Let’s Start at the Beginning: What Is WIP?

WIP (Work In Progress) is a report that answers one simple question:

How much of this job is actually done—and how much money should I have earned by now?

In construction, work and money don’t move at the same time.

• Pay for labor and materials today
• Bill the client next month
• Finish the job six months from now

WIP exists to bridge that timing gap.

Without it, your financial reports can’t tell the difference between:

• Real profit
• Temporary cash
• Hidden losses

Why Normal Accounting Doesn’t Work for Construction

Traditional accounting assumes:

• Work starts and finishes quickly
• Invoices line up with costs
• Revenue equals billing

Construction breaks all of those rules.

Jobs:

• Span months (or years)
• Change constantly
• Are billed in stages

So when you look at a normal Profit & Loss report without WIP, you’re seeing:

• Costs that hit early
• Revenue that hits late
• Profit that looks better—or worse—than reality

WIP fixes that distortion.

What a WIP Report Actually Does

A WIP report compares three things on every job:

1. Contract value – what you’re supposed to earn
2. Estimated total cost – what you expect the job to cost
3. Actual costs to date – what you’ve spent so far

From that, WIP calculates:

• Percent complete
• Earned revenue
• Over- or under-billing

Here’s the key idea:

You don’t earn revenue by sending an invoice.

You earn revenue by completing work.

WIP makes your financials follow the work—not the billing schedule.

Key WIP Terms (In Plain English)

Contract Value

The total agreed price for the job, including approved change orders.

If this number is wrong, WIP is wrong.

Estimated Cost

What you expect the job to cost when finished.

This must be updated as scope and costs of the project change.

Outdate estimates = inaccurate margins.

Actual Cost

What you’ve actually spent so far:

• Labor
• Materials
• Subs
• Equipment
• Direct Proejct Cost (Other project-related costs)

Missing project costs make jobs look healthier than they are.

Percent Complete

Actual Cost ÷ Estimated Total Cost

This removes guessing and optimism.

Earned Revenue

Contract Value × Percent Complete

This is how much revenue you should have recognized by now.

Over- or Under-Billing

Earned Revenue ? Amount Invoiced

• Over-billing = billed ahead of work…(you’ve received more money than you’ve earned)
• Under-billing = work done but not billed…(you’re spent more money than you’ve received)

Neither is “bad.”

Not knowing is.

Why Construction Businesses Must Use WIP

If your jobs last more than a couple of months, WIP is not optional.

Without it:

• P&L swings wildly month to month
• Losses don’t show up until the job closes
• Cash decisions are based on hope instead of what’s happening
• Big surprises show up late

With it:

• Profit is recognized correctly over time
• Problems show up early
• Operational gaps can be closed quickly
• Decisions are grounded in reality

WIP isn’t magic. It doesn’t produce more profit.

It makes profit, or lack of it, visible…starting with the first invoice.

Solve this problem now.

You can’t outwork the math of your construction business.

Schedule your Operational Assessment with the Data Mule Agency and let us handle your books, job costing, and WIP reports.

How a WIP Report Is Generated (Step by Step)

Step 1: Clean Job Setup

Every job must start with:

• Correct contract value
• Realistic cost estimate
• Proper cost codes

No shortcuts here.

Step 2: Accurate Job Costing Workflow

All bills, payroll, and expenses must be:

• Entered on time
• Assigned to the correct job
• Cost coded correctly

Missed costs = inflated margins and bad decisions.

Step 3: Updated Estimates

As the job changes, the estimate must change.

If costs rise but the estimate stays frozen, WIP breaks.

Step 4: Calculate Percent Complete

Based on actual cost vs estimated total cost.

This keeps emotion out of the math.

Step 5: Recognize Earned Revenue

Revenue reported on work completed—not cash received.

This is where WIP corrects the P&L.

Step 6: Adjust Over- and Under-Billings

These adjustments live on the balance sheet and keep income honest.

PRO TIP:

Check out Adaptive.

This financial operational platform plugs into your Quickbooks, and can automate much of the WIP workflow.

But only if the inputs are clean and the job costing workflow is followed.

Monthly vs Weekly WIP

Monthly WIP

Required. Non-negotiable.

Keeps the books accurate.

Weekly WIP

With the proper systems in place and transactions recorded through a properly designed bookkeeping workflow, your WIP stay updated in real-time.

Your Project Managers and Operations Team will have a powerful tool to track, audit, and plan project progress on a weekly basis.

Weekly WIP reviews catch:

• Missed invoices
• Cost overruns
• Forgotten change orders
• Scope creep
• Production delays

Monthly WIP directs financial decisions of the overall business.

Weekly WIP keeps the individual projects on track to meet your goals.

When WIP Feels Painful, Look Upstream

Here’s the truth most builders miss:

WIP doesn’t create problems. It reveals them.

If WIP feels frustrating, the issue is usually:

• Poor job costing
• Outdated budgets
• Sloppy billing
• Inconsistent bookkeeping
• Untrained or lazy team members

Fix those inputs and WIP becomes boring, and boring is good.

PRO TIP: WIP Is Not Just A Report—It’s the Truth About Your Business

A WIP report doesn’t fix problems.

It reveals them.

When WIP is accurate, it shows you:

• Which jobs are really making money
• Which ones are drifting off plan
• Where costs are outpacing progress
• Whether billing matches production

That’s why WIP can feel uncomfortable.

It shines a light on things that are easy to ignore when you’re busy:

• Budgets that were never updated
• Change orders that weren’t processed
• Costs that weren’t coded correctly
• Jobs that “feel fine” but aren’t

If WIP looks messy, it’s not because WIP is complicated.

It’s because something upstream is broken.

Clean WIP means:

• Clean job setup
• Clean cost tracking
• Clean billing
• Clean estimates

In other words, WIP is a mirror.

And what you see in it is an honest reflection of how well your business systems are actually running.

Core Systems Required To Run Your WIP

1. Cost Code Structure

WIP depends on knowing where money is spent.

• Separate labor, materials, subs, equipment, and direct costs
• Be consistent across estimating, job costing, and accounting
• Be simple enough for the field to use

2. Project Accounting (Job-Cost-Level Accounting)

Every dollar must land in a specific job and cost code.

No floating expenses. No guesswork.

3. Receipt & Bill Capture & Documentation

If a cost exists, documentation must exist.

Receipts and invoices should be attached to every transaction at the time of purchase—not months later.

4. AR / AP Approval Workflow

WIP depends on complete and approved data.

Clear rules are required for:

• Bill approval
• Invoice timing
• Expenses and Bill Payment approval workflow

It’s not only important to document every dollar spent, but also assign who approves the dollars to be spent.

5. Weekly Bookkeeping Updates

Monthly bookkeeping and account reconcialtion is not enough.

WIP requires:

• Weekly cost entry
• Disciplined payroll posting for every hour spent on a project
• Weekly audit of correct job costing

6. Project Audit Process

Someone must regularly review:

• Contract value vs change orders
• Cost trends vs estimates
• Billing vs progress

This is where small problems get caught early.

7. Purchase Order (PO) Workflow

POs provide a first line of defense against margin leaks and scope creep.

They reduce surprises and tie the estimate to the subcontractors and vendors agreements/quotes

A solid PO workflow means no money can leave the business without an assigned PO and passing through the approval workflow.

8. Estimating System With Ongoing Updates

The WIP is only as good as accuracy of the underlying estimate.

If the estimate changes, the budget in the WIP changes to.

If the WIP budget doesn’t match the current estimate in scope and price, then you’re using outdate data to make to future decisions.

Decisions made with bad data always erode margins.

9. Accounting & Project Management Platform Mapping

Your systems must speak the same language.

• Matching cost codes
• Clean syncing
• Defined data workflow

Broken mappings = duplications or missing transactions = overstated/understand profit margins

In other words, systems that without proper mappings and data workflows cause chaos throughout the business.

The Bottom Line about WIP Reports

WIP is not just a bookkeeping and accounting exercise.

It’s a truth test for your business.

It tells you:

• What you’ve spent
• What you’ve earned
• How accurate your budget is
• Where the operational gaps are between the field and the office
• Whether profit is real or imagined

SIDE NOTE: At the Data Mule Agency, we produce your WIP report using Adaptive – one of our software partners.

Check out their podcast Builders, Budgets, and Beers.

And if you book a demo here, then tell them I sent you.

The post What Is a WIP Report? A Simple Guide for Construction Businesses appeared first on Shawn Van Dyke.

Most contractors aren’t profitable.

They’re guesing at what their price should be, and thier books aren’t set up to paint a clear financial picture.

This confusion creates a cash flow problem.

Money comes in.
Bills go out.
Whatever’s left is supposed to be profit.

Except there’s usually nothing left.

That’s where Profit First for Contractors comes in.

This system isn’t about fancy accounting tricks or complex formulas.

It’s based on simple math and normal human behavior.

Profit is the reason you’re in business. This system forces you to deal with profit first.

The One Change That Fixes Everything

Most businesses follow this formula:

Sales – Expenses = Profit

Profit First for Contractors flips it:

Sales – Profit = Expenses

Same math. Different behavior.

Instead of hoping profit shows up, you plan for it first.

Then the business has to operate on what’s left.

If there’s not enough left over, then you change the way you operate the business.

You don’t steal from the profit.

That’s the whole system.

The Five Accounts That Create Clarity

You don’t need fancy software. You need a clear view of the cash in your construction business.

Profit First for Contractors uses five foundational bank accounts:

1. Income – All money lands here first, then you allocate this money to the other accounts every two weeks.

2. Profit – This is real profit. You don’t touch it except for quarterly distributions.

3. Tax – Money set aside for the business’ taxes. You don’t have to wait on your CPA to tell you what to do.

4. Owner’s Compensation (OwnComp) – This is your salary for working in the business.

5. Operating Expenses (OpEx) – This is the account used to pay all your bills.

When the OpEx account gets tight, that’s your business giving you feedback that you need to change the way you’re operating.

This Works Because Humans Aren’t Spreadsheets

Profit First works for the same reason the old envelope method worked.

When the cash in your business gets organized and profits prioritized, behavior changes.

This framework provides your business with operational discipline that’s difficult to ignore.

You’ve either got the money in your accounts to pay yourself and your bills, or you don’t.

Profit First for Contrators provides a constant feedback loop, without the need for confusing financial reports.

How the Money Moves

Twice a month…on the 10th and 25th:

• All revenue comes into the Income account
• You allocate all the dollars in the Income account to the other four accounts based on pre-determined percentages
• You pay your bills from the Operating Expenses account
• Get back to running your business

That’s it.

Money comes in. You allocate it to the various parts of your business. You pay your bills. You get back to work.

If there’s not enough money in the accounts, you fix what’s wrong.

Simple…with no CPA required.

Profit First Is Not Accounting

This part matters.

Profit First does not replace accounting.

You need proper construction business bookkeeping.

You need a trusted CPA.

You need clean financial reports.

But you don’t have to wait on any of these to manage the cash and profit in your construvtoin business.

Profit First for Contrators is about cash control.

Accounting is about financial history.

When those two work together, the numbers finally make sense and decision become clear.

Why Bank Balance and P&L Don’t Always Match

Here’s where contractors get tripped up.

• Owner draws don’t show up on the P&L
• Loan payments don’t show as expenses
• Equipment purchases hit cash before depreciation

So the P&L can look “fine” while the bank account feels empty.

Profit First fixes that disconnect by managing real money first.

Profit Comes From Value, Not Volume

More work does not guarantee more profit.

Bigger jobs can actually hide bad pricing.

Profit comes from:

• Calculating the proper margins for every project
• Selling value instead of price
• Saying no to clients/projects that don’t create margin for the business

Profit First forces those decisions rearly in the sales process.

If you can’t calculate how the project is going to make you money, then you don’t do it.

Paying Yourself the Right Way

Owners/operators wear too many hats.

Project manager

Sales

Estimator

Office Manager

Your pay should reflect the market cost to replace you—not whatever is left.

If you’re not charging your customers for the value of all the roles your perform, then you’ll never have the cash to hire those positions as you grow.

Taxes Stop Being Scary

When tax money is set aside as deposits come in:

• No scrambling
• No extensions
• No panic

You pay your estimated taxes each quarter from the Tax account.

At the end of the year, your CPA will calculate exactly what you owe the governement for that year.

But since you’ve been paying your taxes as the year progressed, you won’t be surprised with that final tax bill.

Working With Your Bookkeeper/CPA

Some bookkeepers and CPAs don’t like the Profit First system.

That’s okay.

Get a bookkeeper/CPA who understands how effective the Profit First system is.

Profit First doesn’t break accounting rules.

It enhances financial clarity in the business.

When bookkeepers/CPAs see cleaner cash flow and fewer surprises, they usually come around.

Fire Your Bookkeeper. Hire An OPS Team

You can’t outwork the math of your construction business.

If your books are a mess and they stress you out, we can fix that for you.

If you want the Profit First system installed in your business and you’ve always struggled with job costing, we can fix that, too.

Schedule your Operational Assessment with the Data Mule Agency and let’s see if we’re a good fit for your construction business.

How to Get Started

1. Open the five accounts at your bank: Income, Tax, Owner’s Comp, and OPEX

2. Transfer 1% of today’s total bank balance into your Profit account and 1% of total bank balance into your Tax account

(it’s only 2%…you’re not going to miss it)

3. Next month, start allocating your income to the other accounts

Here’s a good place to start: 1% Profit, 1% Tax, 8% Owner’s Comp, and 90% OPEX.

4. Do allocations twice a month, on the 10th and 25th

5. Review and adjust quarterly

Next quarter, add 1% to Profit, 1% to Tax, keep Owner’s Comp at 8%, and reduce the OPEX to 88%

Don’t aim for perfect.

Aim for simple.

PRO TIP:

Your final allocation percentages may be different, but this is just how to start.

You’ll eventually need to crunch the numbers and determine what percentages work for you.

The most important step in the Profit First for Contractors system is the “Start.

Final Thought

Profit First isn’t about being aggressive.

It’s about being intentional.

When profit is prioritized and can be seen in a bank account, then you know what’s working and what’s not.

The post Profit First for Contractors: How to Fix Cash Flow and Pay Yourself First appeared first on Shawn Van Dyke.

Most contractors get confused about how to pay themselves:

• A regular salary or…
• Taking Owner’s Draws

Once that line gets blurry, the financial reports stop telling the truth.

Without a clear structure to separate pay for working in the business from actual profit, everything downstream gets harder to interpret.

If everything is blended together:

• You can’t tell what you’re actually paying yourself
• You can’t tell whether the business is profitable
• You can’t make confident decisions based on the numbers

That’s a cash structure problem.

Your Role in the Business Has a Price Tag

If you perform work in the business, that work has value.

Project management has value.
Estimating has value.
Sales has value.
Operations has value.

Those roles exist in every functioning company. The only difference in a small construction business is that the owner often fills more than one role.

Ignoring the value of those roles doesn’t make the business more profitable. It just hides the true cost of operating the company.

Wearing Multiple Hats Changes the Math

Many owners wear multiple hats early on. That’s normal.

What’s not normal is pretending those hats don’t cost anything.

If you had to replace the work you do with employees or subcontracted roles, you’d quickly realize it would take more than one person.

When that reality isn’t reflected in your numbers, pricing decisions start from the wrong baseline.

That’s how businesses end up dependent on the owner working longer hours just to make the numbers work.

Fix the Structure Before You Fix the Numbers

Paying Yourself vs. Owner’s Draw

These two get lumped together all the time. They shouldn’t.

Paying yourself is compensation for working in the business. It should be planned, consistent, and show up clearly in your financial reports.

An owner’s draw is access to profit. That money comes out after the business has paid its expenses and covered compensation.

When those two buckets are mixed together, it becomes impossible to tell whether the business model actually works without the owner’s personal sacrifice.

Entity Type Matters

How you take money out of the business depends on how the business is structured.

A sole proprietor, an LLC, and an S-corp all have different rules around compensation, payroll, and taxes. Pulling money out without understanding those rules can create problems that don’t show up until much later.

This is why owner compensation should be intentional and coordinated with your CPA—not handled reactively when there’s cash in the account.

Structure Creates Clarity

When owner pay and profit are clearly separated:

• Financial reports become easier to read
• Cash flow becomes more predictable
• Tax planning becomes more controlled

Separate accounts, clear categories, and consistent rules remove the guesswork from decision-making. The business starts telling you what’s actually happening instead of forcing you to interpret noise.

The Point of Paying Yourself Correctly

This isn’t about paying yourself more.

It’s about knowing:

• What the business costs to run
• What the business actually earns
• Whether the company can stand on its own

When owner compensation is structured correctly, growth decisions are based on real data—not optimism, stress, or longer hours.

Final Thought

If you don’t know whether the money you’re taking is pay or profit, the numbers aren’t doing their job.

Fixing owner compensation is a cash structure decision. And once that structure is in place, everything else in the business becomes easier to see—and easier to manage.

The post How Construction Business Owners Should Pay Themselves appeared first on Shawn Van Dyke.

When was the last time you felt good talking about money with a client?

For most contractors, money conversations come with pressure.

Not because the price is wrong—but because the cash hasn’t shown up yet.

You’ve already done the work.

You’ve already paid labor and materials.

And now you’re waiting on the next progress payment to catch up.

That’s not a pricing issue.

That’s a cash flow issue.

And it usually means you’re financing the job.

SIDE NOTE: Watch this video where I coach a contractor how the Bill Early – Bill Often rules work.

Here are the three rules that keep cash flowing on large projects.

The post Are You Financing Your Clients Job appeared first on Shawn Van Dyke.

TL;DR

• Most contractors struggle with estimated vs. actual job costs because their cost code structure is wrong, not because their team isn’t trying.
• Cost codes should not match estimate line items.
• Cost codes should track how money is spent (labor, materials, subs, equipment) across where it’s spent (phases or sections of work).
• Keep cost codes simple. Train your team on patterns—not memorization.
• Then reverse-engineer your estimating system to align with those codes.
• That’s how job costing becomes a management tool instead of a hindsight report.

NEXT STEPS: Schedule your Operational Assessment and evaluate what’s working and what’s not

Quick gut check

If you pulled a job cost report right now, would you trust it enough to make decisions during the job—not after?

If the answer is “not really,” the issue is almost always structure—not effort.

Explore the systems inside the Academy Community

Take Action Now

If field systems don’t communicate with office systems, operational gaps develop.

Those gaps delay decisions, mask problems, and drain profit.

We install operational systems that translate jobsite activity into real business data.

The post How Contractors Should Use Cost Codes for Job Costing appeared first on Shawn Van Dyke.

If there’s one thing every construction client says they want, it’s this:

“Just keep me up-to-date.”

But what they usually mean is:

“I don’t like surprises.”

Most client frustration in construction doesn’t come from bad news.
It comes from unexpected news.

And that’s why one of the most important rules in client experience is this:

Never surprise the client.
Delight them constantly.

Why Surprises Create Stress in Construction

Surprises sound good in theory.

In real life, they trigger fear.

Think about a surprise birthday party.
The first reaction isn’t joy.
It’s panic.

Construction projects work the same way.

Clients are already:

• Spending more money than they ever have
• Making decisions they don’t fully understand
• Living with uncertainty for months

So when something “pops up,” even if it’s small, their stress level spikes.

The No-Surprise Rule Explained

The No-Surprise Rule doesn’t mean:

• Nothing will go wrong
• Costs won’t change
• Decisions won’t evolve

It means nothing should feel unexpected.

Good builders don’t hide problems.
They pre-frame them.

That’s the difference.

Pre-Framing: The Secret to Calm Clients

Pre-framing means explaining problems before they happen.

Examples:

• “There will be change orders. Here’s how we handle them.”
• “Some decisions will cost more later if they’re delayed.”
• “There will be things we can’t see until walls are open.”

When these things show up later, the client thinks:

“I remember this conversation.”

That single thought changes everything.

Why “Good” Surprises Still Backfire

Many builders try to soften the blow by saying:

• “We found a better option.”
• “This will actually improve the project.”
• “It’s good news!”

But if the client wasn’t expecting any change, their brain doesn’t hear “good.”

It hears:

“Something is out of control.”

That’s why even positive changes should be introduced carefully and within a clear process.

Change Orders Are a Process Problem, Not a People Problem

Most change-order conflict comes down to this:

The client didn’t understand:

• When decisions needed to be made
• What those decisions affected
• What happens if they change later

That’s not because they’re difficult.
It’s because they weren’t prepared.

A clear change-order process should answer:

• When changes are allowed
• What the changes will cost
• How the changes affect the schedule
• Where the changes and decisions are documented

When clients know the rules ahead of time, they argue less when those rules apply.

The Cost of Avoiding Hard Conversations Early

Many builders avoid uncomfortable conversations during sales because they don’t want to scare clients away.

Ironically, that’s what scares clients later.

If you don’t talk about:

• Cost increases
• Delays
• Mistakes
• Unknowns

…those topics still show up. Just without context.

And without context, everything feels personal.

Why This Rule Builds Trust (Not Transparency)

Clients often say they want “transparency.”

What they really want is confidence.

Confidence comes from:

• A clear process
• Consistent communication
• Predictable responses to problems

When you say:

“Here’s how we handle this.”

…clients relax.

That’s trust.

Sidenote: Watch this video by Rachel Botsman where she shows that Transparecny Is Not Trust

This Only Works If Your Team Is Aligned

The No-Surprise Rule breaks down when:

• Sales says one thing
• Production says another
• Accounting delivers a different message

AND…

• Nothing is documented

That’s not a communication problem.
That’s a systems problem.

Everyone on your team should understand:

• What has already been pre-framed
• What language to use
• How decisions are escalated

Consistency matters more than perfection.

Final Thought: Predictability Beats Perfection

Clients don’t expect perfection.

They expect:

• Honesty
• Preparation
• Leadership

When you remove surprises, you remove fear.
When you remove fear, trust grows.

And when trust grows, projects go smoother — even when things go wrong.

Want Help Building Client-Ready Systems?

If this idea makes sense but feels hard to execute consistently, you’re not alone.

Inside the Built to Build Academy®, we’ve created The Monorail Map system which gives you a step-by-step plan for creating first-class client expereicne.

The Monorail Map system gives you:

• Client communication framework
• Detailed and sutomatice change-order processes
• Real-world scripts and examples

Get access to The Monorail Map system and the entire Academy Training Library when you enroll as a Executive or Mentor Member.

Enroll here today and put this system in place before your next sales call.

Want to hear this concept explained in a real conversation?

Click here and listen to Episode 63 of the AFT Podcast with Brad Leavitt.

I take a deep-dive into how to create happy clients with the Monorail Map system, plus a whole lot more.

The post How Builders Create Better Client Experiences appeared first on Shawn Van Dyke.

Stop Micromanagement by Fixing Your Client Communication System

If you’ve ever said this out loud—or thought it quietly—you’re not alone:

“This client is driving me crazy.”

Daily texts. Endless questions. Decisions popping up way too early. Constant anxiety about things that aren’t even happening yet.

Here’s the hard truth most contractors don’t want to hear:

Most micromanaging clients aren’t bad clients.
They’re confused clients.

When people feel lost inside a construction project, they try to take control. That’s when stress increases. That’s when timelines stretch. That’s when profit starts leaking.

And it usually comes down to three questions your client is constantly asking:

• Where am I right now?
• How does this part work?
• What’s coming next?

If your communication system doesn’t answer those questions clearly, your client will try to answer them for you.

That’s where problems begin.

The solution is simple:

Answer those three questions — in the right order — at the right time.

Let’s break it down.

Step 1: Answer “Where Am I?”

If a client doesn’t know what phase they’re in, they assume they should be somewhere else.

That’s how you get questions about tile when you’re still pouring footings.

Your clients are spending a lot of money on something they may never do again. They don’t understand the construction process. They don’t know what’s normal. And they don’t know what’s a red flag.

So their brain keeps asking:

Where am I right now?

If your system doesn’t answer that clearly, they will try to answer it themselves.

That’s where micromanagement starts.

This is why we teach the Monorail Map.

Think about riding a monorail in a major city or airport.

You can’t get lost.
You can only be in one place at a time.
There are clear stops along the way.

Your construction process should feel the same way to your client.

When you clearly define your phases — pre-construction, design, framing, finishes — and show the client exactly where they are, anxiety drops immediately. Here’s what answering “Where am I?” requires:

• Clearly defined project phases
• A visual roadmap clients can reference
• Regular reminders of the current phase
• A firm rule that clients stay in one phase at a time

When clients know exactly where they are, they stop guessing.

And when they stop guessing, they stop trying to take control.

Step 2: Answer “How Does This Work?”

Once a client knows where they are, their next question is:

How does this part work?

What decisions are being made right now?
Who is responsible?
What should I expect during this phase?

If you don’t define those things clearly, the client will define them for you.

And when clients fill in the blanks, they usually assume the worst.

They assume silence means something is wrong.
They assume normal construction delays are mistakes.
They assume uncertainty means incompetence.

Not because they’re difficult.

Because they don’t understand the process.

This is where most builders unintentionally create anxiety.

Answering “How does this work?” requires you to clearly communicate:

• What decisions belong in this phase
• Who is responsible for each decision
• What a normal timeline looks like
• What is not happening yet
• When the client needs to be involved again

When clients understand how this phase works, they relax.

They stop looking for problems that aren’t there.

They stop inserting themselves into decisions that aren’t theirs yet.

Clarity reduces emotional friction.

And emotional friction is what slows projects down.

Step 3: Answer “What’s Next?”

Even after clients understand where they are and how this phase works, their mind keeps moving forward.

What’s next?

When do I need to make another decision?
What’s the next milestone?
What’s coming up that could impact cost or schedule?

If you don’t control that forward visibility, clients will try to plan the entire project at once.

That’s when they start jumping between:

Design decisions
Budget questions
Construction details
Future upgrades

This is where the Monorail Map rule matters most:

A client can only exist in one phase at a time.

Your job is to say:

Here’s where you are.
Here’s how this phase works.
Here’s what’s next — when we get there. That’s leadership.

Here’s why this matters in the real world.

Imagine a client waits until drywall is about to begin before finalizing door selections.

From their perspective, it feels harmless.

From your perspective:

• Door selections affect framing
• Framing affects drywall timing
• Drywall timing affects inspections
• Inspections affect every trade that follows

One late decision creates a chain reaction.

When you proactively answer “What’s next?” you prevent that chain reaction before it starts.

Answering this question requires:

• A clear sequence of upcoming milestones
• Defined windows for decisions
• Visibility into how timing impacts cost
• Firm boundaries around when decisions close

When clients know what’s next, they stop trying to control everything at once.

And when they stay in sequence, projects move faster and smoother.

How the Monorail Map Reduces Micromanagement

When you consistently answer:

Where am I?
How does this work?
What’s next?

Micromanagement drops automatically.

Not because your clients changed.

Because uncertainty disappeared.

When clients understand the map:

• They stop asking questions that don’t apply yet
• They stop jumping ahead
• They trust the process instead of guessing
• They let you lead

Micromanagement is rarely about personality.

It’s almost always about uncertainty.

Remove the uncertainty, and the behavior changes.

This Only Works If Your Systems Are Clear

Here’s the part most builders miss:

You cannot communicate clarity externally if your systems are chaotic internally.

The Monorail Map only works if your:

• Budget is accurate
• Schedule is realistic
• Job costing is up to date
• Communication tools are aligned

If those systems are disconnected, clients will feel it.

Even if you never say it out loud.

Clear systems create clear communication.

Clear communication creates trust.

And trust protects your time, energy, and profit.

Final Thought: Your Job Is to Guide, Not React

Clients do not actually want to manage their project.

They want to feel confident that someone else is.

The Monorail Map helps you:

• Lead with clarity
• Reduce emotional friction
• Protect your time, energy, and profit

When clients know where they are, how this phase works, and what’s coming next, they relax.

And relaxed clients build better projects.

Want Help Building Systems To Support This?

If this framework makes sense but feels hard to implement, you don’t have to do it alone.
Inside the Built to Build Academy® Community, contractors share:

Communication frameworks
Client experience systems
Real-world examples of what actually works

Join the Academy Community — Free Advisor, Mentor, or Executive membership available.

Scared of your books and don’t have clear numbers?

We can fix that, too.
Books are a mess.
Job costing is non-existent.
Project Management platform isn’t synced with your accounting.
Almost never hear from your bookkeeper.

Schedule your Operational Assessment with our bookkeeping team (click here), and we’ll show you how the Data Mule Agency can become your out-sourced OPS team. 

The post How to Master Client Communications for Your Projects appeared first on Shawn Van Dyke.

MOST CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS OWNERS ARE NOT PROFITABLE

Most construction business owners aren’t charging enough for their work, which limits their profits and their ability to grow.

Without profits you will either go out of business, or you’ll stay afloat by not paying yourself what you should.

Both of these situations can be avoided by focusing on profit – what causes it and how to use it when you have it.

A BUSINESS WITHOUT PROFIT IS A CHARITY

Operating a business without profit is the definition of a charity. 

(Check out the simple diagram in this video for a further explanation.)

Profit is the reason you are in business. 

A lot of construction business owners say, “Well, I’m not in it for the money.”

You should be. 

You can do a lot of great things with money…aka “Profit.” 

PROFIT IMPROVES THESE 3 THINGS

Making a Profit Will Improve Your Family Life

When you make a profit, your stress level will decrease. You’ll be more confident in your business decisions. You’ll have freedom from your business. 

This means you will get your life back. Your family will get YOU back. 

Imagine going home for dinner every night worry-free. 

Imagine going on vacation or buying the things your family needs and paying for them in cash from the profits of your business.

Making a Profit Will Improve Your People’s Lives

When you make a profit, your employees get benefits. They get to work for a growing business, and growing businesses provide your employees with more opportunities.

When you have engaged employees, who love their jobs because of the opportunities, then they show this level of loyalty and culture to your customers.

Customers love to experience employees that love their jobs, and those customers will tell other people just like them.

When new customers come to you, you’ll be able to solve their problems by providing them with excellent service delivered by wonderfully engaged employees.

Profit allows you to improve the lives of more people – employees and customers.

Show me a company with disgruntled employees and unhappy customers, and I’ll show you a company with a horrible Profit and Loss Statement.

People aren’t happy when there’s no profit in the business.

Making a Profit Will Improve Your Community

When you make a profit, you’re able to give back to your community. You create jobs for people in your community.

You can donate your time and resources to causes you believe in.

You can provide mentorship to other business owners and help become a leader in your community.

No one wants to be mentored by an unpaid employee in a profitless business.

When you are profitable, you become more effective.

In fact, profit is a measure of effectiveness. 

The more effective you are, the more money you’ll make.

IF YOU’RE REALLY NOT IN IT FOR THE MONEY…

Business owners who say, “Well, I’m not in it for the money…”

Probably never made any.

You should be in business for the money, the profit, because without it, you’re running a charity.

But if you struggle with the statements above, then do this:

Go make a bunch of money and give it all away.

That’s way better than never making it in the first place.

GET THE STEP-BY-STEP SYSTEMS TO MANAGE YOUR CASH, INCREASE YOUR AVERAGE SALES PRICE, AND GET YOUR TIME BACK

Creating these systems for your business will help you make more money, stop worrying, and get your life back. 

System 1: A weekly schedule, so you accomplish more by doing less (that’s not a typo) 

System 2: A repeatable and scalable sales process that gets your customers to pay you for all the planning and estimating work you’ve been giving away for free. 

System 3: A cash management system that guarantees profits without the help of a CPA.

These 3 systems are the foundation of the Built to Start program in the Built to Build Academy®.

The Built to Build Academy® creates confident construction business owners through business training and coaching programs so you can make more money, stop worrying, and get your life back.

If you want to build a solid foundation of profitability for your construction business, then

apply for a program in the Built to Build Academy®. 

You’re going to struggle until you have these systems in place.

JOIN THE SYSTEM BUILDERS COMMUNITY FOR FREE

Wish you could connect with like-minded business owners, ask questions, get feedback, and receive a ton of free resources to manage the “business side” of your construction business?

Then click here, join the System Builders online community for free, and get access to a ton of free trainings, resources, and your new peer group of professional contractors.

The post How to Use Profits in Your Construction Business appeared first on Shawn Van Dyke.

The ABC System for Hiring Your Next Employee

Glengarry Glen Ross, a movie based on the play by David Mamet, debuted in 1992 with an all-star cast. The movie depicts a day in the life of four real estate salesmen and their dubious tactics to close less than optimal leads.

Alec Baldwin plays Blake, a suit, sent from the corporate higher-ups to motivate the lackluster sales team. Baldwin appears in only one scene, but what a scene it is!

In his curse-filled motivational speech, which has reached a cult-like status for fans of the movie, Blake explains to the sales associates that they must, “A, B, C. Always Be Closing.”

The point of this motto, Always Be Closing, is to ensure that the sales associates’ thoughts, words, and actions move their leads closer to a deal.

As the owner of a construction business, you should adopt a similar motto for your hiring process (without Blake’s colorful language, of course).

ABC – ALWAYS BE CONSIDERING

With a limited supply of skilled tradespersons, business owners should Always Be Considering from where their next employee will come, how they will recruit that employee, and when they will bring that employee on board.

Waiting until you need that new employee may be too late to meet your scheduled production demands and may cost you more when you operate from a place of desperation.

FORGET HIRING.  START RECRUITING.

Change your hiring system from a “one and done” to an “ABC” system.

Always Be Considering.

Be on the lookout for potential employees before you need them. Develop a system to identify and qualify your next employees, and initiate a conversation with them prior to your production demands.

DEVELOP A POOL OF CANDIDATES

When you identify and qualify potential employees before you need them, you will be able to choose the best person from your pool of candidates for future job openings. Not only will this ensure you get the right person for the job, but you will also make a more informed decision. You will be able to negotiate the best deal for your company and this new employee.

A recent Gallup survey shows that 67% of all employees in the United States are not engaged with their jobs.

Two-thirds of people are likely to change jobs if the right opportunity presents itself.

Present that opportunity to people, and they will respond.

You don’t have to hire everyone that responds. You are only considering them.

START THE CONVERSATION

Start the conversation with those that you consider to be All-Star performers. Demonstrate to your candidate pool that you are serious about the hiring process by being willing to wait for the right person. The right person will appreciate this level of planning and patience.
And that potential employee will be more invested in your company when you make a job offer.

ADVERTISE YOUR CULTURE

Develop a list of potential employees by creating a system that advertises the benefits, opportunities, and culture of your company, along with a description of the existing or potential jobs within your company.

Most construction business owners struggle to find skilled employees when they need them. This problem can be solved by implementing an Always Be Considering strategy for recruiting new employees.

Once you bring these new employees on board, I don’t recommend trying to motivate them like Alec Baldwin’s character, Blake, in Glengarry Glen Ross.

They will have shown their motivation by progressing through your recruiting system.

And because they have an understanding that you will Always Be Considering the next All-Star, their engagement with your company and their job will be higher.  Their performance will reflect that level of engagement.

Systems Support Better Hiring Decisions

Recruiting the right people is only half the equation. Retaining them requires clarity, stability, and confidence in how your business operates.

When your financial systems are disorganized, hiring becomes reactive. You hesitate to bring people on, delay decisions, or operate from uncertainty. DataMule helps construction business owners eliminate that friction by organizing job costs, labor data, and financial reporting into clear, usable systems. When you understand your numbers, you can hire with confidence, plan ahead, and support new team members with structure instead of stress.

Strong teams are built on strong systems. DataMule makes that possible.

If you would like to learn more about how to design and implement an Always Be Considering recruiting system for your construction business, then sign up for a FREE strategy call with me at www.shawnvandyke.com/apply/

The post The ABC system for hiring your next employee appeared first on Shawn Van Dyke.

On this episode of the Contractor’s Secret weapon, Shawn details how to attract the right people to work for your construction business and fill your skills gap.

The post How to Solve Your Construction Business’s Skills Gap Problem appeared first on Shawn Van Dyke.