Cost-Benefit Analysis and numbers The cost-benefit analysis allows commercial construction subcontractors to compare expected potential revenues to likely potential costs. In effect, a cost-benefit analysis allows you to minimize risk and proceed only when there is more certainty than uncertainty. While the essence of decision making in the construction industry often calls for quick reasoning and decisive action, an adept cost-benefit analysis takes time to gather informatio

There I was, scrolling through a personal social media account when I saw what I was certain was just one more post telling me how to live my life during the Coronavirus pandemic. Who needs another set of Coronavirus guidelines? Not me! And, probably not you. But that word, “maybe” and that question mark in that first line made me pause. I read. So should you. It is time for a bit of mirth. FOLLOW ALL OF THESE, maybe? Here are the official Coronavirus guidelines: Basically, y

Every Monday morning, The Profit Constructors’ social media posts are routinely filled with something akin to an Irish blessing. They vary slightly week to week, but typically they look like this, “May your coffee be strong, your influence be ever-growing, and your week be profitable.” It is that last portion of the “blessing” we’re discussing today. That part about being profitable – because it never varies. Those are the same words week after week. Even during the Coronavir

Editor’s note: Our social calendar (including blog posts) is scheduled weeks (sometimes months) in advance. The following post was written over a month ago and “calendared” at that time. In other words, we did not plan this post to coincide with the Coronavirus scare and reaction. But it has proven to be well-timed. Trust is about taking risks I learned of some folks who took in a young foster care child who had been abused by his parents. He was unwilling to trust. He couldn

Financial storms in varying sizes Financial storms can be minor or they can be devastating. Think of  the way dust devils and tornados create different levels of damage. However, even a dust devil can grab and keep your attention when you’re in the heart of it. Financial storms are real Joe, Tonya, and I were having a chat. Consequently, this post was born. I mentioned  I had come across another wayward piece of information. In short, the owner of an accounting service declar

Best Bidder not lowest bidder You know there are those who only choose the lowest bidder. No matter how detrimental that practice often is. It happens. This story from ENR tells the tale well. And, here is another low bid fire station disaster. If you wish to remove “lowest” from the criteria general contractors might use when considering your bid here are a few things for you to consider.  Because price shouldn’t be the only determining factor in a winning bid. The Best Bidd

Be a Visionary Construction Subcontractor Think like a Visionary Construction Contractor You might think that because we’re construction accounting specialists that we would want you to frame your vision with numbers. And frankly, we often do. Yet, on this occasion we’re suggesting you take a step back from the numbers and look at what being visionary means in a different light. Setting goals, planning out the numbers, determining profit or loss are all part of what it takes

Construction business growth Construction, at its very heart, is exhilarating. Being part of an industry that manufactures the clients’ desired product on site is challenging, stimulating, and fulfilling. Growing a construction business is hard work and requires more than wishful thinking or hoping things will fall in place. In part one of this three-part series we looked at one area, “dealing with changing regulations” which contractors must heed in order to succeed. If you

This is the fifth in a five-part series concerning Steps to Scaling Your Construction Contracting Business. You can see the introduction to the series (with links to each article) by clicking here. In his article for Forbes magazine, Eric T. Wagner, shares some insight gleaned from Kelsey Ramsden who is the president of Belvedere Place Contracting Ltd.  In 2012 and in 2013 Kelsey Ramsden, was awarded Canada’s #1 Top Woman Entrepreneur by Profit Magazine – a very prestigious a

This is the second in a three-part series about using a Job Close Out system to enhance your construction contracting business. If you missed the first part, you can go here. You’ll find the third part here. Start at the finish line Rather than getting close to the end of your project and finding you have an Easter egg hunt for what’s incomplete or unacceptable (including the dreaded punch list) working from the beginning of the project through the completion with Job Close O

In this monthly post, it’s my pleasure to introduce you to one of the many apps that we at Schulte and Schulte endorse and recommend to our customers. As a firm of construction accounting specialists, we love to help companies in the construction industry with their books and finances, part of that help is finding different apps or software that can help our clients out. During this monthly feature, we take a look at several apps that we love at Schulte and Schulte, and dig a

You can utilize the same powerful tools and resources at a decent price. This is because, thanks to the advent of cloud technology, many tech companies are moving to the subscription based model rather than selling individual pieces of software. The advantages for small businesses are tremendous. The old methods of software development made it much harder to scale a piece of software for various sized businesses and needs. So, many of the more powerful software choices were e

Here are just three of the things that EVERY contractor who uses QuickBooks ought to be doing in their QuickBooks program: Estimating Anyone who has ever created a bid for a job knows that it can be a very intimidating process – everything from stressing over whether or not you have the right projected costs, to anticipating material delivery times, to making sure you are properly accounting for overhead can contribute to an overwhelming process. Here is where it is good to