Trade contractors · Electrical, plumbing, carpentry and other trades
Fractional CFO for trade contractors
A trade business earns its margin an hour at a time, so the charge out rate, the quote and the crew’s day decide whether the work pays. We help you price work that pays its way and plan the cash around it.
What trade contractors are deciding
Rules and rates are stated in general terms. Your legal adviser or tax adviser can confirm how they apply to your business.
The charge out rate and what it must recover
Wages, super, leave, WorkCover, the van and every hour nobody can bill sit inside the rate. We work out the rate that covers them and still leaves a margin.
Quoting versus costing a job
A quote wins the work, and the job costing shows whether it paid. We compare the two on finished jobs, so each quote learns from the last.
When to add a crew or an apprentice
A new crew or an apprentice brings cost before revenue. We model the weeks until it pays its way and the cash it needs in the meantime.
How much growth the owner’s calendar and the licence allow
When every job waits on the owner’s time or licence, growth stops at the owner’s calendar. We find the work that can move to others first.
Illustrative example · Electrical contractor · Brisbane
What a charge out rate has to cover
An electrical contractor in Brisbane employs licensed electricians on the award, which from 1 July 2026 pays $32.19 an hour, or $1,223.11 for a 38 hour week, once the industry, tool and licence allowances are included. Add annual leave loading of 17.5 per cent, super at 12 per cent, WorkCover at the 2026 to 2027 rate for electrical services of $1.727 per $100 of wages, a van at $15,000 a year and tools and test gear at $3,000, and one electrician costs about $91,400 a year.
The business pays for 1,976 hours, 52 weeks of 38 hours. Leave, 10 weekday public holidays, travel, quoting, collecting materials and callbacks leave about 65 per cent of them to bill, or 1,284 hours, so every billable hour carries $71.19 of cost. A margin of 25 per cent of the rate, for the office, insurance, the owner’s time and profit, takes the charge out rate to $95 an hour before GST.
$32.19
Award rate an hour for a licensed electrician
$91,400
A year to employ one electrician with a van and tools
1,284
Billable hours a year, 65 per cent of paid hours
$95
Charge out rate an hour, before GST
Billable hours move the answer more than the award does: at 70 per cent of paid hours the same costs and margin need $88 an hour, and at 60 per cent they need $103.
Illustrative, built from the award’s pay guide from 1 July 2026, the 12 per cent super guarantee, WorkCover Queensland’s 2026 to 2027 industry rate and typical figures for the van, tools, leave taken and billable share. Overtime, travel and meal allowances depend on the work and are left out, and your tax adviser can confirm whether payroll tax applies. Not a client engagement, and not a market rate.
Sources: Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide for the Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award, from 1 July 2026 (published 7 August 2026), and the award’s clauses 9 and 21.4; ATO, super guarantee rates; WorkCover Queensland Notice (No. 1) of 2026; Queensland public holidays. Checked 20 October 2026.
How an engagement runs
Every engagement starts with discovery and a diagnostic in the first two weeks. We get under your numbers, from quotes, job costs and timesheets to payroll and aged debtors, and surface the issues and opportunities that matter most to a trade business.
Weeks three and four set up clean reporting, a cash flow forecast and a regular review. The first decisions follow in the second month, in pricing, cash or cost, and from the third month we are the senior financial partner you think with, alongside your accountant and bookkeeper. The fractional CFO service page sets out the full scope.
Tools to start with
Free tools for pricing, cash and value in a trade business, each with its result on screen straight away.
Reading for trade contractors
- Trades: quoting the job is not the same as costing it
- The licence ceiling: why a trade business stops growing at the owner’s calendar
- Solar installers: June’s pipeline surge and the working capital it consumes
- Solar and battery installers: growth that outruns the cash
- Construction: why a profitable project can still starve for cash
- The June gap: why construction businesses finish strong on paper and tight on cash
Common questions
Do you replace our accountant?
No. Your accountant keeps the tax returns, BAS and year end accounts, and your bookkeeper keeps the books. We add the forward looking work: the charge out rate, job costing against quotes, crew time and the cash plan for growth. We share what we find with your accountant, so everyone works from the same figures.
What does it cost?
The fractional CFO partnership starts from $3,750 a month, billed month to month with no long term lock in. When you need a figure for the business, before a sale or a new partner, an indicative valuation starts from $4,500 and a comprehensive valuation from $13,500. Each of these is a starting price.
How is the fee sized?
Engagements usually stay at the starting price. Some need closer oversight or a deeper assessment, and the scope and fee rise to match. Find your fit confirms your price based on the characteristics of your business, and the pricing page explains how everything is sized.
Do you work with trade businesses outside Brisbane?
Yes. We work with trade businesses across Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, and further afield across Australia. Most of the monthly work happens over video calls and shared reports, with visits as each engagement needs, so distance changes little. The locations we serve page has the detail.
What do you need from us to start?
Read only access to your accounting software, the last two years of financial statements, a sample of recent quotes with their job costs, your timesheets or job management reports, and your payroll summary. A first meeting with you covers how work is priced, scheduled and invoiced. Nothing needs to change in your systems before we start.
Talk it through with us
A 45 minute discovery call is complimentary. Bring a few recent quotes and your timesheets.