How It Works

No surprises.
No hand-holding.
Just results.

Here's exactly what happens from the moment you reach out to the moment your first Blackline Command portal goes live — and every month after that.

The Process

From first call to
first close.

Most firms onboard you and disappear. We run a structured process that sets clear expectations, catches problems early, and gets your books into a state we can actually build on — before your first close.

1
Week 1 — Getting Started
The Fit Call
We start with a 30-minute call to understand your business — revenue, job count, software, current pain points, and what's not working with your books right now. We're qualifying you as much as you're evaluating us. If we're not the right fit, we'll tell you.
Duration
30 minutes
Who's On The Call
Jared + You
What You Need
15 min of honest answers
Outcome
Go / no-go + tier recommendation
2
Week 1–2 — Before We Start
The DIG Diagnostic
Before we onboard any client, we run a DIG — Discover, Investigate, Guide. We review your current books, identify any cleanup required, and scope exactly what it will take to get your financials into a state we can build on. This protects both of us from inheriting a mess without knowing it. Cleanup work, if needed, is scoped and priced separately.
What We Review
QBO books, chart of accounts, prior closes
What We Look For
Cleanup needs, scope clarity, integration status
Cleanup Billing
Scoped separately — never absorbed into tier
Outcome
Signed agreement + onboarding starts
3
Week 2–3 — Getting Set Up
Onboarding & Setup
Holly, our Director of Client Experience, owns your onboarding. She'll get QBO access, align your chart of accounts for job costing, set up any software integrations (BuilderTrend and Adaptive), and walk your in-house team through exactly what they own and what we own. No crossed wires.
Your Point of Contact
Holly Ashby, Director of Operations
Software Integrations
BuilderTrend and Adaptive → QBO
Team Handoff
Client responsibility matrix reviewed + signed
Typical Duration
5–10 business days
4
Week 3–4 — First Deliverable
Your First Close
Your first month-end close under the Blackline process. We run everything — bank recs, job costing, WIP schedule, and your first CFO Insight Report. Frame and Finish clients get their Blackline Command portal live. Foundation clients receive their close package via email. The first close sometimes takes a little longer as we calibrate to your business — by month two, you're in full cadence.
Delivery Target
By the 15th of the following month
Command Portal
Live for Frame + Finish clients
CFO Insight Report
Frame + Finish — AI-generated, human-reviewed
Advisory Call
Finish tier — scheduled within first 30 days
5
Days 30–90 — Finding the Rhythm
Stabilization Period
The first 90 days are where most of the heavy lifting happens — training your in-house team on their responsibilities, refining job cost structures, getting your integrations dialed in. There's often more hand-holding and cleanup in this window. That's normal and expected. We bill for it when it falls outside scope, so you always know what you're paying for.
In-House Training
Your team learns their close responsibilities
Cleanup Billing
Billed at project rate — never absorbed
Integration Tuning
Software sync refined and tested
Goal
Clean cadence, independent client team
✓
Day 90+ — Full Cadence
Steady State
This is where it gets easy. Your close arrives by the 15th, your Command portal updates automatically, your in-house team knows their lane, and Blackline handles the rest. Questions get answered same day (Finish) or within 24–48 hours. Finish clients get their monthly CFO call to walk through the numbers and make decisions.
Close Delivery
By the 15th — every single month
Response Time
Same day (Finish) · 24hrs (Frame) · 48hrs (Foundation)
Monthly CFO Call
Finish tier — 60 min, scheduled monthly
Annual Review
Pricing and scope reviewed each year
The Division of Labor

Your lane.
Our lane.

Blackline works on a clear split-responsibility model. Your in-house team owns the day-to-day business operations. We own the close, reporting, and financial intelligence. This gets agreed on at onboarding and doesn't change.

Your Team Owns
Vendor bill entry via BuilderTrend or Adaptive
Credit card transaction coding
Receipt collection and upload by the 5th
Job cost entry against active jobs
Customer invoicing and AR follow-up
Payroll hours entry (unless we process payroll)
Answering job-level questions from our team
Blackline Owns
Bank reconciliations — completed by the 12th
WIP schedule preparation (Frame + Finish)
Job costing analysis and reporting
CFO Insight Report — AI-generated, human-reviewed
Month-end close sign-off — delivered by the 15th
Blackline Command portal delivery
Monthly CFO advisory call (Finish tier)
What to Expect

Month one through
month twelve.

Here's what the relationship actually looks like over time — the honest version, not the brochure version.

Month 1
More communication than usual
We're learning your business, your jobs, your software, and your team's habits. Expect more back-and-forth than you will in later months. This is normal and it's how we calibrate correctly.
Milestone: First close delivered. Command portal live (Frame + Finish).
Months 2–3
Finding the rhythm
The process starts to click. Your team knows what to have ready by the 5th. We close by the 12th. Your portal is live by the 15th. Some cleanup still happens — we bill for it transparently.
Milestone: Close cadence locked in. Integration syncs stable.
Month 4+
This is what you hired us for
Clean books on autopilot. CFO Insight Reports that actually tell you something. WIP schedules that flag problems before they become losses. And a team you trust to handle it without being chased.
Milestone: Full steady state. Decisions getting easier.
Common Questions

What contractors
always ask us.

We work in QuickBooks Online. If you're currently on QBO, you're set. If you're on a different platform, we'll discuss a migration path during the DIG Diagnostic. We also integrate with BuilderTrend and Adaptive (preferred partner) for construction software — those integrations are a separate add-on service.
Most contractors come to us with books that need work. That's not a problem — it's actually the most common starting point. The DIG Diagnostic identifies exactly what needs to be cleaned up. Cleanup is scoped and priced separately so you know what you're paying for before we start. We don't absorb cleanup into the monthly fee.
Yes — and this is actually a common setup. Your in-house person handles the day-to-day transaction entry and job coding. We handle the close, reconciliation, WIP, and reporting. We define the split clearly at onboarding so there's no overlap or confusion. The key is that your person needs to have their work ready for us by the 5th of the month.
From signed agreement to first close is typically 3–4 weeks. The DIG Diagnostic takes 1–2 weeks. Onboarding and setup takes another 1–2 weeks. Your first close follows at the end of the first full month. If there's significant cleanup required, it may push the timeline slightly — we'll tell you upfront.
It's a plain-language summary of your month — what your numbers say, what's changed from last month, where the risks are, and specific recommendations. It's written so a contractor can read it in five minutes and know exactly where their business stands. It's AI-generated and reviewed by our team before it hits your portal.
Yes. We're based in Mesa, Arizona, but we work with contractors across the country. Everything we do is remote — QBO is cloud-based, Blackline Command is online, and our communication is primarily async with scheduled calls. Being in Arizona doesn't limit who we can serve.
Ready to Get Started

The first step is
a 30-minute call.

Tell us about your business and we'll come back within one business day with a tier recommendation and custom quote. Or book a call directly and we'll talk through it live.

Request a Quote Book a 30-Min Call →