Billing and cash
Time and materials work without the argument
Time and materials work stays out of arguments when rates, a not-to-exceed cap, a signed daily ticket and a weekly bill are agreed before the crew starts.
Blog
The Pavr blog.
Pricing, change orders, job costs and getting paid, written for paving and concrete contractors.
Billing and cash
Invoice the day the punch list closes
Send the final invoice the day the punch list closes: build it before the last item is fixed, attach what the customer signed, and put a date on the money.
Billing and cash
Working for a GC: pay apps, retainage and lien waivers
Working for a GC, you get paid through pay apps with retainage held and lien waivers attached. How the monthly cycle runs and what gets a pay app sent back.
Running the business
Asphalt yield: why the tickets beat the estimate
You priced 90 tons and the plant tickets say 104. That gap is yield, and it's one of the quietest ways a paving job loses money. Here's where the extra tons go.
Crews and the field
Sealcoat cure time, new asphalt and when the striper comes back
Sealcoat cure time sets the order on a lot: new asphalt cures first, sealer dries before paint, and striping comes twice. How to schedule and price the waits.
Crews and the field
Daily logs that back you up when a customer disputes the bill
What a paving daily log needs so it settles a billing dispute: hours, quantities by area, delays with times, who said what, and photos taken the same day.
Crews and the field
Paving crews in summer heat: water, shade, rest and start times
Keeping a paving crew safe in summer heat: how much water to bring, where the shade goes, breaks that fit the paver, new-hire ramp-up and moving the start time.
Billing and cash
Retainage and progress billing for paving jobs
On commercial and public paving work you bill as you go, and the owner holds back a percentage until the end. How progress billing and retainage really work.
Crews and the field
Rain days in paving: moving the schedule without losing the week
How to handle rain days in paving: make the call by a set time, slide the whole day forward instead of reshuffling jobs, and book the month with rain in it.
Sales and customers
Change orders on paving jobs: signed before, billed after
Change orders on paving jobs go wrong in two places: work done before anyone signs, and signed work that never reaches the invoice. How to close both gaps.
Estimating
Mill and fill vs. overlay: how to price each one
Milling changes the whole price: material transport, sweeping, heavier tack and a tighter tonnage number. Mill and fill vs. overlay, on the lot and on paper.
Estimating
How to price parking lot striping: stalls, feet and layout
Price parking lot striping from real linear feet, gallons at your line width, stencils counted each and layout time, not a flat price per stall.
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