Trade
Roofing
Articles for roofing shops running 1-10 people. Pricing, hiring, customer disputes, and the parts of the business they never teach you.
Keeping Your Crew Through the Slow Season Is Costing You
Carrying slow-season employees feels loyal. But if you've never run the actual numbers, you're making a gut decision with your cash reserve.
Your Follow-Up Automation Isn't Converting — The Copy Is
Your CRM is sending follow-ups but estimates still go cold. The problem isn't your software — it's the generic message inside it.
Your Name Is Not a Business System — Build One That Runs Without You
If every customer asks for you by name, that's not loyalty — it's a single point of failure. Here's how to fix it before you disappear.
Your Job Costing Is Built on Guesses — Not Last Year's Jobs
If you're estimating from memory instead of recorded actuals, every bid you write is compounding the same error. Here's how to fix it.
Your Retainage Is a Loan You Never Agreed To Give
GCs call retainage 'standard practice.' It's not — it's your cash sitting in their account. Here's how to stop financing jobs you already finished.
Your Slow-Pay Customers Are Borrowing From You — Interest Free
Every invoice past 30 days is a loan you never agreed to make. Here's how small trade shops stop funding customers' cash flow with their own.
Your Software Stack Was Built for a Bigger Shop Than Yours
Copying your field software from a 30-truck operation is quietly breaking your workflow. Here's what a 5-truck shop actually needs — and what to skip.
Your Gross Margin Is Wrong — You're Miscategorizing Costs
If your COGS line mixes overhead with job costs, your gross margin is meaningless. Here's what belongs where — and why it changes everything.
Being Booked Out 4 Weeks Isn't Success — It's a Warning
Full schedule, empty bank account? Being booked solid might mean your prices are wrong, not that your business is working.
Your Price Increase Didn't Fix Your Margins — Here's Why
Raising prices feels like the answer, but if your cost structure is broken, you're just losing money on bigger jobs. Here's what actually fixes margins.
Your Family Employee Is Your Biggest Management Problem
Family working in your shop isn't a shortcut — it's a liability if you can't manage them like anyone else. Here's what it really costs you.
Your Time Estimates Are Optimistic — And Everything Else Is Wrong
If your job cost numbers are off, bad time estimates are probably the root cause. Here's how to audit and fix them before they cost you more jobs.
Your Cash in the Bank Isn't a Strategy — It's Just Sitting There
Idle cash in your business checking isn't a reserve — it's a liability. Here's how small contractors should actually put working capital to work.
Your Break-Even Number Changes Every Month — Does Yours?
A single annual break-even figure is costing you money every peak season. Here's how to calculate a dynamic break-even that actually reflects your capacity.
Your Price Increases Should Be Scheduled — Not Panic Moves
Reactive pricing is a sign your business runs on fear. Here's how to build annual price increases into your operation before the pain forces your hand.
Your Shop Only Runs Because You're Always There
If your business stops when you do, you don't own a company — you own a job. Here's how to fix that before it breaks you.
Your Material Markup Isn't a Strategy — It's a Guess
A flat markup on materials feels like discipline. It isn't. Here's the number you should actually be protecting on every job.
You're Taking Too Many Jobs — And Losing Money on All of Them
More booked jobs doesn't mean more profit. Here's why exceeding your real capacity quietly bleeds margin on every job you're already running.
Your Unsold Estimates Aren't Dead — You Just Stopped Asking
Most contractors send an estimate and wait. Sam Reeves explains why one follow-up sequence recovers 30-40% of jobs you thought were gone.
Your Pricing Isn't Inconsistent — Your Rules Are Unwritten
If your price on the same job changes by who answers the phone, you don't have a pricing problem. You have an unwritten rules problem. Here's how to fix it.
Your Overhead Allocation Is Wrong — And It Costs You Every Job
Spreading overhead evenly across jobs feels logical. It's not. Here's how the math is silently miscosting your most profitable work.
Your Deposit Policy Is a Cash Flow Decision — Not a Trust Issue
Skipping the upfront deposit isn't customer-friendly — it's a slow cash bleed. Here's why every small shop needs a deposit policy and how to enforce it.
Your First Hire Shouldn't Be Your Best Tech
Promoting your best tech first feels safe — it's actually the mistake that kills small shop growth. Here's who to hire first and why.
Revenue Per Truck Is a PE Metric — Stop Using It
Most small shops track revenue per truck because PE firms do. That metric was built for acquisitions, not operations. Here's what to track instead.
Your Cash Reserve Number Is Made Up — Here's the Real One
Three months of expenses sounds smart until you do the math. Here's how to calculate the cash reserve your shop actually needs to survive.
Your Subcontractors Are Costing You More Than Employees
Think subs save you money? Run the real numbers — callbacks, markup loss, and schedule chaos make employees cheaper than most shop owners realize.
Your Labor Burden Rate Is Wrong — and Every Job Pays for It
Most trade shops undercount labor burden by 15+ points. Here's what's actually in the number and how to fix it before your next estimate.
Your Google Rating Isn't Why You're Losing Leads
Stop chasing 5.0 stars. Review count and recency convert customers — not a perfect average. Here's what your review data actually tells you.
Your P&L Says You're Profitable — So Why Is Cash Gone?
Accrual accounting makes your shop look profitable while your bank runs dry. Here's how to read the gap before it wrecks your payroll.
Your Busiest Month Might Be the One That Breaks You
High revenue doesn't mean healthy cash. Here's why your busiest stretch is often when your cash position quietly collapses — and how to catch it.
Your Call-to-Book Rate Is Broken — You Just Don't Know It Yet
More leads won't fix a leaky intake. Learn what call-to-book rate actually is, how to measure it, and why fixing it beats buying more ads.
You're Not Too Busy to Train — You're Too Scared to Let Go
If no one in your shop can run a job without you, you don't have a business. You have a job with overhead. Here's how to fix it.
Your Slow Season Isn't Bad Luck — You Built It
Slow seasons don't sneak up on good shops. If you're scrambling in February, the problem started in July. Here's what to fix before it's too late.
Your Business Has a 'Mike Problem' — And You Don't Know It Yet
If your customer base is loyal to one person's phone number, you don't own a business — you own a job with an expiration date. Here's how to fix it.
Your Retainage Isn't an Asset — It's a Trap
Retainage sitting on your books isn't money you earned — it's money you lent. Here's why small shops treat it wrong and pay the price.
Your Job Costing Is Off Because Your Estimates Were Wrong
If your actual job costs never match your estimates, the problem isn't your techs — it's your pricing model. Here's how to fix the loop.
Your Receivables Aren't Slow — They're Gone
Letting customers pay late feels like loyalty. It's not. Once an invoice hits 60 days, you're probably never seeing that money. Here's why you have to stop.
Your Loyal Customers Are Dying — Do You Have a Plan?
Death, moves, and life changes kill your customer base silently. Most small shops lose 15-20% yearly and never notice. Here's how to stop the bleed.
You're Pricing From Break-Even — That's Why You're Broke
Pricing to cover costs isn't a strategy — it's a trap. Here's how to build your price from target income down, not break-even up.
Your Supply House Terms Are Negotiable — Are You Asking?
Most small shops accept default net-30 terms and never ask for better. That's a cash flow mistake you can fix with one conversation.
Stop Letting Your Techs Quote Jobs in the Field
When your tech quotes a job on the spot, you lose pricing control, margin, and consistency. Here's why field quoting silently bleeds small shops.
Your Gross Margin % Looks Fine — Your Dollars Are Falling
A steady gross margin percentage can hide a collapsing business. Here's why your job mix is the number you should actually be watching.
Builder Accounts Aren't Steady Work — They're a Slow Trap
Builder accounts look like stable volume. They're actually thin-margin, slow-pay dependency. One builder stalls and your whole shop feels it.
Your Effective Labor Rate Is Lying to You — Here's Why
The hourly rate you price from and the rate you actually earn are almost never the same. Here's how to find the gap and fix it.
Your Cost Per Lead Is a Lie Without This One Filter
Blended cost-per-lead is hiding which marketing channels are actually profitable. Here's the breakdown small shops need to stop wasting ad spend.
The 6-to-10 Employee Wall Is Real — Here's Why It Breaks Shops
Most shops don't see the margin collapse coming until it's too late. Here's what actually breaks when you grow past 5 employees.
Your Accountant Isn't Catching Your Margin Bleed
Your books look fine. Your accountant says you're profitable. But if COGS is miscategorized, your real margins are invisible — here's what to fix.
Adding That Next Truck Will Probably Break You
More trucks means more revenue — right? Not if your pricing, overhead, and cash reserves aren't built for the jump. Here's what most owners miss.
Your Reviews Are Great. Your Lead Response Time Isn't.
Five stars aren't booking jobs if your response time is slow. Here's what's actually breaking between your reputation and your revenue.
You Don't Own a Business If Only You Can Run It
If your shop can't survive two weeks without you, you don't own a business — you own a job. Here's how to fix it before a crisis forces you to.
Your Overhead Rate Is Calculated Backwards
If you built your overhead rate from revenue, you built it wrong. Here's how to calculate it correctly — and why it matters every time you price a job.
Your Labor Burden Is Wrong and It's Wrecking Your Margins
You're charging for labor but missing half its true cost. Here's the burden rate math your bookkeeper isn't doing — and why it's draining your profit.
Stop Stocking Inventory — Your Shelf Is a Cash Trap
Keeping materials on hand feels smart until you do the math. Most small shops lose more in tied-up cash than they save in supplier runs.
Stop Offering Payment Plans — You're Not a Bank
Payment plans feel like good customer service. They're actually an interest-free loan you can't afford. Here's what it really costs your shop.
Stop Trying to Hire Experienced Techs — Train Your Own
Experienced hires bring bad habits, wrong expectations, and someone else's way of doing things. Here's why small shops win by training from scratch.
Your Business Number Is You — And That's a Crisis Waiting
If your shop's main number is your personal cell, you don't have a business — you have a job with overhead. Here's what to fix before it's too late.
Your Install Jobs Pay Less Per Hour Than You Think
Divide your last 5 install totals by real hours including drive, permits, and callbacks. The number is probably ugly. Here's how to fix it.
Your Replacement Jobs Have Worse Margins Than You Think
Big ticket doesn't mean big margin. Here's why replacement work is quietly your lowest-margin job type — and how to fix the math.
Retainage Is a Cash Flow Killer — Price It Like One
Retainage looks standard until it's 90 days past substantial completion. Here's how small shops get buried — and how to price for it.
Your Break-Even Number Is Wrong (And It's Killing Your Prices)
If you're pricing jobs off last year's overhead, your break-even is already wrong. Here's how to calculate the real number before you quote another job.
How to Collect When a Customer Won't Pay Final Invoice
Stop chasing calls that go nowhere. Here's the exact sequence small contractors use to collect on unpaid final invoices — including when to file a mechanics lien.
Your P&L Shows Profit. So Why Is Your Account Empty?
If your books show profit but your bank account is always tight, your P&L isn't lying — it's just not built for running a business. Here's what's missing.
Your Business Runs on You. That's the Problem.
If every customer calls your cell and asks for you by name, you don't own a business — you own a job. Here's how to fix it before it costs you.
You're Not Bad at Estimating. You're Bad at Closing the Loop.
Most trade shops lose money on jobs they thought were profitable. The fix isn't better quoting — it's a 10-minute post-job review you're skipping.
Stop Using Multiple Phone Numbers to Track Your Marketing
Call tracking numbers hurt your Google rankings and confuse customers. Here's how to track lead sources without fracturing your phone presence.
Your Gross Margin Is Lying to You Without Job Costing
Your P&L shows profit but your account is empty. Job costing reveals which service lines are bleeding you dry — and most owners are afraid to look.
Word of Mouth Isn't a Marketing Strategy. It's a Risk.
Relying on referrals feels safe until the phone goes quiet. Here's why word of mouth is a liability — and how to build a system that doesn't depend on you.
Cost Per Lead Is a Vanity Metric. Track This Instead.
Your Google Ads dashboard shows cheap leads. Your bank account disagrees. Here's the marketing math small shops actually need to run.
Hiring Family in Your Trade Business: Set Rules or Pay Later
Family hires can save your shop or blow it up. Here's what no one tells you before you put a relative on payroll.
Why Your Overhead Allocation Is Lying to Your P&L
If you split overhead evenly across jobs, you're flying blind. Here's how to allocate correctly — and which jobs are quietly losing money.
The Big Job Trap: Why Large Contracts Kill Small Shops
That big contract looks like a breakthrough. It might be a cash flow death spiral. Here's how to know before you sign.
Your Labor Burden Rate Is Wrong — Reprice Before You Hire
Hiring your next tech will break your pricing unless you recalculate labor burden first. Here's the math most trade owners skip.
Your Cash Flow Problem Isn't Collections — It's Your Draw Schedule
Chasing invoices won't fix your cash flow. The real problem is when you ask for money. Here's how to restructure deposits and draws before you start the job.
Markup vs. Margin: Why Your Pricing Math Is Wrong
You priced at '40% margin' but you're broke. The markup vs. margin confusion is costing small shops thousands. Here's the one formula that fixes it.
Why That Big Builder Account Will Bankrupt You
One builder account saved your schedule and killed your cash flow. Adam Smith learned this in October 2008. Here's what he wishes someone had told him.
1099 vs W-2 for Trade Workers: What It Really Costs You
Most small shops default to 1099 subs to save money. A former plumbing contractor explains why that math is usually wrong — and risky.