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.
#job-costing
Job Costing
Track costs per project or job for accurate profitability analysis
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.
Powder Coating Shop Bookkeeping: Job Costing by Square Foot, Rack, and Cure
Powder runs $0.25 per square foot at 50% transfer efficiency — quote from that floor, allocate oven energy per cure, and reserve 2–5% of revenue for redos.
What to Actually Charge for Custom Woodworking
Price custom woodwork from true costs — 15–25% material markup, overhead per billable hour, 10–20% profit — not a materials-times-three guess.
Renovating a Pre-1978 Home? The EPA Lead-Paint Rule Every Contractor Must Follow
EPA's RRP Rule fines uncertified firms up to $49,772 per violation per day — certify for $300, assign a Certified Renovator, keep records three years.
Hunting Guide and Outfitter Bookkeeping: Deposits, Federal-Land Permits, Per-Hunt Costing, and Insurance
Hunting outfitters must treat 50% client deposits as deferred revenue, accrue the ~3% federal land-use fee on permitted ground, cost every hunt per hunter-day, and carry participant liability coverage — here is the full system.
Embroidery and Vinyl Wrap Shop Bookkeeping: Price Every Stitch and Square Foot Like You Mean It
Embroidery runs $1–$2.70 per 1,000 stitches and installed vinyl wraps $12–$20 per square foot — here is how a decoration shop builds those rates from real material and labor costs, tracks thread, blanks and film correctly, and expenses machines under Section 179 in 2026.
Web Accessibility Audit and VPAT Consultancy Bookkeeping: Pricing Audits, ACR Deliverables, and Bundled Remediation Engagements
How web accessibility consultancies price per-page WCAG audits ($75–$500 per page), package VPAT/ACR deliverables, structure $30K–$60K bundled remediation engagements as milestones, and book deposits as deferred revenue so each service line's true margin is visible.
Mobile Welding Bookkeeping: Trigger Time, Consumables as Job Costs, and How to Price an Arc Hour
A mobile welder quoting $90 an hour often spends $20–$35 of every arc hour on shielding gas, wire, and abrasives alone. This guide shows how to book consumables as direct job costs, build a true cost per arc hour, price the non-arc hours around it, and keep the rig, mileage, and Section 179 records that hold up at tax time.
Conditional vs. Unconditional Lien Waivers: Which One to Sign, and When
A lien waiver comes in four forms, and two words decide whether you kept your lien rights. Conditional waivers release rights only if the payment clears, so they go out with the invoice; unconditional waivers release immediately whether or not you are paid, so they go out only after funds clear the bank. Includes the through-date, retainage, and preliminary-notice rules that make the system hold up.
Security Camera and CCTV Installation Business Bookkeeping: Job Costing, Monitoring Revenue, and Truck Stock
A security camera installer runs three businesses out of one bank account — installs, monitoring contracts, and truck stock. This guide covers job-costing installs as separate equipment and labor buckets, booking monitoring fees as deferred revenue, cycle-counting truck inventory, budgeting licensing and certifications, and the eight monthly KPIs that decide what the company is worth.
Washington's Homeowner Recovery Program Is Now Paying Claims: A Contractor Bookkeeping and Registration Survival Guide
Since July 1, 2026, a Washington homeowner holding an unsatisfied court judgment against a registered contractor can collect up to $25,000 per parcel from L&I's Homeowner Recovery Program, and the state then pursues the contractor for reimbursement. This guide covers the eligibility rules, the $30,000 general and $15,000 specialty bond requirements, and the job-costing, change-order, retention and sales-tax bookkeeping habits that keep a dispute from ending in a judgment.