A tree care chief financial officer finds the money for bucket trucks, chippers, grinders and cranes, and checks that each machine earns its keep. The CFO tracks margins by service line, keeps workers' comp and liability costs in line, and plans cash for storm weeks, when payroll goes out long before customers pay.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, landscaping and tree care companies · BLS, May 2025
Annual pay: 10th percentile $91,010, middle half $122,870 to $215,290, 90th percentile $267,670. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Reports to
Chief Executive Officer
Department
Finance
Schedule
Weekdays 9 to 5, mostly in the office · Longer weeks at month-end, budget time and insurance renewals, plus trips to the yard, lenders and branch offices
Also called
Vice president of finance · Finance director · Director of finance and administration
Tree care chief financial officer job description template
This is our Role Blueprint, word for word. Replace the highlighted fields and adjust the example targets and pay to fit your company.
The CFO will play a critical role in shaping the financial future of our business. This executive will oversee our company's financial operations, manage budgets, ensure healthy cash flow, and track key financial metrics. This role is integral to our company's ability to provide exceptional tree care services to our clients.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop financial strategies by forecasting capital, facilities, and staff requirements; identifying monetary resources; developing action plans.
Monitor financial performance by measuring and analyzing results, initiating corrective actions, and minimizing the impact of variances.
Maximize return on invested funds by identifying investment opportunities and maintaining relationships with the investment community.
Report financial status by developing forecasts, reporting results, analyzing variances, and developing improvements.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Oversee the financial planning and budgeting processes.
Manage cash flow and forecasting.
Develop and implement finance, accounting, billing, and auditing procedures.
Establish and maintain appropriate internal control safeguards.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Revenue Growth: Increase by 10% annually.
Operating Margin: Maintain at 15%.
Budget Variance: Keep within 5% of the budgeted amount.
Cash Flow: Maintain a positive cash flow.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in finance or related field.
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certification.
Minimum of 10 years of experience in a financial leadership role.
Strong analytical skills and experience interpreting a strategic vision into an operational model.
An effective communicator at all levels in the organization, with strong oral and written skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in the home services industry, specifically tree care or landscaping services.
Experience in a senior management role, with a demonstrated track record of financial analysis and strategy development.
7. Physical Requirements
This is primarily an office-based role, but may require occasional visits to service sites.
The ability to sit for long periods of time, use a computer, and attend meetings.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Some travel may be required for meetings with investors or branch offices.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range is $120,000 - $150,000 based on experience.
Bonus based on performance.
Benefits include Health, Dental, Vision, and 401k.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We are a growth-oriented company with a strong commitment to providing exceptional tree care services. We believe in fostering a culture that values dedication, innovation, and a focus on customer satisfaction. Our team is our greatest asset, and we are committed to providing opportunities for growth and development.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
A tree company owns costly machines, insures people who work at height, and gets its biggest weeks from storms nobody can schedule. The CFO turns all three into plans the owner can count on.
The fleet drives the balance sheet
Bucket trucks, chip trucks, loaders, grinders and any crane are a large share of what a tree company owns. The CFO runs buy, finance or lease math on each one. A 2025 tax law made first-year bonus depreciation permanent for qualifying property bought and placed in service after January 19, 2025, so the full cost can be written off in year one. That lowers taxes, not the loan payment, so plan cash for both. Source: IRS Notice 2026-11: Interim guidance on the additional first-year depreciation deduction under section 168(k).
Triple-I says that when a tree hits an insured structure, a homeowner's policy generally covers removal only up to a modest cap, which varies by insurer and policy. When the tree hits nothing insured, there's generally no coverage for debris removal. Plan on homeowners paying much of a storm removal bill themselves. The CFO sets deposit and payment terms for storm jobs, and crews get a signed approval before the first cut. Source: Triple-I: If a tree falls on your house, are you covered?.
Tree work can carry sales tax
States treat tree work differently for sales tax. In Texas, the Comptroller lists trimming, spraying and maintaining trees as taxable landscaping services, and trimming trees away from power lines as not taxable. It tells companies to show the two kinds of charges separately on a bill, or the whole charge may be taxed. The CFO sets tax codes by service in the billing software. Source: Texas Comptroller: Publication 94-112, landscaping and lawn care services.
Plant health care is paid before it's done
Plant health care is often sold as a season of visits, and some customers pay up front. That money isn't earned until the visits happen. The CFO books it as work still owed, tracks visits not yet made, and sets refund terms for customers who cancel partway through the season.
How much tree care chief financial officers make
The closest BLS group for tree care chief financial officers is chief executives. Chief executives who work for landscaping companies earned a median of $158,670 a year ($76.28 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $213,990 median for chief executives in all industries. About 200 of the 204,350 chief executives in that survey work for landscaping and tree care companies.
The template pays a salary and a performance bonus. Measure the bonus against the budget for regular work and treat storm revenue as its own line, so a lucky weather year doesn't set the bar.
Landscaping and tree care companies
$158,670$158,670 median Middle half $122,870–$215,290 10th–90th $91,010–$267,670
All industries
$213,990$213,990 median Middle half $129,540–$356,200 10th–90th $75,700–$507,730
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Landscaping and tree care companies
$91,010
$122,870
$158,670
$215,290
$267,670
All industries
$75,700
$129,540
$213,990
$356,200
$507,730
BLS doesn’t publish pay for tree care companies on their own. These figures cover landscaping services, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Has negotiated loans and leases for trucks or heavy machines
Builds cost per crew day from labor, fuel, equipment and dump fees
Knows workers' comp classes, premium audits and experience ratings
Holds a CPA or CMA, as the template requires
Can walk crew leaders through a job cost report in plain words
Teach these on the job
How your arborists estimate removals and pruning
How your tree care job software feeds the books
Sales tax rules on tree services in your states
Storm deposit and billing terms
Plant health care program billing
The CFO keeps a fixed-asset register for every truck, chipper and grinder, the loan and lease schedules behind them, and the accounting system your tree care software feeds. In the ad, say how many machines are financed and whether an outside firm keeps the books today.
Tree care chief financial officer interview questions
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Post-storm cash
Revenue is up after a storm season, but cash is tight. What do you look at?
A strong answer: Slow insurance payments in receivables, overtime, equipment purchases and repairs, the credit line and a weekly forecast.
Behavioral · Lenders and investors
Tell me about a time you made the case to a lender or investor for equipment or growth money.
A strong answer: Explains the plan, the numbers behind it, the tough questions they got and the outcome.
Go through all four with the leadership team each month, against a budget built from a year of normal weather.
Revenue Growth
Revenue this year against last, split into regular work and storm work, from the monthly statements. Growth that comes only from storms isn't growth you can plan crews around.
Operating Margin
Operating profit over revenue, for the month and the year so far, after equipment depreciation and insurance. Show it by yard if you run two.
Budget Variance
Actual spending against budget by line, each month. Write a one-line reason for each large miss, like an unplanned grinder repair or a premium audit bill.
Cash Flow
Cash from operations each month, and how many weeks of payroll and loan payments the bank balance covers. Watch it most closely in the weeks after a storm.
Career path
Accountant at a construction or equipment firmLearns job costing and fleet accounting.
ControllerRuns the monthly close and job cost reports.
Chief financial officerPlans capital, cash and insurance for the company.
CFO of a larger tree care groupLeads finance across several regions or brands.
Should a tree company buy a crane or hire a crane service?
Count the crane days you sold last year and how many more you could sell with one in the yard. Then compare the loan, insurance, operator pay, inspections and repairs with what you pay a crane service per job. A crane that sits for weeks between jobs still costs money every month. Many companies rent with an operator until crane work is steady.
How much does a tree care chief financial officer make?
Chief executives who work for landscaping companies earned a median of $158,670 a year ($76.28 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $122,870 and $215,290 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
What insurance does a tree care CFO manage?
Workers' comp, general liability, commercial auto for the fleet, and usually equipment coverage for chippers, grinders and any crane. Property managers and towns often ask to be named on your certificate. The CFO tracks renewals, certificates and claims, and works with a broker who knows tree work and can explain how the company's injury record moves its workers' comp price.
Which numbers should a tree care CFO send the owner weekly?
Cash on hand, past-due invoices, loan and lease payments due in the next month, and crew hours billed against hours paid. In storm weeks, add storm work billed and collected. Those few lines tell an owner whether to hire, slow down spending, or chase a slow-paying property manager.
Does a tree care CFO need tree care experience?
Not always. Finance work at another field service business that owns heavy equipment carries over well. What matters is that the CFO learns how a tree job is priced and run. Have them ride along with a sales arborist and a removal crew in the first month, so their job cost reports match how the work really happens.
