ConstructionOnline Blog

Maximizing Margins: The Key to Ensuring Profitable Construction Projects

Profitability is the foundation of every thriving construction business. Yet, in an industry rife with tight margins, fluctuating costs, and complex projects, tracking and optimizing profits can feel like an uphill battle. Many builders fall into the trap of focusing solely on revenue, overlooking the detailed financial insights that separate profitable projects from those that barely break even.

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Topics: Business Building Best Practices Financials Project Health

Why Construction Warranties Matter for Contractors

It’s no secret that establishing trust with clients is one of the best ways to boost and solidify your reputation as a contractor. Warranties are one way you can do that, because they communicate a clear plan of action in case something goes wrong.

In this article, we’ll tell you exactly how warranties can help your construction business improve and solidify your reputation in the industry among other things in 4 essential ways.

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The Power of Progress: Why Tracking Construction Jobs in Real-Time is Essential

Every construction project tells a story, a unique narrative that unfolds from the very first day of groundbreaking to the celebratory moment of ribbon-cutting. Each phase of this journey reveals a series of milestones that mark progress, challenges that test resilience, pivots that require adaptability, and triumphs that celebrate success. However, without a clear and organized way to track that story, it risks becoming fragmented and disjointed, leaving teams in a state of confusion and clients feeling uncertain about the project's direction and status.

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Topics: Business Building Best Practices Daily Logging Project Tracking Project Management

Your Blueprint for Success: Mastering Planning in Construction Management

In the fast-paced world of construction, effective planning isn’t just a step in the process - it’s the cornerstone of success. The dynamic nature of the construction industry demands meticulous attention to detail and strategic foresight, as every decision can significantly impact the outcome of a project. From managing multiple projects simultaneously to coordinating complex schedules and efficiently allocating resources, detailed planning is essential. It lays the foundation for timely and cost-effective project delivery, and also ensures that the quality of work meets or exceeds expectations.

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Topics: Business Building Best Practices Scheduling Project Management

Protecting Your Construction Business: Insurance and Permit Tracking Best Practices

Managing a construction business comes with high stakes. Legal and financial risks lurk behind every project, and even minor oversights can lead to costly fines, lengthy delays, or even damage to your credibility and reputation. Two key components of defense against such risks are addressed with effective insurance and permit tracking, however these critical areas are often overlooked and under-managed by construction companies. Inadequate insurance coverage or missed permit deadlines can jeopardize not only individual projects but also the future of your business.

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Topics: Best Practices Permit Tracking Insurance & Certificates Project Management

Project Logs: The One Thing Your Construction Team Should Be Doing Everyday (and Why)

In the dynamic world of construction, keeping track of progress and activities on a daily basis is essential for keeping projects on track (and under budget). This process, most commonly known as daily logging, is one of the most critical elements of construction project management. It helps monitor the status of work, identify delays, track safety concerns, and ultimately improve accountability on the construction site.

Read on to learn more about how daily logs are truly the secret weapon for construction project success.

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Topics: Best Practices Daily Logging Project Tracking

7 Nightmare Chronicles You Should Avoid in Your Construction Business

If you're a contractor who has been in business for a while, chances are you've probably got a few unbelievable stories to share, whether it's about difficult clients with unreasonable demands, lots of money that was needlessly lost due to oversights, or just plain funny stories from your time in the field.

In this article, we've collected some of our craziest, most off-the-wall stories we've heard from our more than 950,000 clients, including some from our CEO who was a contractor for decades before founding ConstructionOnline.

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How Much Is Your Purchase Order Process Really Costing You?

Managing your construction project’s purchasing process is one of the crucial aspects of making sure things are on or under budget, but depending on how you manage expenditure, finances can get out of control pretty quickly.

In this article, we’ll tell you the common ways your construction business may be losing money in the procurement and expenditure stages of a project, and how you can use PO software to prevent these common expense mistakes from hurting your bottom line.

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Construction Purchase Orders Made Simple: How to Streamline, Protect, and Profit

In construction, Purchase Orders (POs) aren't just paperwork - they're essential tools that help streamline project management, safeguard your business from legal risks, and maximize profits. A cornerstone of sound financial management in any successful construction project, Purchase Orders help to control costs, track expenses, and ensure that the necessary resources are available when needed. Proper documentation & management of construction POs can make or break a project.

Are you effectively managing your construction POs, or leaving your company exposed to risk and inefficiency? In this blog, we will walk through the best practices for documenting purchase orders to keep your operations running like a well-oiled machine.

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Change Orders 101: Everything You Need to Know

A lot of unexpected events can happen in a construction project, and change orders are one of those things you can almost never predict. Although you can’t plan for them, you can make sure that you manage them efficiently to reduce legal risks and financial catastrophe.

In this article, you’ll find out how change order management can make or break your project finances.

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Topics: Best Practices Project Communication