A restoration CFO keeps cash moving at a company paid mostly through insurance claims, often weeks after the crew leaves. They run job costing, budgets and the cash forecast, check what each carrier pays against what was billed, and set up credit before storm season.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Provides overall financial leadership and strategic direction for restoration contracting operations, ensuring fiscal stability and optimal cash flow in post-disaster recovery environments.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and execute financial strategies that align with company goals.
Manage comprehensive budgeting processes and monitor job costing to optimize project profitability.
Ensure stable cash flow management during post-disaster recovery phases.
Oversee the preparation of monthly, quarterly, and annual financial forecasts and reports.
Monitor operational risks and compliance related to contracts and insurance claims.
Collaborate with executive leadership to provide financial insights and drive strategic decision-making.
Lead and mentor the finance team to maintain high standards of performance and accountability.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review daily financial reports and cash flow statements to ensure liquidity.
Conduct detailed job cost analyses for ongoing restoration projects.
Coordinate with operations and project managers to refine budgeting strategies.
Prepare and present weekly financial performance summaries.
Communicate with disaster recovery teams regarding project expenditures and adjustments.
Evaluate vendor invoices and reconcile them with project budgets.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Budget Variance: Maintain deviation at ≤5% of planned budget.
Job Costing Accuracy: Achieve a minimum of 98% accuracy on cost estimates.
Cash Flow Stability: Sustain a liquidity ratio of ≥1.5 post-disaster events.
Financial Reporting Timeliness: Ensure 100% submission of reports on schedule.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related field; MBA or CPA preferred.
Minimum of 10 years’ experience in financial management, with a strong emphasis on budgeting and job costing.
Proficiency in financial analysis software, ERP systems, and advanced Excel skills.
Excellent analytical, leadership, and communication skills.
Strong attention to detail and problem-solving capabilities.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in the home services or restoration contracting industry.
Familiarity with financial management in disaster recovery scenarios.
Proven success managing multi-million dollar budgets in a dynamic environment.
Experience with strategic financial planning in fast-paced operational settings.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to work primarily in a standard office setting.
Occasional lifting of up to 10 pounds for managing document files.
Extended periods of sitting and computer-based work.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours: Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM.
Occasional extended hours during peak restoration periods.
Minimal travel required for industry conferences and meetings.
Availability for on-call financial reviews during significant disaster events.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $150,000 - $200,000 USD per annum.
Performance-based bonuses and incentive programs.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.
401(k) plan with company match.
Additional fringe benefits including paid time off and professional development opportunities.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we pride ourselves on fostering an inclusive, innovative, and supportive workplace where every team member is encouraged to grow both professionally and personally.
We build our culture on transparency, teamwork, and a shared commitment to excellence in disaster recovery efforts.
Our dynamic environment provides opportunities for continuous learning and career advancement, all while making a tangible difference in the communities we serve.
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
Restoration revenue is earned in days and collected in weeks or months. In between sit an insurer's review, sometimes a mortgage lender, and each state's claim laws.
Most invoices wait on a claim review
An invoice usually goes to the insurer or its program reviewer before it gets paid. Line items get questioned, cut or sent back for more photos. The CFO tracks billed versus paid on every job and the balance due from each carrier. That shows the owner which programs pay fairly and which ones tie up cash for months.
Claim checks can stop at the lender
When a house has a loan, the claim payment may go to the lender, which then releases money for repairs. In Texas, TDI says the lender must reach out to the owner within 10 days of getting the payment. Each release after that is one more step between finished work and your bank account, so the CFO tracks it job by job. Source: Texas Department of Insurance: Getting your insurance claim paid.
State law decides who controls the claim
Florida bars policyholders from signing over post-loss benefits under a home or commercial property policy issued from January 1, 2023 onward, and voids any attempt to do so. So in Florida the owner stays in charge of the claim, and the CFO needs contracts, deposits and collection steps that work without an assignment. Check the rules in every state you serve. Source: Florida Statutes 627.7152: Assignment agreements.
One storm, one big gap
After a hurricane or a citywide freeze, you may bring in techs from out of town, rent extra dehumidifiers and pay overtime for weeks before the first claim check clears. The claims from one event also come due around the same time. The CFO agrees with the owner on how much storm work the company can fund, and when to stop taking new losses.
Costs should line up with the estimate
Insurers pay by estimate line, often written in Xactimate. Job cost reports work best when they follow the same split: labor, materials, equipment days and subcontractors. Then you can tell whether a job lost money because the scope was cut or because the crew ran over. Source: Verisk: Xactimate property claims estimating software.
How much restoration chief financial officers make
The closest BLS group for restoration chief financial officers is chief executives. Chief executives who work for remediation companies earned a median of $215,510 a year ($103.61 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $213,990 median for chief executives in all industries. About 170 of the 204,350 chief executives in that survey work for remediation companies.
Base pay with bonus and incentive programs, as written in the template. Good measures for this seat are cash collected, days to collect by carrier and a month-end close that lands on time.
Remediation companies
$215,510$215,510 median Middle half $104,400–$564,570 10th–90th $69,990–$642,050
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
Remediation companies
$69,990
$104,400
$215,510
$564,570
$642,050
All industries
$75,700
$129,540
$213,990
$356,200
$507,730
BLS doesn’t publish pay for restoration contractors on their own. These figures cover remediation and other waste management 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
Forecasts collections carrier by carrier, using how long each one really takes to pay
Builds work-in-progress reports for rebuild jobs that bill in stages
Builds budgets with division managers, not just for them
Leads a small accounting team through a monthly close with job costs fully posted
Can show a project manager, on one page, why their job lost money
Teach these on the job
How carriers and program reviewers check restoration invoices
Reading an Xactimate estimate line by line
How equipment days and drying logs turn into billable lines
State rules on contracts, deposits and claim payments where you work
How mitigation, contents and rebuild jobs are billed differently
Day to day, the CFO pulls from three places: Xactimate estimates for what was billed, the job system, such as DASH or Albi, for what was done, and accounting software like QuickBooks or Sage for what was spent and collected. If those don't share data yet, tell candidates, because connecting them is real work.
Read the template's figures as samples. Set real targets after you see how long each carrier takes to pay and how far last year's budgets missed.
Budget Variance
Compare actual spending with budget each month by division and cost type: labor, materials, equipment rental, subcontractors and overhead. Storm months will run over the normal budget, so judge them against a storm plan instead.
Job Costing Accuracy
Compare each closed job's estimated cost with its final cost. Review the biggest misses with the estimator and project manager, and note whether the scope, the crew or the price list caused it.
Cash Flow Stability
Work out the liquidity ratio from the balance sheet each month, and each week during a storm rush. Pair it with days to collect by carrier so problems show up before cash runs short.
Financial Reporting Timeliness
Give each report a due date, such as the month-end close, the weekly cash forecast and the report on open rebuilds. Log the day each one actually went out.
Career path
Insurance claims or construction accountantLearns how claims get paid or how contractors book jobs.
ControllerTies job files, estimates and the ledger together at a contractor.
Chief Financial OfficerOwns cash, credit, carrier collections and reporting for the company.
You pay crews, fuel and gear this week, and the insurer may pay weeks or months later after its review. Rebuilds often pay in stages, and a lender named on the check may have to release the money first. A big storm makes the gap wider, because payroll jumps right away while the claims stack up.
How much does a restoration chief financial officer make?
Chief executives who work for remediation companies earned a median of $215,510 a year ($103.61 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $104,400 and $564,570 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
How long do insurers take to settle a restoration claim?
It depends on the carrier, the program and the state. The Texas Department of Insurance, for example, says insurers have 15 business days to confirm a claim, 15 business days to decide once they have what they need, and five business days to pay after that. An insurer can push the decision back 45 days if it says why. Supplements, disputed lines and lender releases add time, so forecast from your own history with each carrier.
Which numbers should a restoration owner see every week?
The bank balance and a short-range cash forecast, money owed by each carrier and program, and the jobs waiting on a supplement or a lender's release. Add equipment days billed. Those few numbers show trouble long before the monthly statements do.
Should a restoration CFO deal with adjusters?
Not often. Scope fights belong to the estimator and project manager who walked the loss. The CFO tracks billed versus paid by line, spots patterns such as a carrier that always cuts the same item, and gives the team the numbers to push back.
Does a restoration CFO need restoration experience?
Contracting experience matters more than restoration in particular. A CFO from a builder or a remodeler already knows job costing and billing in stages. The new part is billing an insurer instead of the customer: line-by-line reviews, approvals that land weeks after the work, and checks made out to more than one name. Plan a few months for that.
