
Actual vs target
Uncollected A/R
$118K
Over 60 days
Service Line Profitability
Actual net margin vs target net margin
LineActualTargetAnnual Gap
Service7.4%12%-$108K
Install3.8%12%-$430K
Replacement2.8%12%-$365K
Maintenance12.5%12%+$12K
Job Costing Leaks
$188,000
Annualized net margin lost from labor and material variance.
Worst patternInstall labor variance: +2.4 hours/job. Annual exposure: $91,400.
Top Red Flags This Month

37% of sold work missed target net margin

Annualized from similar jobs.

$456K

42 jobs ran over labor budget

Actual hours exceeded estimate.

$188K

31 days average to collect

Earned cash still in A/R.

$118K
Technician / Crew Profitability
TechNet MarginAnnual P&L
Marcus T.10%
+$38K
Jake R.7%
+$18K
Austin P.4%
-$24K
Derek W.1%
-$62K
Path to Recovery

Raise underpriced service lines

Install and replacement net margin gap.

$456K

Cut labor overruns by 30%

Historical hours by job type.

$188K

Collect faster

Same-day billing and 30+ day follow-up.

$118K
Price Future Work From Your Own Data
Pricing Calculator - Target Margin Quote Builder
Adjust the inputs. The quote updates live.
Quote Inputs
Build a profitable quote
Budgeted hours+8% history risk
People on sitemultiplies labor cost
Wages, taxes, burdenfrom payroll history
Expected costwith variance applied
Owner goal42 similar jobs
Recommended Quote
$14,023
Uses your historical net margin, labor overrun risk, material cost, and target net margin.
Minimum Profitable$13,413
Expected NM12.0%
Profit Protected$1,142
Annual Leak Avoided$54,816
Current pricing pattern is $1,142 below target net margin.
At 4 similar jobs per month, the annual profit impact updates as the quote changes.
Historic Miss Rate
69%
similar sold jobs missed target net margin.
Future Fix
+$55K
potential annual recovery from quoting to target.
Matched against replacement installs, similar labor hours, equipment cost, and branch.
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Services & Pricing

From Messy Books ToFull Financial Visibility.

Built Tough Books works with HVAC companies at different stages — from owners who need clean, reliable numbers to larger operators who need full visibility across crews, labor, and operations.

Tier 01
Get The Numbers Straight
$4,500/mo
Still dealing with:
  • making decisions off numbers you don’t trust?
  • finding out problems months after they already cost you money?
  • no clear picture of what the business actually made last month?
We fix that.

A reliable financial foundation — clean, structured reporting that gives you trusted monthly visibility and numbers you can actually act on.

  • Reliable financial foundation — numbers you can run the business on
  • Trusted monthly visibility into what the business actually made
  • Clean operational reporting delivered by Day 10 each month
  • Structured financials your CPA can work from at tax time
  • Bookkeeping, reconciliations & QuickBooks maintenance (handled for you)
Most Popular
Tier 02
Find Where You’re Losing Money
$5,500/mo
Still dealing with:
  • pricing work based on guesswork instead of real numbers?
  • jobs that should make money but somehow never do?
  • getting crushed every slow season because you never saw it coming?
We fix that.

See which work actually makes money, where profit disappears, and how cash moves through the business — so you can price smarter and stop leaking margin.

  • Reporting that shows which services actually make money
  • Install vs. service vs. maintenance profit tracking
  • Pricing reports to catch underpriced work
  • Seasonal cash flow forecasting
  • Revenue and profit trend tracking
  • ServiceTitan & QuickBooks integration reporting
Tier 03
Catch Internal Problems Before They Get Expensive
Starting at
$12,000/mo
Still dealing with:
  • not knowing which employees cost more than they make you?
  • crews running jobs longer than they should, destroying margin?
  • jobs that looked profitable ending up barely breaking even?
We fix that.

Full internal operational visibility across crews, labor efficiency, technician performance, and company-wide profitability.

Built forLarger HVAC operators that need deeper operational visibility across crews, labor efficiency, and profitability at scale.
Highly customized engagement  ·  Limited availability
  • Technician-level profitability reporting
  • Crew & department performance tracking
  • Multi-location reporting visibility
  • Project & job profitability analysis
  • Advanced operational dashboards
  • Executive-level reporting packages

Built By People Who Understand How Businesses Actually Run.

James E.
James E.
Financial Reporting & Intelligence

James brings experience building financial systems for Fortune 500 companies to HVAC businesses that have outgrown basic bookkeeping. He gives owners the numbers they need to make better decisions using the reporting discipline of a corporate finance team, without the enterprise-level complexity or price tag.

Hannah L.
Hannah L.
Business Strategy

Hannah is a Columbia Business School graduate and small business owner. She brings the business judgment behind Built Tough Books' focus: clear numbers, practical reporting, and visibility owners can actually use.

No Pressure.
No Pitch.

Here’s what we go over in your 30 minute call.

01
You tell us about your operation

No prep, no spreadsheets. 10 minutes of context — revenue, crew size, what’s been frustrating you.

02
We show you what we typically find

In businesses your size, here’s what the numbers usually reveal — and what a cleaner picture of your operation looks like.

03
You decide if it makes sense

No commitment. If it’s a fit, we talk next steps. If not, you leave knowing something about your business you didn’t before.

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Pick A Time That Works For You.

30 minutes. No prep required. Walk away knowing exactly what your numbers are hiding — whether you work with us or not.

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Get Started

You Built A Real Business.
You Should Know Where The Money Is Going.

HVAC owners work with Built Tough Books to finally understand:

  • profitability
  • labor costs
  • cash flow
  • crew performance
  • what the business is actually making
Book a Call
HVAC Only
Fixed Monthly Pricing
No Hourly Billing
Book a Call →