The Back Office
Notes from the side of the business nobody sees.
Markup, margin, cash, compliance, and the paperwork that decides whether a good job is a profitable one. Written by a construction CFO, for the people running the numbers.
Markup vs. margin — why the difference is quietly killing your bids.
Mark up 20% and you make 16.7%. On a $500,000 year that gap is about $16,500 — enough to cover a truck, a hire, or the slow month that always comes. Here is the arithmetic, and how to price so it stops happening.
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Job costing
Job costing — what actually goes into a real system
The pieces a job-costing system needs before the numbers mean anything.
Cash flow
Cash flow — why your bank balance isn’t the money you have
Committed money is already spent. What to watch instead of the account total.
Getting paid
Getting paid — short on collections, not on profit
The job was profitable. The cash never showed up. Where it goes.
Change orders
Change order form — get paid for the work they asked for
Unsigned scope is free work. The document that stops it.
Compliance
COI tracking — why collecting it once isn’t enough
A certificate on file is not a certificate in force. Expirations are the exposure.
Compliance
1099 vs. W-2 — classify your crew without getting burned
The test that actually gets applied, and what misclassification costs.
Safety
Toolbox talks — what OSHA actually requires, and how often
The cadence, the record, and the part most contractors skip.
Closeout
Punch list — the last 5% that decides if you get paid
Final payment lives in the smallest scope on the job.
Field
Daily field log — the boring log that wins the argument
One row a day is the cheapest insurance on the job.
Field
Permit tracking — one missed call stalls the whole job
Inspections and expirations do not forgive a busy week.
Field
The field paper trail — two documents that protect every job
What to keep, who signs it, and how long to hold it.
Hiring
New-hire onboarding — retention and liability, not paperwork
The first week decides whether they stay and whether you are covered.
Free · no signup for your score
Reading about it is not the same as knowing where you stand
The Back Office Reality Check scores all ten systems on what actually happens in your business, then tells you which one to fix first. Ten questions, about ninety seconds.
Your score and your biggest exposure show up on the spot. No email needed for that part.