Controller / Head of Finance

POSITION DETAILS

Company: Morris Heating & Cooling

Job Title: Controller / Head of Finance

Location: Burlington, Kentucky / Greater Cincinnati (On-Site)

Job Type: Full-Time

COMPANY OVERVIEW

Morris Heating & Cooling, founded in 1996, is a specialty trades contractor serving the Greater Cincinnati region from its base in the Cincinnati / Burlington, Kentucky area. The company focuses on the installation, servicing, repair, and maintenance of HVAC, electrical, refrigeration, and commercial kitchen systems across the Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana markets – combining project-based installation work with a high-volume recurring service and maintenance operation.

In June 2024, Morris Heating & Cooling partnered with NextGen Growth Partners to enter the next phase of its growth journey. Founded in Chicago in 2016, NextGen Growth Partners was built on the belief that there is tremendous potential to unlock value in small businesses. As the company scales, we are building a finance function capable of supporting disciplined project accounting, reliable margin visibility, strong cash management, and the operational reporting a growing MEP contracting business needs to grow profitably.

POSITION SUMMARY

Morris Heating & Cooling is seeking a hands-on Controller / Head of Finance to own the accounting and financial reporting function end to end. We are looking for a senior finance leader to challenge operations while personally owning the ledger – preparing journal entries, running the monthly close, building the job-cost and WIP schedules, and owning billing, collections, AP, and payroll, etc.

Direct MEP experience and a strong command of project accounting in a specialty trades environment – including percent-of-completion (POC) revenue recognition and work-in-progress (WIP) reporting – is required. This position must be able to bridge the company’s commercial ERP (BuildOps) with its accounting system (QuickBooks Online) so that operational and financial data are aligned.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Percent-of-Completion & WIP Accounting: Own percent-of-completion (POC) revenue recognition across active projects and maintain accurate work-in-progress (WIP) schedules, including over-/under-billings, earned revenue, and backlog reporting.
• Estimated Total Cost (ETC): Partner with project managers and operations to consistently develop, review, and update estimated total cost (ETC) and estimate-at-completion figures for each project, ensuring cost-to-complete assumptions are current, defensible, and reflected accurately in the WIP.
• Monthly Close: Personally own and execute the full monthly close process, including reconciliations, accruals, and consolidated schedules that produce accurate, timely financial statements each period; establish a reliable, repeatable close with clean WIP and POC schedules and consistently updated ETC across all active projects.
• Journal Entries in QuickBooks Online: Prepare and post journal entries directly in QuickBooks Online (QBO), maintaining a clean, well-documented general ledger and supporting workpapers.
• BuildOps Integration: Manage and continuously improve the integration between the company’s commercial ERP, BuildOps, and QuickBooks Online – troubleshooting sync issues, mapping data correctly, and ensuring invoicing, revenue, and cost data flow accurately between systems so operational and financial data reconcile without manual rework.
• Job Costing & Margin Analysis: Maintain accurate job-costing across labor, materials, subcontractors, and equipment; analyze job-level margin and variance and surface issues to operations and leadership; stand up job-level profitability reporting that gives leadership real-time visibility into margin and tightens margin discipline across the business.
• Cash, Billing & Collections: Own cash forecasting, progress billings, and collections in a project-based environment, with attention to retainage and lien/waiver processes; drive billing discipline and improve working capital.
• Accounts Payable & Payroll: Personally manage accounts payable and own or closely coordinate payroll, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and proper coding to jobs.
• Financial Reporting: Prepare monthly financial reporting packages – giving leadership real-time visibility into performance.
• Controls & Compliance: Establish and maintain internal controls, oversee tax coordination, and manage relationships with outside CPAs, bonding agents, insurers, and banking partners.
• Systems & Process: Document and improve accounting processes, procedures, and internal controls, driving toward automation, accuracy, and scalability to support accurate reporting and future growth as the business scales.

KEY COMPETENCIES

• Hands-On Ownership – willing to personally own the details and the ledger – close, journal entries, job costing, billing, AP, and payroll
• Financial Discipline – drives cash, margin, and working-capital discipline
• MEP & Project Accounting Expertise – deep, hands-on command of POC, WIP, ETC, and job costing in an MEP / specialty trades environment such as HVAC, electrical, or refrigeration.
• Systems-Fluent – practical, troubleshooting-level comfort with QuickBooks Online and a commercial ERP / field-service platform such as BuildOps, including their integration.
• Detail-Oriented – strong critical thinking, accuracy, and logical judgment.
• Effective Communicator – able to translate financial data into clear guidance for owners, PMs, and field leadership.
• Adaptable – thrives amid shifting priorities and the pace of a growing contracting business.
• Results-Driven – sense of urgency in meeting deadlines and driving profitability.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field required
• CPA and/or CMA a plus
• 7+ years of accounting/finance experience, including direct MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) experience
• Hands-on command of POC/job-cost accounting, WIP, cash forecasting, billing and collections, AP, payroll, and month-end close
• Proven ability to develop and maintain estimated total cost (ETC) / cost-to-complete for projects
• Experience improving financial processes, controls, and cash management in a lean or growing environment a plus
• Experience owning a full monthly close and preparing journal entries in QuickBooks Online
• Experience with BuildOps (or a comparable commercial ERP / field-service platform) and integrating it with an accounting system a plus
• Strong Excel skills and comfort building and maintaining reporting