A hardscaping CFO runs the money side of a business that sells large outdoor projects weeks or months before crews finish them: deposits, progress billing, stone costs and machines. They give the CEO a cash forecast built from the backlog and prepare statements a bank, surety or auditor can trust.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Responsible for steering the financial direction of our hardscaping business, driving strategic budgeting, risk control, and fiscal performance to ensure long-term company growth. Plays a pivotal role in shaping financial policies and contributing insights that directly support operational excellence and profitability.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and implement robust financial strategies that align with the company’s overall business objectives.
Oversee the budgeting process, ensuring accuracy, adherence to targets, and effective resource allocation.
Manage financial risk through rigorous internal controls, audits, and compliance with regulatory standards.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate financial insights into broader business decisions.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Monitor daily financial transactions and oversee the reconciliation of accounts.
Analyze financial performance data and prepare detailed reports for senior management.
Review and optimize cost structures to enhance profitability and operational efficiency.
Engage with external auditors, financial institutions, and regulatory bodies as needed.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Budget Variance: Achieve ≤ 3% deviation from planned budgets.
Operating Expense Ratio: Maintain a reduction of operating costs by at least 5% year-over-year.
Return on Investment (ROI): Target a minimum ROI of 15% on new capital projects.
Financial Reporting Accuracy: Ensure 100% compliance with internal and external audit standards.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related field (Master’s or CPA preferred).
Minimum of 8 years of progressive financial leadership experience.
Exceptional analytical, strategic planning, and risk assessment skills.
Proficiency in financial software systems and advanced MS Excel; strong understanding of GAAP.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience within the home services or hardscaping industry.
Prior leadership in strategic financial planning and budget management in a similar role.
Hands-on experience with operational cost control and process improvement initiatives.
Familiarity with industry-specific financial challenges and market dynamics.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to work in an office environment with extended periods of desk work.
Occasional travel to project sites or industry conferences may be required.
Capable of lifting light office supplies (up to 10 lbs) when necessary.
Adaptability to a dynamic work environment that may include site visits.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard working hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM.
Occasional evening or weekend hours to meet critical financial deadlines.
Minimal on-site travel, with potential visits to regional projects.
Collaborative office setting with access to modern financial technologies.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $150,000 - $200,000 annually, commensurate with experience.
Eligibility for performance-based bonuses and profit-sharing plans.
Comprehensive benefits package including Health, Dental, and Vision insurance.
401(k) plan with company match and additional fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we foster an inclusive, growth-oriented environment where innovation and teamwork drive success.
Our culture emphasizes professional development, with mentoring and training opportunities designed to help you level up your career.
We celebrate diversity and encourage creative problem solving, supporting a dynamic workplace that values each team member’s contribution.
Join us to be a part of a forward-thinking organization that is redefining excellence in the hardscaping industry.
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
Every CFO budgets, forecasts and keeps controls. In hardscaping, deposits, pallets of stone and heavy machines drive most of the money questions.
Deposits have a legal ceiling
Some states cap what a contractor can collect up front. In Maryland, no one may take a deposit of more than one-third of the home improvement contract price before or at signing. The CFO builds payment schedules around that line, so stone and block orders for a large patio or wall don't run ahead of the cash the contract allows. Source: Maryland Code, Business Regulation § 8-617: deposits on home improvement contracts.
Home sales come with a cancel window
Many hardscape contracts are signed at the customer's home after a design meeting. The FTC's cooling-off rule covers many sales made in the buyer's home. The buyer can call the deal off up to midnight, three business days after the sale, and a seller who gets a valid cancel notice has 10 business days to return all payments. The CFO tracks those dates and waits to place special orders until that window shuts. Source: eCFR: 16 CFR 429.1, the FTC cooling-off rule.
Stone on pallets is cash
Pavers, wall block, caps and veneer arrive on pallets and can sit in the yard for months. Count leftover units and broken pallets against the jobs that ordered them, and learn how each supplier handles pallet charges and returns. Without that, job costs look better than they are and the yard fills with stock no job owns.
Machines earn their keep by the hour
Compact track loaders, mini excavators, dump trucks and trailers tie up a large share of the company's capital. Log hours on each machine against the jobs it worked, and compare owning with renting for any machine that sits through slow months. Bring those numbers to the COO before the next purchase, not after it.
How much hardscaping chief financial officers make
The closest BLS group for hardscaping 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 companies.
Landscaping 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 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 hardscaping 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 run the books for a contractor that bills by project
Builds a weekly cash forecast from signed jobs and deposits
Sets up job costing that crew time and material actually feed
Knows GAAP revenue rules for jobs that span months
Works well with a surety, a bank and an outside CPA
Teach these on the job
Deposit and contract rules in your states
Your business software and its job-cost reports
How pavers, block and stone are ordered and priced
Your equipment list and its service records
Expect accounting software such as QuickBooks or Sage, a landscape business platform such as Aspire or LMN for estimates and job costs, and spreadsheets for the cash forecast. Name yours, and say whether the CFO will pick a new system.
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 · Material price risk
Material prices rise between the estimate and the build date. How do you protect margin?
A strong answer: Limits how long quotes hold, adds price-adjustment language, buys materials at signing and works out agreements with suppliers.
Behavioral · Project business controls
Tell me about money controls you set up in a project business, such as purchase approvals, change order sign-off or deposit handling.
A strong answer: Names the controls, the risk each one addressed and a problem it caught or prevented.
Start from the template's targets, then revise them. Your own history of margins, overhead and capital spending should set the final numbers.
Budget Variance
Compare actual monthly revenue and costs with the budget line by line, and explain each miss by cause, such as rain days, stone price changes or a large job sliding.
Operating Expense Ratio
Divide overhead, such as office pay, yard rent, insurance and software, by revenue each quarter, leaving crew and material costs out so the ratio stays meaningful.
Return on Investment (ROI)
For each machine, truck or yard upgrade, compare its cost with the added margin or saved rental it produced, using hours from the equipment log.
Financial Reporting Accuracy
Count late month-end closes and the entries your outside CPA or auditor had to correct, and review the causes with the bookkeeper.
Career path
Staff accountant at a contractorLearns progress billing, retainage and job costs.
ControllerOwns the monthly close, payroll and customer billing.
Chief financial officerOwns cash, capital plans and the lender and surety relationships.
What does a hardscaping CFO need from sales each week?
A list of signed contracts with the price, deposit received, expected start week and any special-order materials. Add jobs that are sold but waiting on permits or HOA approval, since their cash and crew time are on hold. With that list, the CFO can match stone buys and payroll to jobs that will really start, not ones that might.
How much does a hardscaping 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.
Should we offer financing on big patio and outdoor kitchen jobs?
It can help close larger projects. Ask each lender what it charges the contractor on a loan, and price that in. Keep the contract wording in step with state law. In Maryland, a home improvement contract must list the number of monthly payments and the amount of each, including any finance charge. Have counsel review the paperwork before the sales team uses it.
How should a hardscaping CFO handle retainage on commercial jobs?
Commercial owners and general contractors often keep back a slice of every payment until they accept the work. Track that retainage by job, put the release date in the cash forecast, and send the closeout paperwork the day the punch list is done. Retainage left unbilled for months is margin you earned and never collected.
Why does a CFO template mention lifting and site visits?
They point to light, occasional tasks. The CFO may carry files, a laptop or a box of records, and visit the yard or a job site to see a machine before buying it or to check a stock count. Most of the job is desk work. Describe those duties plainly in the posting, and talk through accommodations with any candidate who asks.
