How to run the money side of a build.
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Job costing for contractors: how to know your margin before the job closes
How to tie labor, materials, subs and overhead to a job while it is still open, budget each bucket, and spot a job going bad early enough to fix it.
7 min readCrewHow to prove your crew's hours were actually worked on site
What counts as real evidence that hours were worked on site, how geofencing works and where it fails, and how to roll it out without a fight with the crew.
7 min readMoneyMarkup vs margin: the difference that quietly costs contractors money
Markup is what you add to cost. Margin is what you keep. A 20% markup is a 16.7% margin — the arithmetic, a conversion table, and how to price backwards.
7 min readMoneyConstruction receipt tracking: getting every material cost onto the right job
Why receipts vanish on a job site, what each lost one costs you twice, what a receipt has to capture, and how to handle crew buying on their own cards.
7 min readSiteThe construction daily log: what to write down and why it saves you later
A free construction daily log template, what belongs in each entry, why photos beat paragraphs, and how to log a day in two minutes instead of on Friday.
7 min readCrewGetting payroll ready without chasing timesheets all weekend
What to check before you run payroll, how to handle a disputed entry fairly, and the weekly approval habit that ends the Sunday scramble.
7 min readBuying softwareConstruction job costing software: what contractors should actually look for
How to choose construction job costing software: what it does that QuickBooks and project tools don’t, the features that matter, and what it should cost.
10 min readBuying softwareReceipt scanning apps for construction: what actually works on a job site
What receipt scanning has to get right on a job site: reading a total off a crumpled photo, coding it to the right job, and working with no signal.
7 min readBuying softwareConstruction time tracking software: what to look for
What construction time tracking has to handle that generic timesheet apps do not: several sites in a day, no signal, and hours that survive a payroll dispute.
7 min readBuying softwareConstruction daily log software: what to look for
Why daily logs matter more for disputes than for management, what a defensible log contains, and how to get crews to actually write one.
6 min readBuying softwareConstruction payroll software: what to look for
What construction payroll has to handle that generic payroll does not: overtime by week, hours split across jobs, and figures that survive a challenge.
6 min readBuying softwareConstruction management software for small contractors: what actually fits
What a small contractor actually needs from construction software, what to ignore, and how to tell an enterprise tool from one built for a crew of six.
7 min readBuying softwareReady to get off spreadsheets? Here’s what actually replaces one
When a spreadsheet stops being enough for job costing, what actually breaks first, and how to move off it without losing the history you already have.
6 min readBuying softwareConstruction apps that actually work with no signal
Why offline matters more than it sounds on a construction site, what genuinely working offline means, and how to test it before you rely on it.
6 min readBuying softwareQuickBooks integration for contractors: what it should actually do
What a QuickBooks integration actually syncs for contractors, where job costing and bookkeeping split, and the questions to ask before you rely on it.
6 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for electricians: keeping rough-in and finish from eating the bid
How electricians track real costs against the bid: copper price swings, rough-in against finish labour, inspection delays, and service work mixed with projects.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for HVAC contractors: what warranty callbacks actually cost you
How HVAC contractors cost jobs properly: equipment lead times, install against service work, refrigerant and parts, and the maintenance calls that eat margin.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for plumbers: separating the emergency call from the remodel
How plumbing contractors track job costs: first and second fix labour, fittings bought in a hurry, emergency call outs, and water damage nobody budgeted for.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for roofing contractors: where the waste and the weather days go
How roofing contractors cost jobs: weather days, tear off surprises, material waste and returns, and day rate crews on work priced by the square.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for concrete contractors: what a pour day actually costs
How concrete contractors cost jobs: short loads and waste, pour day labour that cannot be rescheduled, pump hire, and weather that decides the calendar.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for painting contractors
How painting contractors cost jobs: coverage that never matches the tin, prep time that decides the job, and touch ups after the trade behind you.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for landscaping contractors
How landscaping contractors cost jobs: plant and material waste, ground conditions nobody can quote, seasonal crews, and maintenance rounds against installs.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for remodeling contractors
How remodelling contractors cost jobs: what is found behind the wall, change orders agreed verbally, long calendars, and clients living in the site.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for framing contractors
How framing contractors cost jobs: lumber price moves, crews paid by the day on work priced by the square foot, weather, and rework after the inspection.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for drywall contractors
How drywall contractors cost jobs: board waste and returns, finishing levels that change the labour, piece rates, and damage caused by other trades.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for general contractors
How general contractors cost jobs: subcontractor commitments against invoices, retention, self performed work, and coordination costs nobody bills.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for subcontractors
How subcontractors cost jobs: scope creep from the main contractor, waiting on other trades, retention and slow payment, and variations agreed on site.
7 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for owner-operators
How owner operators cost jobs when they are also the crew: valuing your own time, keeping business and personal spend apart, and pricing without a wage.
7 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for residential builders
How residential builders cost jobs: long programmes, client changes, trades running in sequence, and provisional sums that were always going to move.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for multi-crew contractors
How contractors running several crews keep job costs straight: hours landing on the right job, crews split across sites, and comparing crew performance fairly.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for masonry contractors
How masonry contractors cost jobs: brick and block waste, weather stopping the work, scaffold hire running past programme, and pointing that is never quick.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for excavation contractors
How excavation contractors cost jobs: ground nobody can see, plant hire and idle machines, muck away by the load, and services that stop the dig.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for fencing contractors
How fencing contractors cost jobs: post holes that hit rock, materials by the metre against labour by the day, access, and repairs mixed with installs.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for flooring contractors
How flooring contractors cost jobs: subfloor preparation nobody can quote, waste and cut factors, moisture delays, and damage after handover.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for siding contractors
How siding contractors cost jobs: what is found behind the old cladding, weather days, scaffold or lift hire, and trim work that takes longer than the field.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for tile contractors: keeping pattern work from quietly eating margin
How tiling contractors cost jobs: substrate preparation, cut waste on patterned work, setting time that stops the job, and snagging at the end.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for insulation contractors: keeping material spec from quietly eating margin
How insulation contractors cost jobs: coverage against depth, access that decides the hours, material waste, and inspections that gate the next trade.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for demolition contractors: keeping disposal fees from quietly eating margin
How demolition contractors cost jobs: disposal by weight and type, what is found once you open the structure, plant on standby, and permits.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for paving contractors: keeping oil price swings from quietly eating margin
How paving contractors cost jobs: base preparation that decides everything, material by the tonne, weather windows, and access for plant and deliveries.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for pool and spa contractors: keeping long timelines from quietly eating margin
How pool and spa contractors cost jobs: long calendars across many trades, excavation unknowns, equipment lead times, and commissioning that runs long.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for solar installers: keeping panel cost and permit delays off your margin
How solar installers cost jobs: roof conditions found on the day, equipment lead times, inspection and grid connection delays, and truck rolls after commissioning.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for cabinetry and millwork: keeping shop hours from disappearing into the bid
How cabinetry and millwork shops cost jobs: shop hours against site hours, material yield, site conditions that are never square, and snagging.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for glass and glazing contractors: keeping a broken pane off your margin
How glass and glazing contractors cost jobs: breakage and remakes, lead times on specials, access and lifting, and site measures that come back wrong.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for deck builders: keeping material swings and rain days off your margin
How deck builders cost jobs: footings into unknown ground, material waste on angles, permit and inspection gates, and finishes that need a return visit.
8 min readBuying softwareJob costing software for fire and low-voltage contractors: keeping certification jobs on budget
How fire and low voltage contractors cost jobs: cable pulls through finished spaces, commissioning, coordination with other trades, and service calls.
8 min readMoneyHow to bid construction jobs without losing money
Why bids come in too low even when the math looked fine on paper, and how to use your own past job costs instead of gut feel to price the next one.
7 min readMoneyWhat are change orders, and how to manage them without losing money
What a change order is, the main types, why verbal changes get built but never billed, and how to capture one on site so the cost reaches the job.
8 min readMoneyHow to read a job cost report
How to read a job cost report: committed against actual, percentage complete against percentage spent, and the three numbers worth acting on.
6 min readMoneyConstruction overhead allocation explained
How to allocate overhead across jobs without pretending to a precision you do not have, and why the method matters less than applying it consistently.
6 min readMoney1099 vs. W2 crew cost tracking for contractors
How to cost a mixed crew of employees and subcontractors so job margins stay comparable, and the burden most contractors leave out.
6 min readMoneyHow to set up job costing in QuickBooks Online, step by step
How to turn on Projects in QuickBooks Online, put bills, expenses and labor on each job, read the profit report, and where it falls short for a crew.
9 min readMoneyFree construction change order form, and how to fill it in
A free, printable construction change order form, with what goes in each box, how to price the change, and when to get the client to sign.
7 min readCrewFree construction timesheet template for your crew
A free weekly construction timesheet in PDF and spreadsheet form, with how to fill it in so hours land on the right job and overtime is counted right.
7 min read