Mechanic's Liens, Explained: How Subcontractors Get Paid and How Owners Defend
A mechanic's lien secures your unpaid invoice against the property — but one missed notice or deadline voids it. US filing rules and owner defenses.
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Job Costing
Track costs per project or job for accurate profitability analysis
Driveway Gate Automation Installer Bookkeeping: UL 325 Safety Costs, Job Margins, and Service Contracts
Cost UL 325 safety devices as their own COGS line, target 50% gross and 15–20% net, and book gate maintenance contracts as deferred revenue.
Septic Inspection Business Bookkeeping: Point-of-Sale Pricing, Ancillary Revenue, and Title 5 Compliance
Septic inspections average $550 nationally, from $200 annuals to $700 detailed reports. Price by tier, track credential costs, and keep pumping revenue apart.
Dog and Cat Breeder Bookkeeping: The USDA Four-Breeding-Female Rule
Keep more than four breeding females and make one sight-unseen sale, and USDA licensing applies — plus Schedule C, the IRS hobby-loss test, and state sales tax.
Guaranteed Maximum Price Contracts: The Cost-Plus Deal With a Ceiling (and Who Pays Past It)
A GMP contract caps a cost-plus job: the owner pays actual costs plus fee up to the ceiling, and the contractor absorbs overruns unless a change order moves it.
Fence and Deck Contractor Bookkeeping: Linear-Foot Job Costing, Lumber Volatility, and WIP Schedules
Fence and deck jobs lose margin between bid day and build day — price by the unit, book deposits as liabilities, and run a monthly WIP even on two-week jobs.
Baltimore's New Security Guard Wage Law: What It Means for Your Payroll and Books
Baltimore's ordinance sets a roughly $18/hour wage plus $5.50 benefits floor for security guards from January 1, 2028 — payroll taxes don't count toward it.
The Cost of Goods Manufactured Schedule: How Small Manufacturers Turn Raw Materials, Direct Labor, and Overhead Into a Real COGS Number
A COGM schedule turns raw materials, direct labor, and overhead into a real COGS — plus the WIP counts and Section 263A UNICAP limits that decide margin.
Drone Mapping Business Bookkeeping: Part 107 Costs, Equipment Depreciation, and Per-Acre Pricing That Holds Margin
A $1,500 drone survey can net a few hundred dollars once US Part 107 fees, hull and payload insurance, and MACRS depreciation enter your per-acre math.
September 30 Is Coming: How Small Contractors Can Win a Share of the Federal Q4 Spending Sprint
Agencies obligate 30–40% of annual contract dollars in Q4, peaking in September — how a small firm gets SAM-ready and quotes fast enough to win a share.
A101, A201, A401: A Small Contractor's Guide to the AIA Contract Family
A401's pay-if-paid clause decides whether a slow-paying owner becomes your problem. What A101, A201 and A401 each do, and which blanks to negotiate first.
Louisiana Folded Its Plumbing Board Into the Contractors Board: What HB 953 Means for Your License and Your Shop
Louisiana's HB 953 dissolves the State Plumbing Board on January 1 — journeyman hours drop from 7,000 to 2,500 and the apprentice ratio rises to 1:3.