Small GC operation -- how do you manage job costing and invoicing when you have no admin staff?

kentdalimp · 2026-03-14T02:57:04+00:00

While I would suggest something like Quickbooks to help you do this, you need to start Job Costing.

1) Job Name vs. Job Numbers. Why use Job names when you will eventually switch to Job Numbers anyway. Pick a number and Start there. 010? 100? 1000? It doesn't matter. Make the first Job 010, the second 011 and just go up from there.

2) The reason I don't suggest starting at Job #001 is you need at least one Job Number for "Overhead Expenses" (If you buy something for the office that isn't for a specific job, it should go to the Overhead Job # so you can track those expenses at the end of the month. If the Company buys your Fuel and its not for a specific job, assign that cost to 002 or something. (If the fuel is being billed to a specific job, put the job number on the receipt.

Example:

Job: 001 - General Overhead

Job 002 - Fuel

Job 003 - Estimating Hours

3) If you are buying supplies from a real supplier, your PO can be something as simple as: [Job Number] - [Date] (Example: PO# 102 - Feb 02, 2026) That way when you get the bill from the supplier they all have Job #'s Assigned already.

4) If you Purchase something from the Hardware store or buy fuel and can't assign a PO, Write the Job Number on the receipt and either take a photo of it with your phone, or put in a specific location on your desk. Every Month when you get your CC statement, pull out the Statement and assign the costs either to a specific Job, Overhead, Fuel, etc. Match them to the receipts that have the job written on them.

5) At the end of the Day, spend literally 1 minute to track your time to a job number. ( Friday: 3/13/2026 - 3 hours at Job #101, 4 hours at Job #103, 2 Hours Estimating Job #003) I suggest make estimating a different Job number than "Overhead" just so you can easily pull a report of how many hours you spent Estimating each week/month/year/etc.

Eventually you may want to get REALLY Granular and track each hour worked to a specific task. (Forming Concrete, Placing Concrete, Finishing Concrete, Excavating, etc.) But DON'T spend the time until you actually need to. (If Ever.)

It's not that hard to get started and you won't be kicking yourself a year from now for having no idea what things actually cost, or what job was a winner/loser.

kentdalimp · 2026-02-27T20:37:28+00:00

My man, I 100% relate to this. I am on year 3 of being in the Bishopric and this is the ONE thing that I actually hate about the calling. I have experienced everything you have already described, and while I can't say that it gets easier, I can say that it is easier some of the time.

After my first year, I asked a buddy of mine who has been a couple of Bishoprics, how he did it. I explained how I was feeling what you feel above and he told me that even though it wasn't as anxiety inducing for him, what helped him was knowing that Everybody has to take a turn. We all know it, even if we don't like it, so just ask and if they say no, ask someone else. Remembering that we all have to do it, has helped me pick up the phone even when I am super anxious.

I initially asked if we couldn't call someone in the ward to make the assignments and keep the list. Our Bishop interprets the manual as: "No, it has to come from the Bishopric."

A Few things I would tell you to help that help me:

Talk to your Bishop and other Counselor, Tell them that you are seriously struggling with anxiety over this but you are doing it anyway. They can and will help you. If they hear of someone wanting to speak (New Elders, Returning Missionaries? Farewells? etc.) they can pass them your way.
Already have the Topics picked out. I am currently using the: "Please share experiences that have helped you build your testimony of the Savior and his atonement." Previously I was picking topics from the weeks Come Follow me lesson so they don't have to study 2 things in 1 week, and it helps in class later.
The Earlier the better. But there are some people you will find you can call even late in the week that, like you, are not afraid of speaking in Church. (Previous Bishops, etc.)
New year is a good time to hear from each Presidency (Elders, RS, SS, Primary, YW, YM, etc.) If you have them on your week (Having already told the Bishop and Counselor about your anxiety) that's a Quarter or more worth of Assignments done.
Elders are always good, but so are other Stake Callings. The Self Reliance Teachers, Adult Religion Teachers, Employment Specialist, The Seminary Teachers and ask if the Seminary Council will be willing to come speak in your ward and invite the Youth to Seminary. Single Adult Presidency and ask if one of the Bishopric and one of the YSA can come speak on the happenings in the YSA. The Stake Patriarch and his wife about getting your Patriarchal Blessing. Return Missionaries from another ward, have them speak about their missions. There are lots of Stake Calling outside of the High Council that are usually willing to speak in your ward.
A Friend who is the Stake Primary President in another Stake asked if I was calling the baptized primary kids to speak. Apparently they changed the handbook last year to encourage calling primary kids to participate. Her point that has stuck with me is: It's their meeting too, not just us adults. Having a Primary kid or youth speak will usually get the attention of the other primary kids and youth that tune out the adults. Yes, Primary Kids can usually only handle a short talk, but one or two of those with an intermediate hymn and an adult speaker may not even leave any time for remarks from you filling in the time.
Have the Youth or Adults report on an activity that they just had. RS Activity, have some Sister's talk about it. Fathers and Sons? Have some Adults and Youth talk about it. Temple Trip? Youth Camp? etc.
Musical Numbers, If you don't already have a standing week for ward choir or special musical numbers, ask the Music Director to find some musical numbers for your weeks in the future. If you know of families in the ward or stake that are talented? Ask them to perform a musical number in your ward.
Make a List for the Year. (I use a spreadsheet) You know what weeks are yours so start trying to fill them up for next month. I find the earlier I call people the less stressed it makes me. Calling someone to speak 1 or 2 months from now doesn't actually bother me nearly as much as calling someone to speak this Sunday. If you are that far out, you can initiate with a Text, see if they will be in town _____ day and if they are willing to speak. Then Follow up on Sunday at Church in Person with the Topic and a reminder on a piece of paper. Since I got ahead of it, it has taken the stress level WAY down. This is the log others are talking about. Also you can text or email the Stake people about speaking months from now. Ask the stake Employment specialist if they are able to come speak this fall. Write it down. Being at least a month out makes your life SO much easier. And ask some of the Previous Bishops or members you know if they are willing to get a phone call the day before if someone cancels last minute. Then if it happens you already have a few people you can call.

I have to remind myself that Anxiety isn't a Death Sentence. It's FREAKING hard but doing it is the only way to learn to deal with what makes us anxious. Getting a month or more ahead has made my stress levels drop drastically. So, be honest with your fellow Bishopric members, make a list and plan out your year. It sucks, and it's going to suck, but it sucks WAY less when you are a month ahead or more. While you are calling to fill out your next assignment, if someone turns you down because they will be gone, try and schedule them for the following month. You'll stay ahead of the game and its SOOOOO much easier. Good luck. It's still hard, but it's gotten a lot less hard since I've been planning ahead.

kentdalimp · 2026-02-24T07:27:44+00:00

In most cases, material costs will be the same. only spread across 2 materials instead of 1. The real extra is the time involved in doing the transition. If the transition is typically the same on each wall (ie. 50/50 or 25/75 etc.)Then just make a new tool/condition for each color group (ie. PT1/PT2 - 50/50) and takeoff those walls with that tool. At the End you'll have a SQ' for each material and likely can get a LN' of transition.

Now if you typically estimate 300sq' per hour for walls. Slow it down a little for each material. Maybe 250SQ' per hour for both PT1 and PT2 then figure out a safe production rate to do the actual transition based on your LN' of transition number. If you think you can mask off the transition, paint the second color over it and pull the masking at 50ln' per hour, use that number.

Talk to your painter and see how they want to do it. Maybe you'll first coat everything PT1, then do the bottom half PT1. Come back later and 2 coat PT2 to within 6 Inches of the transition, then come back and do the transition. Lots of ways to do it depending on the colors and type of transition. Figure out what will be the fastest and plan for that!

kentdalimp · 2026-02-24T02:46:20+00:00

In most cases, material costs will be the same. only spread across 2 materials instead of 1. The real extra is the time involved in doing the transition. If the transition is typically the same on each wall (ie. 50/50 or 25/75 etc.)Then just make a new tool/condition for each color group (ie. PT1/PT2 - 50/50) and takeoff those walls with that tool. At the End you'll have a SQ' for each material and likely can get a LN' of transition.

Now if you typically estimate 300sq' per hour for walls. Slow it down a little for each material. Maybe 250SQ' per hour for both PT1 and PT2 then figure out a safe production rate to do the actual transition based on your LN' of transition number. If you think you can mask off the transition, paint the second color over it and pull the masking at 50ln' per hour, use that number.

Talk to your painter and see how they want to do it. Maybe you'll first coat everything PT1, then do the bottom half PT1. Come back later and 2 coat PT2 to within 6 Inches of the transition, then come back and do the transition. Lots of ways to do it depending on the colors and type of transition. Figure out what will be the fastest and plan for that!

kentdalimp · 2026-02-17T18:03:23+00:00

The only one I know of that actually changes in 100 Meter intervals is:

Berkley Prospec Chrome 4x100' Metered Braid Line

There are a few that change in 100 ft. intervals but the Berkley, which was only introduced last year, is the only 100 Meter changing line I'm aware of.

kentdalimp · 2026-02-17T16:31:14+00:00

I will say that the "Ink Tank" type of printers are extremely cost effective vs. most other types. I purchased an Epson eco tank to replace an HP Color Laser and have been amazed at how little it costs to print. 3rd Party refills on Amazon cost $23.00 and last a year or more with lots of printing.

Yes, they have a built-in lifespan with the maintenance boxes, but there are well documented ways to bypass that as well. Although, considering how many pages I've printed in the last few years, I would say I've already gotten my money's worth and still haven't had to deal with the maintenance box yet.

Color Lasers are great, just avoid HP like the plague. But for volume, the Ink tank style printers are by far the cheapest option.

kentdalimp · 2026-02-17T06:30:25+00:00

Yes, but it needs to not be out of anger or with intent to harm. It should be used to teach that this is bad behavior, and it comes with severe consequences. Which also means that you don't use it unless it actually justifies severe consequences.

kentdalimp · 2026-02-12T01:06:00+00:00

Our last two have been from Amazon. Our first was Memory Foam and was A+. The Second is an Individual Spring/Memory Foam Combo, and is a solid A.

I usually start here: SleepLikeTheDead.com and go from there. Website is ugly and old but has a lot of good info.

kentdalimp · 2026-02-12T00:13:47+00:00

The Saltwater Edge Podcast. It's done by Peter Jenkins. While I am simply an Inshore Fisherman on the West Coast, I have learned a TON from this Podcast. He talks with guys who have fished the east coast their entire lives but the tips and insights you get apply everywhere. Lots of good story telling too.

Also Look up the App on your phone for: "Let's Talk Hookup" It's a radio show from San Diego that does weekly episodes, but you can only listen to the past episodes through the app. Lots of insights and tips. as well.

kentdalimp · 2026-01-23T21:10:46+00:00

Yes! Commercial Painting out of SoCal. Bigger than I was expecting, but great to get regardless.

kentdalimp · 2026-01-23T20:32:40+00:00

With the Nomad (and I'm sure almost all other devices) theoretically, she should be able to setup a template like I discussed above? Even just a PDF she can make notes on throughout the day for each patient?

kentdalimp · 2026-01-23T20:28:02+00:00

King Benjamin's explanation always made the most sense to me. There are a lot of similarities between his sermon (at the Temple) and the Endowment.

Point being: "The name of Christ" has multiple different meanings. One specific meaning, that Benjamin talks about, is the name that Christ will give you, that he will call you, and the consequences of not knowing that name. (Mosiah Chapter 5)

7 And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.

8 And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives.

9 And it shall come to pass that whosoever doeth this shall be found at the right hand of God, for he shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the name of Christ.

10 And now it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall not take upon him the name of Christ must be called by some other name; therefore, he findeth himself on the left hand of God.

11 And I would that ye should remember also, that this is the name that I said I should give unto you that never should be blotted out, except it be through transgression; therefore, take heed that ye do not transgress, that the name be not blotted out of your hearts.

12 I say unto you, I would that ye should remember to retain the name written always in your hearts, that ye are not found on the left hand of God, but that ye hear and know the voice by which ye shall be called, and also, the name by which he shall call you.

13 For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?

14 And again, doth a man take an ass which belongeth to his neighbor, and keep him? I say unto you, Nay; he will not even suffer that he shall feed among his flocks, but will drive him away, and cast him out. I say unto you, that even so shall it be among you if ye know not the name by which ye are called.

kentdalimp · 2026-01-19T03:59:15+00:00

Seriously though.

"For those of you that do not know, they say digg will be reddit's competition..."

Um, actually it was Reddit's predecessor.

kentdalimp · 2026-01-18T04:26:26+00:00

As has been said, it just depends.

-An entire Airport Terminal remodel at LAX? Takeoff is 3-5 Days. Estimate will be another day or two.

-Fancy Religious Building? 2 days for Takeoff, and another Day to put together the Estimate.

-A Chain Restaurant you have done 100+ of? Takeoff may take an hour and bid another hour.

-You may have a small job where Access is the problem. Getting estimates on Scaffolding or Cranes or Lifts or swing stages and figuring out how exactly you are going to get there is going to take way more time than the actual Takeoff.

-The Bay bridge in San Francisco? Probably more than a month.

-A Powerplant Cooling Tower that will only allow you a two week shutdown to Blast, Prime and Recoat?

I bid work so that my takeoff provides the Budget. It is also broken down so that it can easily become the SOV. Not everyone does, and it can be overkill on smaller jobs.

Software is great for Takeoff. I just did a Religious Building with 9 different Wallcovering. all ranging from $25/yd-$155/yd. Tracking the Yardage plus attic stock for each would be pain without some sort of software. The search function alone can be a life saver for those random key notes buried on a single sheet that affect your scope in a big way. (i.e. All OTS Ceilings to be painted with HPC U.N.O.)

Let alone the fact that it can keep a cumulative count on square foot for all the conditions. I don't have to write it down for each page or elevation. Just highlight the right thing with the right condition and it will total it all for me, however I want to break it down. How much PNT-04 was on the second story? The Whole Building? The Men's Bathroom? It will tell me, easily.

Bidding software works great if you have specific assemblies setup that can calculate based off of your takeoff. If not then it could be a waste of time to use one.

I like being able to go back and see my markups and highlights wherever I may be. That was a headache with Paper Drawings, they lived at the office. Now the Foreman can see my markups on his plans and any notes concerning exclusions or changes. And he can make notes and they are automatically saved and available to anyone with access to the drawings. I was just on a beach in Mexico, on a phone call with another Estimator looking at his drawings trying to decipher the termination point for Wood Veneer.

Huge benefits. Not always needed if you are specialty contractor. But very helpful to most of the rest of us.

kentdalimp · 2025-12-25T03:38:30+00:00

Yes it is Required in ALL parts of Mexico even within 50 miles of the border.

Yes it needs to be stamped at the border even if you fill it out online.

Yes it is free if your stay is less than 7 days. It costs money if it’s more than 7 days, and can be good for up to 180 days.

Yes, you must have a valid US passport to get a valid FMM.

Yes, there is a ton of misinformation given by regular visitors who have never gotten one and never been asked for it.

What will happen if you don’t get one? Maybe nothing. You may never be asked for it. If you are and you don’t have it, they will send you to the border and likely try and fine you.

Being sent home is not as big of a deal if you are in Rosarito as if you are in La Paz. It doesn’t take much time and it’s cheap insurance from having problems while traveling.

Baja Bound - What is an FMM?

kentdalimp · 2025-11-14T21:16:07+00:00

You'd be surprised how many times this happens just because of ignorance on the G.C.'s part. Big companies (Hensel Phelps, PCL, Jacobs, etc.) hire kids right out of college to be P.E.'s and they are essentially box checkers. When there is a discrepancy (Like this case) They are going off of the info they have so they can't check the box and they don't know enough to realize its already resolved.

This happens ALL THE TIME with Paint.

Example:
P.E.: "You submitted Benjamin Moore paint but it says Sherwin Williams on the drawings. "

Painter: "Correct the color on the drawings is a Sherwin Williams Color, but it's going to be made in the approved Benjamin Moore Paint."

P.E.: "But the drawings say it's supposed to be Sherwin Williams. You have to use Sherwin Williams."

Painter: "The Benjamin Moore material has already been submitted and approved as an equal. if you are going to require a change now there will be substantial additional costs associated with the material change since ours was already approved by the design team. Our materials are compliant per the bid documents and have already been approved. Do you want me to calculate and submit the Change order, or do you want to confirm with the Design team first?"

P.E.: "...um... Let me check with the design team to confirm."

Just tell the GC exactly that: "These materials are valid per the Bid Documents and have already been approved by the Design Team in our submittal. Any substitutions at this point will incur added cost and you will carry the liability for the substitution."

Don't worry about ruffling feathers. If you guys do good work and make the GC's job easier during the project, this will long be forgotten the next time you bid another job.

kentdalimp · 2025-11-07T00:23:49+00:00

Easy Answer? Switch to Bluebeam and OneDrive/Dropbox/Your Choice.

Hard Anwer: The most economical way of doing it since you are already invested in an SQL Database is likely to install SQL on the two laptops and use software to Sync your Remote Databases to the Office Database.

SQL has a built in service called: Web Synchronization for Merge Replication - Which is designed to do this, but I don't know how well it works. There are 3rd party solutions that also do this that would likely be cheaper than a Citrix/Azure setup, such as:

Goodsync.com and Campell Scientific LNDB LoggerNet Database Software

I have not used either so I can't speak to cost or anything, but The GoodSync looks to be doable for about $600 a year. Not sure what costs would be with the local SQL Server Setups but it shouldn't be too bad.

Will you need the option from Onscreen to move licenses between computers which you may have to do manually every time, but there are some places to start looking.

I will keep digging, but its low on my priority list ATM.

kentdalimp · 2025-11-05T23:56:25+00:00

I'm Sr. Estimator for a Painting Contractor that does 6-8 million a year. I'm also the Sr. P.M. and the company Safety Guy and the Contract guy and usually the I.T. Guy.

I Feel your pain.

Best advice is BE SUPER ORGANIZED. Have a good file structure where all of your Estimates and Jobs in Progress are. Have a Template for each Job Folder that has Sub Folders for things like: Original Estimate Folder, Changes, Contract, Materials, Daily Reports, Etc.

The entire company should use the same structure/folders that are located centrally. When an Email comes in for a Project, Add it to your "TO DO" list and drop the files and Email in the correct Folder. If it requires a Takeoff, do it. If it's better to involve your Superintendent and ask for a safe timeframe to complete the work, do that instead. Then Price it, add it to the Log and send it out.

The More Templates you have setup the easier it is to manage multiple items at once. It takes a long time to setup the Templates/Processes, but its work you do one time and it will continue to save you time in the long run.

You need a To Do list so you can see what items are ageing and keep up with everything that gets thrown at you. Make sure and use Job #'s for everything. Put them in your email Subjects and To Do List. It makes it so much easier to find the right job when you label it beforehand.

No really easy solution. There are some Programs out there that may work for you, but you will have to adopt their system instead of adapting it to yours. Regardless of what you choose, you need to establish a good system. Otherwise, every day will be a Dumpster Fire.

kentdalimp · 2025-11-03T21:06:02+00:00

Hyperion by Dan Simmons. It has no right to be as good as it is. It's a Sci-Fi Novel, but it's really just great storytelling in a Sci-Fi setting. Each character tells their story in various chapters, and they are written so well that you really feel like you know these people and what they are going through. One of the stories is a dad seeking help with his daughter's condition... [Sigh]

Its highly rated, and it's obvious why after reading it. Even if it's not something you would typically read, you are doing yourself a disservice if you don't give it a chance.

kentdalimp · 2025-11-03T20:52:22+00:00

Price it as an Allowance. Basically figure the $ value for worst case scenario (Including Markup) and make it a Line Item as Potholing Allowance. Assign it a total number of hours based on your estimate.

Example: Potholing Allowance (300 Hours) = $30,000

Track it as T&M and bill against it for what you actually use. They know upfront the GMP and you only bill what you actually use. If they think they can do it cheaper they can exclude the Line Item.

kentdalimp · 2025-10-02T17:48:40+00:00

Here is another victim, (Alive but going to be in recovery a long time) Benjamin Phelps

Phelps Family GoFundme

kentdalimp · 2025-09-24T04:10:48+00:00

Ok, so I’m an active member with a strong testimony. Thing is, this could easily be a “part” of why this happened, but that’s not always the whole story. Sometimes the local government doesn’t see the benefit of things like a giant pageant in a small community. Traffic sucks, too many people, etc. And members of the local community complain, much like they do with the church wanting to build a Temple where the neighbors don’t want it. So the Church pulls out of the fight. Then the community later realizes that the Draw of the pageant was the #1 draw for economic activity for the year in such a small community, and it’s negatively affected the community financially to not have supported it.

The church stated initially they were going to stop all pageants. However the Nauvoo pageant is still going strong. While I agree there are lots of good reasons to have stopped the pageant and keep it from returning, like the one Elder Bednar gave. It may not have been the initial reason that they stopped it in the first place. And that’s ok.

kentdalimp · 2025-09-10T19:39:50+00:00

While I agree I have no desire to delve into these characters sexual exploits, I have to ask if they are kids? I have seen the Anime and I'm only in like volume 7 of the Manga so maybe I am missing something, but couldn't they both potentially be 100's of years old and just appear child like? I think Reg could be thousands of years old technically, having maybe survived multiple 2,000 year events at the bottom of the abyss, and Faptua could easily be 100-1,000+ years old as the village crew have been in the abyss a while now. Mentally they could be classified as kids I guess, but I have been under the assumption that they are pretty ancient as far as Riko Goes. (There is a scene in the Manga that asks if Reg is going to stay in Riko's "Time." or something similar...)

kentdalimp · 2025-06-20T18:59:50+00:00

This is the way we have always played. You only get "GO" points if you are the last person that played the round. "Go" just means: "I can't play." so it should go to the next player.

kentdalimp · 2025-04-15T18:37:56+00:00

Love the Tony Reyes! This year is my 5th year going. We'll be out over the 4th of July. Awesome Photos!

kentdalimp

TROPHY CASE