Contractors: How GPS Can Help

As the owner of a contracting business, you need to reap rich rewards. If you don’t, there is a chance your business may suffer financial insolvency. GPS can help you gain competence in the following areas: estimating, job cost control, organization and communication, financial planning and control, application of overhead tool and equipment control and performance standards.

GPS can assist you in controlling operating expenses and reducing costs thereby yielding profits—if you take the time revise your operations, you can make it happen. GPS puts systems in place to assure profits. Let GPS help you establish the following objectives:

Sales/Marketing
  • Customer identification
  • Targeted marketing
  • Using directories to prequalify
  • Focused advertising
  • Sales planning and sales activity monitoring
  • Public relations and customer awareness
  • Customer follow up
Administration/Management
  • Management authority and responsibility clearly defined
  • Organizational relationships that facilitate efficient operation
  • Well-defined operating procedures
  • Profit-based employee compensation program
  • Profit-based decision making
Job Cost Control
  • Purchasing control system
  • Material monitoring and control
  • Continuity from estimating to record actual versus estimate with feedback to the estimating process
  • Effective management of production personnel
Tool and Equipment Maintenance and Repair
  • Management authority and responsibility clearly defined
  • Organizational relationships that facilitate efficient operation
  • Well-defined operating procedures
  • Profit-based employee compensation program
  • Profit-based decision making
Financial Planning/Management
  • Cash flow planning and management
  • Flexible budget planning
  • Establishing breakeven levels
  • Determining overhead
  • Determining burden rates
  • Establishing credit and collection procedures
Estimating/Job Costing
  • Development of flexible budgets at various levels of sales and fixed costs
  • Determining breakeven levels and lowering through cost control
  • Determining your actual job costs per order to develop accurate markups
  • Cash flow forecasting and cash flow management system
Performance Management
  • Job descriptions and duty lists
  • Implementation of policies and procedures which are based on a manual
  • Systematic and effective communication
  • Employee performance review and evaluations
  • Job progress meetings
  • Daily/weekly/monthly position reporting