Control your labor costs.

Control Labor CostsThere are many variables to take into account when estimating a job. You have your materials, equipment, markup, overhead, and, of course, labor. It’s important to remember to include all withholdings, taxes, overtime, vacation, and any benefits your company provides. By analyzing past job labor costs and looking for patterns as to what worked and didn’t work, you’ll have a clearer picture when putting together future bids.

Break labor costs down and perform analyses

  • by job. Every job has its own unique rhythm. Some things go as planned and others don’t. Taking a look at each job overall can provide you with insight into patterns and problems.
  • by roles. You need many different workers to effectively and efficiently complete each project. Perhaps the framing crew consistently gives you problems or the bids from a plumbing subcontractor are always too low and end up costing you more money. When you look at the different roles across jobs, look for patterns that might indicate where you need to make changes.
  • by expertise. Break your costs down by different job titles. Analyze what you’re spending on foremen and forewomen, journeymen and journeywomen, and general laborers. Are you paying journeymen and journeywomen wages for something general laborers could do? By taking a closer look at this, you could see areas where you are over- and underspending.
  • by time. Look at your subcontractors. Examine which are most cost-effective. Do they start and finish jobs when they say they’re going to? Are they consistently bidding their time accurately? When you estimate labor costs, consider lost labor costs to more accurately price labor. Rather than calculating eight-hour days per laborer, assume eight-hour day costs but the productivity of six-hour days. Phase jobs appropriately and consider how many contractors you need at different build phases.

ComputerEase streamlines your efforts

CompuEaseComputerEase is the national leader in computer software for the construction trade. This state-of-the-art software makes it easy to manage your labor costs, track materials, submit timesheets, and even estimate job costs. You can use this software to find your true job costs, and the mobile time sheet allows workers and supervisors to clock in when they arrive on jobsites. Professionals with backgrounds in construction and accounting created this software to help contractors run their businesses more efficiently to increase production rates and see bigger profits.

One of the biggest factors in any job is the labor costs. By understanding and analyzing these costs, you’ll be able to provide more accurate bids, run jobs more efficiently, and, in the end, increase profits.

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