ENTREVANT, LLC
WINTER PARK, FLORIDA

We listen first. We learn what your needs are. Then we provide our input. Never the other way around. We respect your ideas, and help you fill in the areas that you need while recognizing that our biggest successes come from building on your solid foundation. We have been a regional builder of fine homes and major improvements since 2002. Today we are artisan builders focused on fewer projects so that we can deliver on time and on budget – every time. And when all that work is over. All the bills are paid. All the payroll made. All your invoices are paid to you. What’s left? According to contracting industry data, somewhere between 10-15% is the average for most firms, but it depends a lot on what type of company, where you are located, etc. For purposes of this writing, I am not going to go deep into the areas of estimating, pricing or operational improvements, we could be here a while if we go down that road. I want to simply discuss the concept of tracking the “hours”. Regardless of what work you do – if you are a self perform or a subcontractor- we all sell hours. It is usually the largest line item for most contractors. If you are not on top of hours there can be little to show for your efforts come end of the project. Doing this helps shed light on a few things. If there is a significant variance, it helps you find it sooner, rather than later. Once you recognize the variance, you can then investigate where the issue is. Is it in your estimating? (You did measure and use production rates – right?) Is it in the crew efficiency? Mobilizations? Etc. The whole concept of measuring is to help identify areas of improvement through variance. Incremental improvements work much better than big swings in direction from leadership. Continuous incremental improvements lead to companies that are dialed in and become team managed.