You bid the job right. Your crew performed. But by the final invoice, the margin is gone. The culprit is almost never poor workmanship. It's the contract, signed before anyone clearly understood who absorbs overruns, who pays for scope changes, and who takes the hit when material prices spike mid-project. At Construction Cost Accounting , we see this pattern constantly. Choosing the wrong contract type is one of the most expensive mistakes a contractor can make, and it's enti

Service calls turn into cash drains when untracked hours and surprise parts eat your margins alive. The wrong job costing method, whether time & materials or fixed bid can hide 20-30% losses until jobs close, forcing you to chase payments or cut crew. Mastering these approaches isn't optional; it's how you turn reactive repairs into predictable profits while keeping clients happy and books balanced. The problem isn't just choosing between time & materials and fixed bid. It's

Nearly 60% of contractors don't accurately track job costs, leading to profit margins 15-25% lower than they should be. Unlike new construction, service work involves emergency calls, unpredictable repairs, and constantly changing conditions that make accurate job costing both critical and difficult. Your billing model, Time & Materials (T&M) or Fixed Bid fundamentally changes how you track costs, recognize revenue, and protect your margins. Get this wrong, and profits leak a