A commercial landscape CFO runs budgets, cash and pricing for a company that mows, plants and plows for homeowner associations, business parks and shopping centers. They test whether each large property contract makes money and keep the company funded through a mild or a harsh winter.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for our Commercial Landscaping division is a strategic leader responsible for overseeing financial planning, managing budgets, and handling large property contracts. This role is critical in driving fiscal discipline and ensuring the successful financial execution of multi-million-dollar projects that support the company's growth and sustainability.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Lead the financial strategy for the Commercial Landscaping division, ensuring alignment with overall business objectives.
Develop, monitor, and manage the division’s budgets and forecasts with precision and accountability.
Oversee financial planning, risk management, and long-term capital strategy to support large property contracts.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless financial integration across various projects and operations.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review daily financial reports and analyze variances against budgets and forecasts.
Engage in regular meetings with project managers and property contractors to discuss financial performance and contract viability.
Monitor cash flow and working capital to ensure operational efficiency and timely payments.
Provide financial insights and recommendations to senior leadership to guide strategic decision-making.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Operating Profit Margin: Achieve a minimum net profit margin of 15%.
Budget Variance: Maintain a variance of less than 5% on all projects.
Contract Profitability: Secure and manage contracts with a profit increase of at least 10% year-over-year.
Cost Efficiency: Improve cost management by reducing overhead expenses by 8% annually.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related field; CPA or MBA preferred.
Minimum of 10 years of experience in financial management within the home services or related industry.
Strong analytical skills with advanced proficiency in financial modeling and forecasting.
Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills to drive cross-functional collaboration.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience managing finance in the commercial landscaping or property management industries.
Background in handling large-scale property contracts and complex budgeting projects.
Proven track record of implementing financial strategies that support rapid business growth.
Familiarity with industry-specific financial software and ERP systems.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to work in a typical office environment with occasional site visits.
Minimal physical exertion required; occasional travel to client sites or project locations may be necessary.
Prolonged periods of sitting and working at a computer workstation.
Meet basic vision and hearing requirements for effective communication.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard business hours with occasional extended hours during fiscal closing periods.
Primarily office-based with regular visits to project sites and client meetings.
Limited weekend or on-call duties may be required during critical project phases.
A dynamic work environment that encourages collaborative problem-solving.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Competitive salary range between $150,000 - $180,000 USD per year.
Performance-based bonuses aligned with financial targets and KPIs.
Comprehensive benefits package including health, dental, and vision insurance.
401k plan with company match and additional fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We are a forward-thinking company that fosters a culture of excellence, innovation, and mutual respect.
Our team is passionate about growth, professional development, and delivering outstanding customer satisfaction.
We value transparency, collaboration, and integrity in everything we do, creating an inspiring environment where every team member can thrive.
Join us to be part of a dynamic company that is committed to leveling up both our services and your professional career.
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
The finance basics are the same anywhere. Here, public wage rules, sales tax on lawn work, seasonal crews and the weather decide where the money goes.
Federal grounds contracts set the wage floor
The Service Contract Act covers federal service contracts, such as grounds care for an agency. On prime contracts over 2,500 dollars, workers must get at least the wage and fringe benefit rates that prevail where the work is done. The Labor Department issues a wage determination for each contract, and it goes into the contract. Price the bid from that, not your usual pay scale, and track fringe costs by the hour. Source: U.S. Department of Labor: McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act.
Wisconsin taxes the maintenance invoice
Wisconsin taxes landscaping and lawn care services. Its list covers landscape planning, planting, mowing, spraying, fertilizing and shrub and tree work. Other states treat these services differently. The CFO makes sure each contract line carries the right tax in every state you serve, and asks a tax adviser how to bill mixed contracts. Source: Wisconsin Statutes 77.52: Sales tax on services, including landscaping and lawn maintenance.
Seasonal crews and the health coverage test
Under the ACA employer rules, a worker is full time for a month if they average 30 or more hours of service per week, or reach 130 hours that month. Summer crew members can cross that line. The IRS lets you use a look-back method to measure seasonal staff. A separate seasonal worker exception applies only if your workforce, counting full-time equivalents, topped 50 for 120 days or fewer the year before and every worker above 50 was seasonal. Year-round maintenance and snow crews usually rule it out. Source: IRS: Questions and answers on employer shared responsibility under the Affordable Care Act.
Snow revenue moves with the weather
A seasonal flat-fee snow contract pays the same in a mild or a harsh winter, while per-push and per-event pricing rises and falls with the storms. Model your mix of contracts both ways before you sign. Buy salt early enough to lock in supply, and compare what subcontracted plows cost against what those sites bill.
Property managers pay on their own schedule
Commercial invoices often pass through a property manager's portal, an owner's approval and a set payment run. Extra work done without a signed proposal or purchase order can sit unpaid for months. Build those steps into the billing calendar, and age receivables by client firm so slow payers show up early.
How much commercial landscape CFOs make
The closest BLS group for commercial landscape CFOs 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.
The pay data groups CFOs under chief executives, covering the top officers of landscaping firms as one group. Plan on a base salary plus a bonus for meeting the template's finance goals.
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 reports residential and commercial landscaping companies together. 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
Builds cash forecasts for a seasonal, weather-driven business
Sets up job costing by site, crew and service line
Reads contracts for pricing, insurance and payment terms
Manages a controller and a billing team
Explains margins plainly to the CEO and field leaders
Teach these on the job
Snow contract types and salt buying
Your field platform's job cost reports
Wage determinations on public contracts
Plant, irrigation and equipment terms
Accounting software such as QuickBooks Online or Sage Intacct, tied to an industry platform that carries crew hours and materials by site. List both in the ad, along with whether the CFO keeps them or picks replacements.
Commercial landscape CFO 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 · Contracts without escalators
A multi-year contract has no price escalator, and wages have risen. What do you do?
A strong answer: Checks the terms, puts a number on the loss, meets the client with data, proposes an amendment or renewal terms and adds escalators to future contracts.
Behavioral · Forecast accuracy
Tell me about a revenue or cash forecast you rebuilt because it kept missing. What did you change?
A strong answer: Found why it missed (renewal timing, enhancement swings, slow payers), changed the drivers and update cadence, and can show the tighter result.
The template's targets are a sample. Set real ones after the CFO has closed a full fiscal year and seen a winter on your books.
Operating Profit Margin
Operating profit divided by revenue from the income statement. Set each month beside that month last year, since one season's swing can mislead.
Budget Variance
For each project or contract, compare budgeted hours, materials and subcontract costs with actual costs at month end, and write a short reason for any line that moved.
Contract Profitability
Gross profit on each contract at renewal against the prior term, from job cost data by site, with price increases and scope changes shown separately.
Cost Efficiency
Overhead such as office pay, rent, insurance and software, measured against revenue each quarter and compared with the prior year.
Career path
Staff accountant or financial analystBuilds reports and learns job costing at a service or facilities firm.
ControllerRuns the close, payroll and billing for a landscape or property services company.
Chief financial officerOwns cash, budgets, pricing support and lender relationships.
Should a commercial landscape CFO price contracts by site or by portfolio?
Price each site on its own hours, materials and drive time, then decide any portfolio discount as a separate step. A discount buried inside site prices hides which properties lose money. When a property firm rebids a group of sites, the CFO should know the margin on each one before sales offers a package price.
How much does a commercial landscape CFO 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.
Does a commercial landscape CFO need construction accounting experience?
It helps if you have an install division. New landscapes, irrigation systems and retaining walls are project work with budgets, change orders and progress billing. Maintenance and snow are recurring service contracts, billed and costed another way. A CFO who has done both, or a controller who knows project costing, keeps the two from blurring in one profit report.
Who should manage insurance at a commercial landscaping company?
Usually the CFO, with a broker. Commercial clients ask for certificates of insurance, so check each contract for additional insured and coverage limit terms. Snow work, the vehicle fleet and workers' compensation are the big items to watch. The CFO should read each new contract's insurance and indemnity terms before it is signed, not after a claim.
The CFO template mentions vision and hearing. What should the ad say?
Describe the tasks instead: reading financial reports and spreadsheets on screen, leading meetings with project managers and property owners, and taking calls with banks and auditors. Say the job is mostly office work with some site visits, and offer an accommodation where a candidate needs one to do these tasks.
