Running the business
Which job types made money this season, and which to stop pricing
Find out which job types made money this season by measuring gross profit per crew-day, not margin percent, then decide what to reprice, move or stop selling.
Blog
The Pavr blog.
Pricing, change orders, job costs and getting paid, written for paving and concrete contractors.
Running the business
Seasonal layoffs: getting your best crew back in the spring
How to handle seasonal layoffs at a paving company so your best operators come back in April: who to keep through winter, what to say, and when to call.
Crews and the field
Winterizing paving equipment, the sealcoat rig and the yard
Winterizing paving equipment the week the plant closes: the paver and rollers, the sealcoat rig, the crack melter, the striper, the material and the yard.
Billing and cash
Collecting past-due invoices before winter
Collect past-due invoices before winter: sort them by age and reason, fix what's on your side, call with a plan, hold new work, and know your lien deadlines.
Estimating
Flying a parking lot with a drone: a map you can price from
How to fly a parking lot with a drone so the map is good enough to price from: a grid flight, overlap, height, light, an empty lot and a tape check.
Billing and cash
Closing out a paving job: punch list, final invoice, retainage
Closing out a paving job is the work between the crew's last day and the last dollar: punch list, final invoice, waivers, retainage and a look at the numbers.
Crews and the field
Fall sealcoating: temperature cutoffs and the year's last lots
Fall sealcoating runs on temperature cutoffs and short days. How to read the 50°F rule, count the lots you can seal and move the rest to spring in writing.
Sales and customers
Late-season pricing: what to book before the plant closes
Late-season pricing means counting the paving days you have left, booking the work that can't wait, pricing in the cold, and selling the rest for spring.
Crews and the field
Crew time clocks and overtime: hours from the job, not memory
A crew time clock that holds up: when paid time starts, how meal and rest breaks count, and how overtime is figured over a 40-hour workweek, with the math.
Sales and customers
Winning repeat sealcoat and striping work from property managers
Property managers give repeat sealcoat and striping work to the contractor who fits their budget cycle, keeps tenants parking and makes the paperwork easy.
Running the business
Subcontracting milling and striping: quotes, schedules and waits
How to get milling and striping quotes you can price from, put the subs on the schedule in the right order, and keep your paving crew from waiting on anyone.
Running the business
Job costing for paving contractors: know it in July
Job costing is checking what a paving job cost against the estimate while the job's still running. Here's how to do it without adding a day of office work.
Try it on one of your own jobs.
Draw a lot you priced last month, price it with your own numbers, and see what it would have made. Free for 14 days, no credit card.