Most small contractors I’ve spoken to track their business in spreadsheets.
They record:
- job estimates
- costs
- invoices
- payments
But when you ask a simple question:
👉 “Are your jobs actually making money?” The answer is often unclear.
The real problem
It’s not that the data doesn’t exist. It’s that the data is scattered.
To understand performance, you usually have to:
- open multiple files
- reconcile numbers
- estimate where things stand
By the time you figure it out, it’s already too late to act.
The 4 questions that actually matter
From a business standpoint, most contractors need quick answers to:
- Am I making money?
- Am I billing enough?
- Am I getting paid?
- Which jobs need my attention right now?
If you can’t answer these in under a minute, you’re essentially flying blind.
A simple approach
I started building a small tool to solve this.
Not a full system.
Not accounting software.
Not a replacement for your existing tools.
Just a simple layer on top of your data that gives you a clear snapshot of your business.
Here’s a short demo:
👉 See a short Youtube demo here.
One insight that changed my thinking
After sharing the demo, someone pointed out something important:
It’s not just about knowing if a job is profitable,
it’s about knowing if it was worth doing.
That introduces a deeper question:
👉 How much are you actually earning per hour on your jobs?
Two jobs can both be profitable, but one may consume far more time for less return.
That’s something I’m now exploring adding.
Why I’m sharing this
I’m not selling anything.
I’m trying to understand:
- Would this actually be useful?
- What’s missing?
- What would make this a no-brainer?
If you’re a contractor
I’d really value your input:
- Do you clearly know your job profitability today?
- Do you track time vs profit?
- What’s the hardest part of managing your numbers?
Feel free to comment or reach out.
The goal is simple:
👉 Build something practical, simple, and actually useful
👉 Without the complexity of existing systems
Let’s see where this goes.
