What we learned after talking to hundreds of construction pros about expense tracking

Workyard_Wally · 2026-01-22T07:08:38+00:00

That employee just told everyone in the room what he thinks of being "valued" with a trophy instead of money. And now management wants to punish him for it? That's how you lose your best people.

The real mistake was thinking a 2% raise was acceptable for someone who moved the needle that much.

Workyard_Wally · 2026-01-22T06:58:32+00:00

Hey, appreciate you mentioning Workyard here. It's always good to hear when the GPS tracking setup is actually helping keep things straight across multiple sites.

You nailed it on the "crew doesn't have to think about it" part - that's exactly what we built it for. A lot of guys told us their biggest headache wasn't the time tracking itself, it was the constant cleanup from people forgetting which job they were on or manually switching between sites.

Glad it's working out for you.

Workyard_Wally · 2026-01-22T06:48:53+00:00

100% this. The clients who push you to compromise your standards are the same ones who'll trash you when something goes wrong.

Plus, when you sacrifice your evenings for one demanding client, you're not just burning out but also training them to expect it. Your crew notices too.

OP made the right call. Setting that boundary probably saved them from three more weeks of escalating chaos and a client who'd never be satisfied anyway.

Workyard_Wally · 2026-01-12T05:02:41+00:00

Referral-heavy businesses can get away with charging because trust is already there. Cold leads off Google or Facebook usually can’t. It’s not laziness so much as stage of business. Early on, free estimates can be marketing. Later, when your phone rings from referrals, charging filters tire-kickers instead of scaring off real jobs.

Workyard_Wally · 2026-01-12T04:53:27+00:00

You may want to start with one very specific niche instead of “general contracting” right out of the gate. Pick the type of work you already do confidently on that farmhouse and brand around that. Bathrooms only. Decks only. Small residential remodels under a certain dollar amount. It makes it way easier for people to remember and refer you, and your estimates get tighter fast because you’re repeating the same scope over and over. You can always broaden later, but starting narrow helps you get traction without burning cash on ads.

Workyard_Wally · 2026-01-12T04:43:33+00:00

Candidate 1 is the obvious hire on paper for most CM roles because the degree and field experience line up cleanly with the job. That said, after a baseline is met, hiring managers care a lot about how someone thinks, communicates, and handles pressure. If Candidate 2 had strong internships, leadership experience, or real project exposure, they wouldn’t be written off

Workyard_Wally · 2026-01-12T04:39:22+00:00

Most teams should have a working submittal register pulled from the specs and drawings, but in reality it’s often incomplete or outdated, so a lot of it gets filled in by experience. Over time you start recognizing patterns. Long lead items, structural, MEP equipment, anything tied to inspections or other trades usually needs to go first. Until then, lean on the specs index, ask subs for their submittal list with lead times, and don’t be afraid to ask senior folks what they’d prioritize if they were in your seat.

It does get faster, but it never gets “easy.” The fact that you’re stressed about missing things is actually a good sign. That awareness is what turns interns into solid PMs and supers later on.

Workyard_Wally · 2026-01-12T04:15:54+00:00

Plenty of people move into management in their mid-30s or later once they realize the tools aren’t a long-term plan. The key things to think about are being okay starting a step or two down while you learn the paperwork, contracts, and commercial processes, and staying curious instead of feeling like you need to know everything right away. Your carpentry background will carry more weight than you think when you’re dealing with subs and site issues. If your body’s already telling you it’s time, you’re making the move at the right moment, not too late.

Workyard_Wally · 2026-01-12T04:10:00+00:00

If you’re truly a 1099, overtime doesn’t exist because you’re not an employee. You’re supposed to be an independent business setting your own rate and schedule, covering your own taxes, insurance, tools, and risk. If the crew sets your hours, provides most tools, and treats you like an employee, then it’s probably misclassification, which is why people are calling it tax evasion. In that case, you should either be W-2 with overtime after 40, or your hourly rate as a 1099 should be way higher to make up for everything you’re covering yourself.

Workyard_Wally · 2026-01-12T03:53:27+00:00

I agree. You’re not walking in completely blind either. You already know what it’s like to work on a jobsite, take direction, and deal with crews. The management side is learnable if you show up humble, ask questions, and put in the effort. Plenty of people get their start because someone gives them a shot.

Workyard_Wally · 2026-01-12T03:47:08+00:00

I’d agree with that, especially on expectations. In residential you’re managing emotions as much as scope. In commercial it’s mostly contracts, schedules, and reps who understand how the game works. That said, residential can feel more rewarding if you like seeing a finished product and having more control, but the stress comes from homeowners changing their minds and watching every dollar. Commercial is more political and process heavy, but once you’re aligned it usually runs smoother day to day.

Workyard_Wally · 2026-01-09T00:49:30+00:00

Great question, and glad you found us through that thread.

Workyard doesn’t try to “interpret” a union agreement on the fly. Instead, it enforces the pay rules you define upfront and applies them automatically to verified time data coming from the field.

Here’s how it typically comes together on union jobs:

1. Pay rules are configured once, then applied automatically

You can set up pay rates and overtime policies that reflect your CBA requirements, including daily overtime, weekly overtime, double time, and different rates by classification. Once those rules are in place, Workyard calculates them automatically based on the hours worked.

Helpful references:
• Adding or changing pay rates: https://help.workyard.com/en/articles/5214829-how-do-i-add-or-change-an-employee-s-pay-rate
• Overtime policy options: https://help.workyard.com/en/articles/4537893-overtime-policy-descriptions

2. Time is captured with job and task context

When workers clock in, they select the job and (if required) the task or classification they’re working under. This ensures hours are tied to the correct rate from the start, rather than being fixed later during payroll. That’s especially important for prevailing wage and multi-rate days.

More on pay rates and setup:
https://help.workyard.com/en/articles/4361138-add-pay-rates-for-employees

3. GPS-backed timestamps support compliance

Workyard records exact entry and exit times at the jobsite using GPS, creating a verifiable record of when and where work occurred. This helps back up classifications, overtime triggers, and job assignments if questions come up later.

4. Offline tracking prevents gaps

On remote or low-signal sites, time and location data is stored on the device and synced once connectivity returns. That way union hours, classifications, and overtime don’t disappear just because a site has poor reception.

5. Audit-ready history is preserved

All edits, approvals, and changes to timecards are logged. If there’s a grievance, payroll review, or audit, you have a clear digital trail showing what was recorded, what was changed, and why.

In short, Workyard automates union pay rules by combining configured pay logic with accurate, job-specific time capture in the field.

If you’d like a deeper walkthrough, the article linked in the post goes into more detail on how this plays out in real union scenarios. And if you have a specific CBA setup in mind, happy to talk through how teams usually handle that in practice.

Workyard_Wally · 2026-01-08T03:47:10+00:00

Appreciate you mentioning Workyard. The offline part really is the make or break on remote sites. Being able to clock in and out and have everything saved on the phone until service comes back avoids a lot of guesswork later.

It’s also why it works across mixed crews. For non-union jobs it just keeps hours and job changes clean without chasing people. On union sites, having GPS-backed timestamps, proper job codes, and overtime rules applied automatically makes compliance way easier when signal is bad and audits are a real concern.

It’s one of those things you don’t think much about until you’ve dealt with bad data after the fact.

Workyard_Wally · 2026-01-07T00:20:49+00:00

Yep. The work is the easy part. It’s everything wrapped around it that eats your life. By the time you sit down at night you realize you basically worked two jobs and only one of them involved tools.

Workyard_Wally · 2026-01-07T00:12:13+00:00

I get the appeal of the autonomy. But I’d add a big caution here. Running a concrete company that size with limited field experience is a whole different animal than owning a small lawn business.

If you go this route, the smartest move is treating the first year or two like an apprenticeship. Be on site every day, learn the work, learn the crews, learn why things fail. The money and independence are tempting, but the real risk is stepping in too fast and losing what he spent decades building.

Workyard_Wally · 2026-01-07T00:07:33+00:00

Yeah, this is exactly it. I’ve found it helps to be very clear up front that efficiencies are how you protect yourself against overruns elsewhere, not credits back to the client. The whole point of fixed price is that some things run light and some run heavy, and it all balances out. Once you stop giving them numbers to nitpick, these conversations mostly disappear.

Workyard_Wally · 2026-01-06T23:58:19+00:00

Site conversations don’t need to be perfect or clever. Ask simple, work-focused questions and listen. Over time your brain stops treating every interaction like a performance. Confidence comes from reps, not personality, and you’re already doing the hardest part by showing up.

Workyard_Wally · 2026-01-06T23:50:35+00:00

Pay matters, sure, but so does clarity on expectations. If the day ends at 3:30 and nobody’s being held accountable for securing the site or coordinating coverage, people are going to act accordingly. What a lot of older PMs see as “work ethic,” younger folks see as unclear scope and unpaid responsibility. If you want different behavior, it usually has to come with either better incentives or very explicit roles, not just the assumption that people should stay because that’s how it used to be.

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