How a North Texas HVAC Business Went from Disorganized Books to a Six-Day Close and CPA-Verified Financials

Service: Accounting Oversight & Reporting; Finance Reset
Client: HVAC Contractor | Fort Worth, TX | S-corp | 4 employees | $759K revenue

Introduction

This HVAC business wasn’t failing. It was growing. With $759,000 in annual revenue and a steady pipeline of jobs, the owner had three techs in the field and planned to hire two more. But behind the scenes, the financials painted a messier picture: vendor payments were late, job costing was unclear, and cash flow felt unpredictable.

The owner’s wife managed dispatch, admin, and bookkeeping, but the numbers never made sense. Reports didn’t match reality. Hiring more techs felt risky. They didn’t just need clean books. They needed a system built to support growth.

That’s where Stratovus came in.

The Starting Point: Growth Without Control

When we began our engagement, we found a common scenario:

• Accounts: 2 bank accounts, 1 credit card, 1 line of credit
• Bookkeeping: Managed in-house but unreconciled and outdated
• Reporting: Delayed, incomplete, and not built for decisions
• Cash Flow: Unstable, with no job-level cost tracking

The business had momentum, but the owner couldn’t trust the numbers. He wanted to reinvest and hire but was flying blind.

Phase One: Finance Reset

We started with Accounting Oversight & Reporting, anchored by a complete Finance Reset:

• Rebuilt the books from scratch with our accounting partner
• Reconciled 12 months of transactions across all financial accounts
• Cleaned up vendor balances and categorized job costs properly
• Installed a monthly close process with consistent cutoffs

Once complete, our CPA partner verified the books and gave the owner the cleanest, most accurate financials they’d ever had.

📌 Results from Finance Reset:

Phase Two: Reporting That Drives Action

With clean data in place, we shifted to monthly oversight and reporting:

• Built a real-time dashboard tracking revenue, job costs, overhead, and profit
• Added views to monitor cash flow across open and completed jobs
• Created a recurring Owner’s Summary Report showing:
  • Labor cost per tech
  • Margin per job
  • Fixed cost ratios

These weren’t just better reports. They answered real questions:

• Can we afford two more techs this quarter?
• Which services are driving the most profit?
• Are we collecting fast enough to meet payroll?

📌 Results from Reporting Phase:

Phase Three: Full Core CFO Engagement

With reporting stabilized, the owners upgraded to our full Core CFO Package, adding:

• Financial Planning & Forecasting: Projected hiring costs, marketing ROI, and seasonal trends
• Tax Strategy & Compliance: Quarterly planning sessions with our CPA partner
• Job Profitability Analysis: Job-by-job insights that shaped pricing decisions

🚀 Results from Full Core CFO Engagement:

Precision. Vision. Action.

At Stratovus, these aren’t just words—they’re our way of working:

• Precision: Every number checked, every detail verified. We dig into your records, systems, and processes to make sure nothing is missed.

• Vision: We look beyond today’s numbers and forecasts. Our strength is anticipating what’s coming, even the risks and opportunities you can’t always plan for.

• Action: We don’t just advise, we act. When an opportunity or challenge appears, we move quickly, even if it means adapting the plan to get the best results.

This philosophy powered the turnaround:
From disorganized records to CPA-verified financials and a six-day close.
Where forecasting and reporting were once an afterthought, now they’re at the center of every decision.

Conclusion

Most trades business owners don’t need more spreadsheets. They need a system that makes their numbers work for them. This HVAC contractor had the jobs and the team. Now, they have the financial foundation to scale.

Ready to bring real financial leadership to your trades business?
Let’s talk about what’s possible when your numbers finally work for you.