A landscaping chief financial officer's main job is making sure the company can pay its bills all year, even though most of the work happens between spring and fall. The CFO forecasts cash past winter, sets budgets by service line, deals with the bank, and shows the owner which services earn their keep.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Serve as a strategic financial leader responsible for overseeing all financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and overall financial strategy in the landscaping industry. Collaborate with the executive team to drive financial performance and support long-term business growth. Ensure the company maintains a strong financial footing while promoting efficiency and sustainability.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and implement financial strategies that align with the company’s overall goals.
Oversee budgeting processes, financial forecasting, and risk management initiatives.
Monitor key financial metrics and provide actionable insights to the executive team.
Ensure compliance with financial regulations and industry standards.
Manage relationships with financial institutions, auditors, and other key external partners.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review financial reports, cash flow statements, and budget performance data on a daily basis.
Conduct regular meetings with department heads to discuss financial objectives and performance.
Oversee the preparation of monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements.
Analyze market trends and financial variances to proactively address risks and opportunities.
Participate in strategic planning sessions and collaborate on company-wide initiatives.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Budget Variance: Maintain variance below 5%.
Cash Flow Efficiency: Achieve a minimum positive cash flow margin of 10%.
Forecast Accuracy: Achieve forecast accuracy within ±3% on quarterly updates.
Return on Investment (ROI): Maintain an ROI of at least 15% on capital expenditures.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics or related field; MBA or CPA preferred.
Minimum of 7 years of progressive financial management experience, with at least 3 years in a senior leadership role.
Strong analytical and strategic planning skills.
Excellent proficiency in financial software, budgeting tools, and Microsoft Excel.
Exceptional communication and leadership abilities.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience within the landscaping, home services, or related industries.
Proven track record of implementing financial strategies that drive business growth.
Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively in a cross-functional, fast-paced environment.
Experience with capital project evaluations and risk management in a service-oriented business.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to work in a standard office environment with occasional visits to project sites.
Occasional travel to external meetings or client locations may be required.
Minimal physical exertion; primarily desk-based work with prolonged periods of sitting.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Occasional extended hours during fiscal closing periods or strategic projects.
Minimal travel requirements; occasional site visits and team meetings off-site.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Competitive salary range: $125,000 - $175,000 USD per year.
Performance-based bonuses available.
Health, Dental, and Vision insurance provided.
401(k) retirement plan with company match.
Additional fringe benefits including paid time off and professional development support.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and collaboration.
We are committed to supporting our team members’ growth through continuous learning and leadership development.
Our goal is to create an environment where every individual feels valued and empowered to contribute to our success.
Join us and be part of a forward-thinking organization dedicated to excellence in the landscaping 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
The numbers that trip up a landscaping company are mostly about timing: payroll before revenue, billing that runs ahead of or behind the work, and costs that arrive before the crews do.
Spring payroll comes before spring revenue
Cleanups, mulch and new installs bring a rush of work, and in cold climates winter brings little unless you plow snow. Crews are back on payroll weeks before the first spring invoices are paid. The CFO runs a forecast that reaches past the slow months, sets up the credit line in fall when the year's results look strongest, and times mower and truck purchases so the payments don't fall in January.
Level billing hides who owes whom
If you bill maintenance customers the same amount each month all year, you collect in winter for work done in summer. A customer who cancels in the fall may have received more service than they paid for. The CFO tracks the balance on each account, writes cancellation terms with the owner, and books level-billed and prepaid money as it's earned, not as it's collected.
H-2B crews cost money before the first mow
DOL requires H-2B employers to pay at least the highest of the prevailing wage or the federal, state or local minimum wage, and to provide the tools for the job at no cost. Visa fees must be covered within the first workweek. Travel to the job and daily expenses on the way are owed once the worker completes half the job order, or earlier if those costs would cut first-week earnings under the federal minimum wage. The CFO books these costs before the crews arrive. Source: U.S. DOL Wage and Hour Division: Fact Sheet #78, general requirements for H-2B employers.
Overtime can't be averaged out
Crews often work long weeks in spring and short ones when it rains. Under federal law, nonexempt workers get time and a half for hours over 40 in a workweek, and DOL says hours can't be averaged across two or more weeks. A 55-hour week isn't offset by a 30-hour rain week. The CFO builds overtime into bids and budgets and checks your state's overtime law too. Source: U.S. DOL Wage and Hour Division: Overtime pay.
Equipment is the big capital call
Mowers, trucks, trailers, skid steers and chippers wear hard in this work. The CFO tracks repair costs and hours on each machine, decides when to replace instead of fix, and compares buying, financing and leasing. Renting extra machines for the spring rush belongs in that math too.
How much landscaping chief financial officers make
The closest BLS group for landscaping 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.
Salaried. Owners usually base the CFO's bonus on how the year lands against budget and how much cash is on hand.
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
Can show how many weeks of payroll the company can cover in February
Can tie labor hours and materials to each property and service line
Has run a replacement plan for a fleet of trucks or heavy machines
Explains the numbers to an owner who thinks in crews and trucks
Knows how to stop timecard padding and unapproved supply runs
Teach these on the job
How you bid maintenance, installs and enhancements
Level billing, install deposits and per-visit invoicing
Budgeting for H-2B workers
How your landscape software codes labor and materials
Terms with your plant, stone and mulch suppliers
Estimates, crew timecards and invoices usually start in landscape software like Aspire or LMN and end up in QuickBooks Online or another accounting package. Tell candidates how well the two connect, because a broken link between them becomes the CFO's first project.
Set each target during winter budgeting, using your own seasons rather than the sample figures. Then report on every one at the monthly leadership meeting.
Budget Variance
For each service line, compare what you took in and spent with what you planned, monthly and for the season so far. Explain any big miss in a line or two, such as a wet May or slow install sales, and adjust the forecast.
Cash Flow Efficiency
Operating cash flow divided by revenue, from your cash flow statement, over the trailing twelve months. A full-year view keeps the busy season from flattering the number and winter from sinking it.
Forecast Accuracy
Each quarter, line up the forecast against real revenue, labor and cash. Keep a log of misses and their causes, such as weather, crew shortages or slow-paying customers.
Return on Investment (ROI)
For each truck, mower or other big purchase, compare the profit or savings it brings with what it cost. Check it after a full season and use the results for next year's buys.
Career path
Accountant at a CPA firmAudits books or prepares taxes for contractors and service companies.
ControllerRuns month-end and keeps job costs honest.
Chief financial officerPlans cash, borrowing and budgets a season ahead.
CFO of a larger landscape groupHeads finance at a group that buys smaller landscapers.
Watch for three signs: no one can say how much cash you'll have at the end of winter, you don't know which services make money, or spring payroll sets off a scramble every year. A bookkeeper and an outside accountant can carry a company for a long time. A finance leader, part time at first, earns the cost once you borrow for equipment every season, add a yard, or start talking with a buyer.
How much does a landscaping 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.
Who does a landscaping CFO manage?
In a business this size, that's typically a controller or accounting manager, one or two bookkeepers, and whoever runs payroll and billing. During spring sign-ups the CFO may also lean on the office team for collections and card-on-file cleanup. A CFO who will also do the bookkeeping is really a controller, and should be hired and titled as one.
Does a landscaping CFO need to be a CPA?
No. The template names an MBA or CPA as nice to have. A CPA pays off most when your bank wants statements reviewed or audited by an outside firm. Otherwise, weigh experience: has the candidate run finance for a seasonal service company and gotten it through a slow winter without a cash crunch?
How does a landscaping CFO plan for a bad weather year?
By forecasting more than one season. A good CFO builds a normal plan plus a wet spring, a drought and an early freeze, and knows which costs can flex in each: overtime, temporary help, material orders and equipment buys. Snow contracts swing the same way in winter. The goal is to know in March how much room you have, not to find out in July.
What should a landscaping CFO job ad include?
Lead with where the finances really stand. Are job costs trustworthy? Is level billing tracked by account? Is there a credit line, and does it cover spring? Then add the basics: revenue range, yards, service lines, who is on the finance team now, and whether H-2B crews or snow contracts are part of the picture.
