A commercial remodeling CFO manages the finances of a company that fixes up offices, stores and restaurants, often after hours. They set job budgets with project managers, track costs on dozens of short jobs, and plan cash around what tenants and landlords pay.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, commercial building contractors · BLS, May 2025
Responsible for overseeing the financial strategy and operations, ensuring robust budgeting, accurate job costing for remodeling projects, and the overall financial health of the company. Plays a pivotal role in shaping and executing financial policies to support sustainable growth within the commercial remodeling sector.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and implement comprehensive financial strategies and policies to drive organizational profitability.
Oversee budgeting processes, forecasting, and financial planning for remodeling projects.
Ensure accurate job costing and project-specific financial analysis to maximize margins.
Monitor financial performance, identify risks, and propose actionable solutions to optimize financial health.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review daily financial reports and perform variance analysis against budgets.
Work closely with project managers to establish realistic budgets and update job costing metrics.
Conduct regular financial reviews and audits to ensure compliance and operational efficiency.
Provide strategic financial insights to support decision-making on remodeling projects.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Budget Variance: Maintain a variance of less than 5% per project.
Job Cost Accuracy: Achieve 98% accuracy on project cost estimations.
Gross Margin: Target a gross margin of at least 30% on remodeling projects.
Cash Flow: Maintain a positive cash flow ratio of 1.2 or higher.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related field with CPA or CMA certification preferred.
Minimum of 7 years in a senior financial management role within the construction or home services industry.
Proficient in financial software and ERP systems with strong analytical capabilities.
Exceptional leadership, communication, and strategic planning skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in the commercial remodeling or broader home services industry.
Proven track record of implementing financial processes that improve project costing and profitability.
Demonstrated expertise in managing complex budgets and capital allocation for large-scale projects.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to work in typical office settings with occasional visits to construction or remodel sites.
Must be able to manage workloads that require extended periods of sitting and working at a computer.
No heavy lifting requirements are involved in this role.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical workdays from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM with the possibility of additional hours during peak periods.
Minimal travel required, mainly to project sites for financial reviews and meetings when necessary.
Occasional remote work flexibility available.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Competitive salary range: $150,000 - $200,000 per year based on experience.
Performance-based bonus structure to reward meeting and exceeding financial targets.
Comprehensive benefits including Health, Dental, and Vision coverage.
401(k) plan with company match and additional fringe benefits such as professional development support.
10. Company Culture and Overview
Our company prides itself on an innovative, collaborative, and growth-oriented culture where every team member is valued.
We foster an inclusive environment that encourages professional development and strives for excellence in customer satisfaction across all remodeling projects.
Our commitment to sustainability, quality, and continuous improvement makes us a leader in the commercial remodeling 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
Short jobs, two payers on many buildouts, night labor and state rules on contractor tax and sub payments shape the money side here.
Mississippi taxes the contract price
In Mississippi, non-residential jobs priced over 10,000 dollars owe a contractor's tax on the contract price. Before work starts, the prime contractor applies for a Material Purchase Certificate, so materials that go into the job are bought free of sales tax. On jobs over 75,000 dollars, a contractor based in the state must bond or prepay the tax first. An out-of-state firm must do so on jobs over 10,000 dollars. Build the tax into every bid there. Source: Mississippi Department of Revenue: guide for construction contractors.
Maryland gives subs seven days
In Maryland, when a contractor gets paid for a sub's work, it has 7 days to pay the sub what isn't in dispute. On private jobs where the contract sets no pay dates, the owner must pay undisputed amounts within 30 days of the occupancy permit or of taking over the space, whichever comes first. So the cash plan can't lean on sub money to cover payroll. Source: Maryland Code, Real Property § 9-302: prompt payment.
The landlord's allowance pays on its own clock
On many tenant buildouts, the landlord's allowance pays part of the price and the tenant pays the rest. The landlord may pay its share only after the space is done, lien waivers are in and the tenant has moved in. Read the allowance terms in the lease before you sign. Bill the two payers on their own schedules, and keep a running tally of who owes what on each job.
Short jobs must close fast
A store refresh or a small office suite can start and finish inside one billing cycle. If the final bill, the last sub invoices and the change orders aren't closed within days of the punch walk, costs drift onto the next job and the margin report stops telling the truth. Give project managers a short list of cost codes they can use without help, and a closeout checklist they sign.
Night work has costs bids forget
After-hours jobs bring shift premiums, overtime and charges from the building for an engineer or security guard to stay late. If those land in overhead instead of on the job, margins look better than they are. Give each one its own cost code, and check that estimators carry them in every bid for work outside business hours.
How much commercial remodeling chief financial officers make
The closest BLS group for commercial remodeling chief financial officers is chief executives. Chief executives who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $225,550 a year ($108.44 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s above the $213,990 median for chief executives in all industries. About 840 of the 204,350 chief executives in that survey work for commercial building contractors.
Base salary plus a bonus for hitting financial targets is the norm. The pay figures shown are BLS data for chief executives in this industry, and the template's CFO range sits below them.
Commercial building contractors
$225,550$225,550 median Middle half $168,640–$347,300 10th–90th $124,070–$499,640
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
Commercial building contractors
$124,070
$168,640
$225,550
$347,300
$499,640
All industries
$75,700
$129,540
$213,990
$356,200
$507,730
BLS doesn’t publish pay for commercial remodelers on their own. These figures cover nonresidential building construction, 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
Construction job costing and work-in-progress reporting
A weekly cash forecast for a company with many short jobs
Contract and use tax rules for contractors in each state you serve
Controls for sub payments, lien waivers and certificates of insurance
Explaining job results to project managers in plain terms
Teach these on the job
Your accounting system and cost code list
Your landlords' allowance and payment paperwork
Mississippi's Material Purchase Certificate steps, if you work there
Your surety's and bank's reporting calendar
How your estimating software feeds the job budget
The books likely run on job-cost accounting software (for example Sage 100 Contractor, Foundation or Viewpoint Vista), linked to payroll that can handle shift premiums and several states. Tell candidates which one you use and whether you plan to switch.
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 · Timely job cost reports
Job cost reports always run two weeks behind, so managers learn about overruns too late. How do you fix it?
A strong answer: Finds the bottlenecks (time cards, bill coding, receipts), sets weekly cutoffs, adds mobile time entry, tracks committed costs through purchase orders, and holds weekly cost reviews with project managers.
Behavioral · Job costing accuracy
Tell me about a time you improved job costing accuracy on commercial remodeling or construction work.
A strong answer: Names the problem, the change (cost codes, approvals, training), and how estimate-to-actual reports improved.
These targets are the template's guesses. Base yours on a full year of finished jobs and revisit them with the CEO each quarter.
Budget Variance
Measure the gap between each closed job's budget at award, plus approved change orders, and its final cost, and report it monthly by project manager and job type.
Job Cost Accuracy
Check how close estimated labor, materials and sub costs came to actual costs on closed jobs, line by line, so estimators see which cost codes they misjudge.
Gross Margin
Billed revenue less direct costs on finished jobs, sorted by client type such as retail, restaurant and office, so you see which work pays its way.
Cash Flow
Divide cash coming in from tenants, landlords and owners by cash going out to subs, payroll and suppliers over the same weeks, and project it forward from billing dates.
Career path
BookkeeperPosts sub invoices and payroll and learns the cost codes.
ControllerCloses each month and keeps job cost and WIP reports current.
Chief financial officerPlans cash, taxes and margins across every job and every state.
What should a CFO check before the company takes a restaurant job?
Ask who holds the funds: the owner, a lender or a landlord's allowance. Restaurants often open on borrowed money and tight dates. Ask for a deposit that covers early orders such as hoods, walk-in coolers and custom millwork, and agree in writing who buys the kitchen equipment. A payment schedule tied to stages protects the company if the opening slips.
How much does a commercial remodeling chief financial officer make?
Chief executives who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $225,550 a year ($108.44 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $168,640 and $347,300 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
What insurance paperwork does a commercial remodeling CFO manage?
Landlords and property managers usually want proof of insurance before a crew can enter. They often want to be listed as additional insureds. Every sub needs the same papers on file, and they have to stay current. Track the end dates in one place. Hold payment to any sub whose coverage has lapsed, and ask your agent how the year-end premium audit treats money paid to subs without coverage.
What should a commercial remodeling CFO report to the CEO each week?
One page: today's cash and where it's headed over the next few weeks, jobs over budget with the reason, change orders not yet billed, and past-due receivables by client. Add backlog by client type so the CEO sees whether retail, office or restaurant work is carrying the year. A long report goes unread, while a short one gets acted on.
What should a CFO ask a national retail client before the first job?
Chain retailers often pay through a vendor portal with their own invoice format, required documents and payment terms. Before the first job, get the portal set up, learn what a rejected invoice looks like, and ask how change orders get approved and who signs them. Then build the client's real payment timing into the cash forecast, not the terms printed on your invoice.
