The GO First Blog

Financial Systems

True Overhead Rate: The Line Items Most Construction Builders Leave Out

Most builders calculate overhead from their P&L and think they have the number. They don't. The true overhead rate includes six categories that rarely appear in standard bookkeeping: owner's salary at market rate, vehicle depreciation, insurance true-ups, warranty reserves, bad debt reserve, and tool replacement. Every one of these is a real cost — and if it's not in your overhead rate, it's quietly eating your profit.

Estimating

Construction Bid-to-Actual Analysis: The Report That Pays for Itself

Comparing estimated versus actual costs on completed jobs is the single highest-ROI habit in construction estimating. Most builders never do it formally — so they keep making the same pricing errors job after job. Here's how to run the analysis quarterly, which five line items carry the most variance, and how to use the findings to sharpen future estimates.

Job Costing

Why Builders Lose Money on Their Best Jobs (And How to Fix It)

The most disorienting thing in construction: a job goes smoothly, the client is happy, the crew does great work — and the final numbers show margin erosion you can't fully explain. Scope creep, unbilled extras, overhead mis-allocation, and invisible labor leakage are the four most common culprits. Here's how to diagnose each one and the systems that prevent them.

Subcontractor Management

How to Vet Subcontractors Before They Cost You a Job

A bad sub doesn't just blow your schedule — they blow your reputation with a client you spent months winning. The five-point vetting framework covers insurance, references, scope clarity, payment terms, and warranty. Get all five right before you hand them a key. Here's the checklist, how to structure a trial project, and the clear signs it's time to cut a sub loose.

Contracts

Construction Subcontractor Agreements: What Most Builders Get Wrong

Most subcontractor agreements builders use are missing the three clauses that prevent $5,000–$15,000 in disputes per project. Vague scope definitions, missing insurance requirements, and weak warranty language aren't just legal problems — they're direct margin leaks. Here's exactly what to include, why each clause matters, and the template structure that holds up when a project goes sideways.

Cash Flow

Construction Cash Flow Forecasting: The Weekly 15-Minute System

Cash flow kills more builders than bad estimating. The problem isn't the margin — it's the timing. Draw schedules misaligned with costs, retention held for 60+ days, AR aging that nobody's watching. This post walks through a weekly 15-minute cash position review that gives builders 30-day visibility into their actual cash exposure, not just what's in the bank today.

Job Costing

How to Price Change Orders in Construction Without Losing the Client

The friction in change order conversations almost never comes from the price itself — it comes from the surprise. A client who verbally agreed to a change but receives a $4,200 line item two weeks later feels ambushed, regardless of whether the number is fair. Here's the markup structure, documentation requirements, and presentation approach that makes change orders routine.