A Contractor's Cash

Who this book is for

Chủ thầu nội thất, thợ mộc, đội cải tạo nhà, và người làm dịch vụ tại nhà ở Việt Nam; quy mô từ một mình cầm đồ nghề tới đội mười lăm thợ và một xưởng nhỏ.

Sound familiar?

• Fronts materials and crew wages before the client transfers the next stage.
• Payment stages are tied to dates rather than to milestones, so delays are easy for the client.
• One job's money runs another, and nobody knows which job is losing.
• Doesn't know how long the business lasts if one client pays two months late.

Each chapter answers one question

1. Chapter 1: Profitable jobs, so why am I always broke?

   On my last job, how much did I front before receiving the first payment?

   Contractors pay out first and get paid later, so cash, not profit, is what kills the business.

2. Chapter 2: Bill by the calendar, or by milestones?

   What are my payment stages tied to?

   Stages tied to work milestones are hard for clients to delay; stages tied to dates only require them to wait.

3. Chapter 3: Does tolerating one late payment invite the next?

   A client is late with a payment; what do I do on day three?

   The first late payment shapes the rest, because the client learns that being late is fine.

4. Chapter 4: Is the new deposit hiding an old loss?

   Of the three jobs just finished, how much did each leave me?

   Money from many jobs flows through one account, so a loss on one is hidden by the deposit of another.

5. Chapter 5: With no new contracts, how long do I last?

   If I signed no new jobs for two months, how long could I last?

   A small contractor's most important number is how many weeks they can last without a new contract.