Pricing a Tiny Home Build So It Actually Makes Money: The True-COGS Playbook
Price a tiny home from true COGS: burdened labor at 1.35x wages plus overhead turns a $40,000 quote into a 4% job; a 40% margin needs about $58,000.
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Construction
Accounting practices for construction businesses including job costing, WIP schedules, and retainage
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.
The Federal Fuel Tax Credit Most Contractors, Landscapers, and Farms Never Claim
Off-highway gasoline earns $0.183/gal back and undyed diesel $0.243 — claim the federal credit on IRS Form 4136 with your return.
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.
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.
Your Lease Doesn't Let You Open: Why the Certificate of Occupancy Decides Your Opening Day
A certificate of occupancy — not your lease — is what legally lets you open. Verify the CO matches your use before signing and budget the full fee chain.
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.
Lennar FY2026 Q3 Earnings: 52% Profit Drop, 116-Day Cycle
Lennar FY2026 Q3: $8.046B revenue (-8.7%) and parent net income down 52% to $283.9M, while the build cycle hit a record 116 days and new orders fell 9%.
The Workers' Comp Ghost Policy: A COI With No Employees to Cover
A workers' comp ghost policy covers nobody — it buys the COI a general contractor demands for $750–$1,200 a year. Who qualifies, and what the audit checks.
License and Permit Bonds Are Not Contract Bonds: What License Bonds Cost, How Claims Work, and Why Your Bid Bond Won't Satisfy the Board
A US contractor license bond protects the public and costs 1–3% a year; a bid bond protects one project owner and will never satisfy a state licensing board.
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.