You're Not Loosing Money Because the Work Is Bad. You're Loosing Money Because Your Numbers Are Lying to You
- Brian Pusser
- Dec 20
- 3 min read
You’re Not Losing Money Because the Work Is Bad
You’re Losing It Because Your Numbers Are Lying to You. Let me tell you something most builders don’t want to hear.
If your profits are disappearing, it’s not because your workmanship is poor. It’s not because your team is lazy. And it’s not because the industry is “just tough right now.”
You’re losing money because your finances don’t match what’s actually happening on site.
And when the numbers lie, profit quietly walks out the door.
The Silent Profit Killer No One Warned You About
Most builders look at their accounts and think they’re “doing alright.” The bank balance isn’t terrible. Work is coming in. The team is busy. But underneath that surface is a dangerous gap — the gap between what the accounts say and what’s really happening on site. And that gap is where profit goes to die.
How Money Disappears Without You Noticing
1. Job costs are coded wrong
Materials for Job A end up on Job B. Labour gets dumped into general costs. Subcontractor invoices are posted weeks late. So the job looks profitable… until the truth arrives long after it’s too late to fix.
The rule:
If costs aren’t coded to the right job, your margins are fiction.
2. Labour overruns quietly destroy margins
You priced the job for eight weeks. It ran to ten. No one adjusted the figures.
Those extra weeks didn’t feel dramatic at the time — but they erased your profit.
The fix:
Labour must be reviewed weekly against the quote. Not at job end. Not at year end.
3. Materials creep eats cash
Extra trips to the merchant. Price rises since the quote. Small additions that “won’t cost much”. Individually harmless. Collectively lethal.
What to do:
Compare quoted materials to actual spend every week. Variances are early warning signs — if you look.
4. Variations get done… but never billed
The client asks for extras. Your team delivers. No variation raised. No invoice sent.
That isn’t goodwill. That’s unpaid work.
Non-negotiable rule:
No signed variation = no work.
The Two Cash Killers That Hurt Even Profitable Builders
5. CIS errors quietly drain cash
Wrong deduction rates. Subcontractors not verified properly. Over-deducted CIS that goes unnoticed. That’s not HMRC’s money. That’s your cash sitting with them.
Smart builders: Check CIS monthly. Fix errors immediately. Protect cashflow.
6. Late invoicing slows everything down
Invoices sent late. Chasing starts weeks after due dates. Cashflow suffers — even on “good” jobs. Profit on paper doesn’t pay wages.
Speed matters: Invoice immediately. Set clear terms. Chase early.
The Real Problem Isn’t the Work
Here’s the uncomfortable truth. Most builders don’t fail because they can’t build. They fail because they don’t see problems early enough to fix them.
By the time the year-end accounts arrive, the damage is already done.
The money is gone. The lessons arrive too late.
The Real Solution
You don’t need more work. You don’t need longer hours, and you don’t need to “wait and see”.
You need:
Job costs coded correctly
Labour tracked against quotes weekly
CIS checked before it bites
Invoices sent and chased fast
Numbers that reflect site reality, not accounting theory
When your finances tell the truth, profit stops being a mystery.
One Final Thought
If you’re working flat-out and still wondering where the money’s gone…That’s not bad luck.
That’s bad information.
📞 Book a numbers review.
We’ll expose where profit is leaking, fix what’s broken, and make your finances finally match what’s happening on site — so your hard work turns into real, bankable profit.
