Markup-Overhead-Profit

  • Client reactions to costs

    Sticker shock is universal, and clients each respond differently. It's up to you to manage expectations and present cost issues in a way that clients understand and feel comfortable with.

     
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    Account Ability

    There is always more than one road to get you to your destination, but one of those roads is usually better than the others. It's the same with accounting. All three main methods — cash, accrual, percent complete — will get you to the same cumulative gross profit, but according to Judith Miller, an...

     
  • Slowdown Strategies

    I'm not much of a prognosticator, but I've heard a number of rumblings that make me wonder just how robust 2006 will be for remodelers.

     
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    Seeking work-life balance

    After running Sass Construction for 25 years, Mark Sass (Big50 2002) decided that he needed to create better balance between his work and his life.

     
  • Calculate economic scenarios

    With all the uncertainty about the economy, now is the perfect time to play “What if” with your business.

     
  • Should margins vary with job size

    Most remodelers base their margins not merely on what is required to cover overhead and profit, but on what the market will bear. In a competitive market, they may need to cut margin to win the work. On the flip side, the busier they get, the more they can charge. Some remodelers also raise margins...

     
  • Compensation packages keep salespeople cranking

    Here's how four high-end remodelers have solved the sales commission problem.

     
  • A Trend Indeed

    A benchmark is like a line in the sand against which we measure ourselves. But comparing actual performance with a benchmark is a static measurement. Unless we've reached the goal, we have no idea whether we're moving closer to it or further away. A benchmark can help us find out where we are, but...

     
  • Be careful with costs

    A critical benchmark of good financial health is keeping your actual job costs within 2% of projected job costs. This requires the close cooperation of all departments and the willingness to follow these essential guidelines:

     
  • Indicator of business health

    Can you pick just one number to use as the weather vane of your company's success? The owner of a start-up company worries most about staying busy when the current job ends, so he might choose backlog.