You look at the job and the numbers work. You finish the job and somehow the profit is gone. It didn't disappear on the estimate — it leaked out in eight places you're probably not tracking.
In this episode of Contractor Cuts, Clark and James walk through the leaky bucket: the specific spots where contractors quietly bleed profit, and what to tighten up so you can pick up two to four points on every job.
They cover:
Unbilled trips — the drive-bys, Home Depot runs, and "I'll be right over" calls eating three hours a week
Timeline slip — how a three-week job becoming four weeks costs you 20% of your annual revenue
Gray area absorption — saying yes to free work and never naming it
Flat markup — why 35% across the board loses you bids and underprices your risk
Equipment sitting idle — the toys you justify for one job and pay for all year
Free pre-construction — why every estimate needs a pre-con line, even a $150 one
Rework from late decisions — the changes that cost $400 now and $4,000 later
Overhead creep — why one good month isn't permission to buy the truck
Which leak Clark and James think is the most dangerous — and why it's the hardest to see
If you're doing good work and still wondering where the money went, start here.
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Contractor Cuts is a weekly podcast for contractors who want to build a better business — covering sales, operations, hiring, finances, and everything in between.
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