The Construction Owner’s Cash Flow Playbook | Donelon Advisory
Donelon Advisory Fractional CFO · Construction
A Free Playbook for Irish Contractors

Forecast cash. Spot the squeeze before it hits payroll.

A six-page playbook for Irish construction owners on how to track receipts, retentions and RCT — and see eight weeks ahead instead of three days.

“Construction businesses don’t usually fail because there isn’t enough work. They fail because cash runs out before the next payment lands.”
6-page PDF Worked example Built for Ireland (RCT)
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While you’re here
Read about the Free Cash Flow Review
01What’s inside

A six-page working tool, not a marketing brochure.

The playbook is built around the actual mechanics of Irish construction cash flow — retentions, RCT, certification cycles, VAT timing — not the generic SME advice you’ve seen in a dozen blog posts.

  • Why construction is harder The five timing mismatches that quietly absorb your margin — retentions, RCT, certification, supplier credit, growth.
  • The six-line forecast framework One template, one hour a month. The minimum viable forecast that actually works for a construction business.
  • A worked example with real numbers A €2.4m groundworks contractor, a six-month forecast, and the moment the cash squeeze becomes visible.
  • Five common mistakes — and the fix for each What goes wrong, why it goes wrong, and the specific change that prevents it.
  • How to claim your Free Cash Flow Review A 90-minute working session with a written deliverable you keep — not a sales call.
02A look inside

See the squeeze before it lands.

The worked example tracks Murphy Civils, a fictional €2.4m groundworks contractor, through six months. On paper they’re profitable. The forecast tells a different story.

Closing bank goes from a healthy €67k in January to negative €45k in March — eight weeks before payroll would actually bounce. That distance is the difference between a managed conversation with the bank and an emergency.

Excerpt · Page 4
Murphy Civils Ltd — closing bank position
€’000s JanFebMarAprMayJun
Total cash in 240220213280305317
Total cash out 218282263286218289
Net movement +22 (62) (50) (6) +87 +28
Closing bank 675 (45) (51) 3664
The shaded cells are the conversation you want to have in early January — not the panic you want to avoid in late March.
03About
JP Donelon, ACA Founder · Donelon Advisory

Donelon Advisory provides fractional CFO services to Irish construction and trades businesses doing €1m to €10m in revenue. Main contractors, civils, groundworks, M&E, fit-out and specialist subcontractors who’ve outgrown bookkeeping but aren’t yet ready to hire a full-time finance director.

The work is forward-looking: rolling cash forecasts, project-level profitability, funding preparation, monthly board reporting. We don’t do tax returns or year-end compliance — we work alongside your existing accountant on the financial decisions that compliance work doesn’t cover.

The Free Cash Flow Review is a 90-minute working session, no obligation and no sales pitch. We review your last three months of bank activity, identify the top three cash leaks specific to your business, and you leave with a populated 13-week forecast and a written summary of the highest-impact change for the next 90 days. I take three of these per month.

Chartered Accountant (ACA) Construction sector focus Based in Ireland

Still here? Get the playbook.

Six pages, a working framework, a worked example, and the five mistakes that cost construction owners the most money. Built for Irish contractors. Free.

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