SBS Contracting: $400K to $4M

What They Were Struggling With

SBS Contracting was a classic growing-pains story. The owner was doing quality work, referrals were coming in, and revenue was ticking up — but the business felt like it was running the owner, not the other way around.

The symptoms were everywhere:

• Pricing by gut feel. No cost code structure, no labor burden calculation, no repeatable estimate format. Every bid was a fresh stab in the dark.
• No job-level financial visibility. They'd finish a job not knowing if they made money until the accountant called — three months later.
• Proposal chaos. Every proposal was different. Some deals closed. Others died because the client didn't understand the scope or price.
• Growth felt dangerous. Taking on more work meant more exposure to the same margin leaks. Scaling felt like scaling the problems, not the profits.

What We Implemented

Over 6 weeks, we worked through three core sprints:

• Sprint 1 — Financial Foundation: Built a CSI-format cost code structure specific to SBS's project types. Identified their true labor burden (it was 34% higher than the owner thought). Set a break-even and minimum markup threshold for every job category.
• Sprint 2 — Estimating System: Built a master budget template with pre-loaded assemblies. Turned the 8-hour estimate process into a 45-minute exercise with consistent margin built in. Created a proposal template with clear scope language that closed faster.
• Sprint 3 — Operations & Automation: Built a daily log system in JobTread. Set up Zapier automations for client updates and job milestones. Created SOPs so subcontractors knew what was expected without owner involvement in every decision.

Timeline: 6 weeks kickoff to live operating system. No open-ended retainer. Fixed milestones, fixed deliverables.

Measurable Outcomes

Related Services

The work done for SBS Contracting pulled from three core GO First service areas: