Guides
In-depth guides on construction best practices, compliance, and operations. Written from real-world experience.
Payment & Legal
Protect your rights and get paid what you're owed.
- Construction Lien Law — Mechanics lien deadlines, preliminary notices, and lien waivers
- Change Order Management — Pricing, documentation, and approval workflows
- Certified Payroll — Prevailing wage, Davis-Bacon, and WH-347 forms
- RFI Management — Writing, tracking, and responding to RFIs
- Pay Applications — AIA billing, schedule of values, and getting paid faster
- WIP Reporting — Work in Progress analysis, overbilling, and financial health
- Retainage Guide — Understanding and managing withheld retention
- Payment Bonds Guide — Making claims when you're not paid
- Contract Basics — Understanding construction contracts and key clauses
- AIA Contract Walkthrough — Understanding and navigating AIA construction contracts
- Bonding Guide — How to get bonded and increase bonding capacity
- Insurance Requirements — COIs, additional insured, and required coverages
- Collections Strategy — Steps to collect payment before filing a lien
- Time & Materials Guide — Tracking and billing T&M work properly
- Joint Check Agreements — How joint checks work and when to use them
- Stop Notices — Alternative to liens for public works projects
- Indemnification Clauses — Understanding and negotiating indemnity provisions
Project Management
Plan, execute, and control your projects.
- Pre-Construction Planning — Comprehensive planning before breaking ground
- Project Startup & Kickoff — First 2 weeks checklist for starting right
- Schedule Management — CPM, look-aheads, and delay management
- Meeting Management — Running effective OAC and coordination meetings
- Daily Reporting — What to include and why it matters
- Document Control — File naming, folder structures, and version control
- Submittal Management — Tracking, review process, and avoiding delays
- Delay Claims — Documenting and pursuing delay damages
- BIM/VDC Basics — Introduction to Building Information Modeling
Field Operations
Day-to-day field management.
- Material Management — Procurement, receiving, storage, and tracking
- Equipment Management — Rent vs buy, tracking, and maintenance
- Photo Documentation — Best practices for disputes and progress tracking
- Jobsite Issue Tracking — Stop losing issues in email threads
- As-Built Documentation — Creating and maintaining accurate as-built drawings
Quality & Closeout
Deliver quality work and close out smoothly.
- Quality Control — Inspections, preventing rework, and QC programs
- Punch List Management — Closing out projects faster
- Project Closeout — Documentation and retention release
- Warranty Administration — Managing post-closeout warranty obligations
Subcontractor Management
Work effectively with your subs.
- Subcontractor Management — Prequalification, contracts, and coordination
- Backcharges Guide — When and how to backcharge subcontractors
Estimating & Cost Control
Bid accurately and track your costs.
- Construction Estimating — Quantity takeoffs and building accurate bids
- Labor Cost Tracking — Know your true labor cost by project
- Cost Coding Guide — Setting up and using cost codes effectively
Business Development
Grow your company and win more work.
- Finding New Clients — Where to find your next customer
- Qualifying Opportunities — Which jobs to pursue and which to skip
- Proposal Writing — Win more work with better proposals
- Pricing Strategy — How to price construction work to win bids and make money
- Marketing for Contractors — Practical marketing strategies for construction companies
- Client Retention — Turn one-time clients into repeat customers
- Networking for Contractors — Building relationships that lead to work
Finance & Accounting
Manage your money and stay profitable. From basics to enterprise-level.
Fundamentals
- Construction Accounting 101 — Fundamentals of construction accounting
- Cash Flow Management — Survive and thrive with proper cash management
- Job Costing Basics — Track profitability by project
- Financial Statements — Understanding your P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow
- Overhead & Markup — Price your work to make money
- Tax Strategies — Legal ways to minimize your tax burden
Advanced / Enterprise
- Financial KPIs Dashboard — Key performance indicators every contractor should track
- Banking Relationships — Building and maintaining strong banking relationships
- Joint Venture Accounting — Financial management for JVs and partnerships
- Revenue Recognition (ASC 606) — Percentage of completion, variable consideration
- ERP Selection Guide — Choosing construction accounting software
- Chart of Accounts — Construction-specific COA setup
Leadership & Team
Build and lead high-performing teams.
- Hiring Field Workers — Finding and attracting skilled tradespeople
- Developing Foremen — Grow your best workers into leaders
- Managing Superintendents — Getting the most from your field leaders
- Retention Strategies — Keep your best people from leaving
- Building Company Culture — Create a workplace people want to join