Billd

Every year we survey hundreds of subcontracting executives to bring you insights from the front lines of the commercial construction industry. Today, we're giving away those findings for free in the 4th annual Billd National Subcontractor Market Report. You'll read about the industry trends with the biggest impact on subcontractors. Trends that subcontractors faced head-on. In the report, you'll see how your business is stacked up against the most successful growing subcontractors across the country. Billd is dedicated to the success of America's subcontracting businesses. We're proud to release this report every year so subcontractors can maximize their strategies for growth. Download the report for free at the link in the comments!

The Billd team continues to grow 🙌 We’re hiring an In-House Litigation Attorney in our Austin headquarters. This person will be an integral part of Billd's Legal Department, developing and managing Billd’s contract enforcement strategy. Working at Billd isn’t the same as working at a law firm. We take a mission-driven approach and don't require you to bill your time. Results and efficiency are valued above all else. We’re committed to disrupting a $1.4 trillion industry and need the right team in place to accomplish that. We’re proud to be one of the best companies to work for in Austin and have been recognized as Austin’s fastest-growing private company by Austin Business Journal. If you’re a self-starter interested in the challenge of a variety of legal projects, check out the full job description at the link in the comments.

Project delays are often unexpected, but they don't have to wreak havoc on your cash flow. Planning for the unexpected during the bidding process is one way you can prevent these delays from affecting your business's bottom line. If you're not sure how to plan for the unknown before you even begin a project, here are a few ways that subcontractors around the country are doing just that: 🔎 Invest more time into vetting projects and GCs - Before you even submit a bid, be extremely selective about which projects you pursue. Also, build a list of questions to ask yourself before moving forward with a new GC. Assess them based on payment timelines, contract negotiation flexibility, and other factors that are import to you. 📅 Explain your schedule needs early - Communicate early and clearly about how many days you need to get your work done. Qualify your bid with data that supports how long you need for deliveries, installations, and more. That way if there are changes to the schedule you can't accommodate, you can refer to a schedule that has already outlined your needs. 📊 Talk to your GC about adjusting costs based on schedule changes and delays - Be firm and upfront with your GC about cost adjustments if a project is delayed or runs over the scheduled time. You can even go so far as to put these provisions in your bids and contracts. Material costs may increase or you may need more labor to get the job done if the schedule changes. Go back to the GC after a big delay and tell them if/how your costs have to change. Check out more strategies for how to catch unforeseen costs in your bid in the article linked below.

"Bad jobs will cost you more than a good job will ever make you." This advice from Clay Young, CEP, owner of Falcon Electrical Contractors, has helped him develop a bidding strategy that has a 55% bid win rate. If you're looking for ways to improve your bidding strategy, Clay suggests using these rules to determine when to bid: 📝 Closely define the kind of work you should be bidding on: Profitability should be the gold standard by which you assess all potential projects. 🤝 Rank your GCs in a tiered system: These tiers can help you be more intentional about how you handle your relationship with your GC, how often you bid, and what you bid. 📊 Carefully evaluate projects and break them into their own tiers: Just as GC relationships are not created equal, each project should be tiered from jobs you want to target to ones that you may consider targeting. Learn more about how you can create and implement a stronger bidding strategy at the link in the comments.

Upfront, two-way communication between subcontractors and GCs can create a healthy foundation before bidding on a project. But when done right, these conversations can also help you set yourself apart from the competition. In early conversations with a GC, a subcontractor can not only share their expertise, but they can also use these opportunities to show the extra thought they're putting into their bid. Additionally, subcontractors can use these conversations as a way to determine if they may need to account for unforeseen costs before bidding on their next project. We asked experienced subs from around the country how they include unforeseen costs in their bids. Here are some strategies they shared: 💬 Use pre-bid conversations to present yourself as an expert to the GC - Tell your GC you need clarity around project scope before you bid. Share your thoughts on the project and ask them questions. ✏️ Overcommunicate on exclusions - If you have big exclusions for any reason (like fighting unforeseen costs), follow up with the GC as a courtesy and make sure they saw them. This can help prevent a gap in the project and convey your value early. 💸 Value engineer for the GC like you would for yourself - If you notice the GC is using an extravagant material, recommend more cost-effective material that can improve their margins. Even if they don't take your suggestion, you're establishing a dialogue that could help you get more transparent communication. For the full list of recommendations, check out the link in the comments.

One of the (many) perks to working at Billd is our dog-friendly workspace. If you visit our Austin headquarters, here are some of the faces you may see around our office. Dale and Lady; Clover; Winston; Tatum; Nubby; Eddie; Sammie; Frio and Bagels; and Arya. Interested in working alongside some great four-legged friends and their humans? We're hiring for a VP of Customer Success, VP of Engineering, Commercial Litigation Attorney, and more. Learn more about our current career openings and apply at the link in the comments section.

We're hiring 📣 Billd is a fast-growing fintech company looking to disrupt the $1.4 trillion dollar construction industry. We're looking for a VP of Engineering to oversee Billd’s focused and close-knit engineering and product development teams and be excited about continuing to scale our platform! Check out more about us and working life at Billd at billd.com/careers

Cash, lines of credit, credit cards, and material financing are the top four ways subcontractors plan to fund their business growth in 2024. Do you have the working right capital stack in place for your business? Read our latest market report to discover the tools and strategies subs plan to use to fuel their success. Download it now at the link in the comments 👇

A stronger, more intentional billing strategy is one of the best ways you can reduce your cash flow risks. But, communicating changes to your billing process can be a difficult conversation to have with your GCs. Here are four tips from Josh Luebker, a fractional CFO for subcontracting businesses, on how to approach this conversation with your GCs. 🧾 Level with the GC: Focus on transparency and explain why your number is what it is, and what your billing process looks like. This starts while you're bidding and planning work for clients. 👨💻 Expect the GC to expect it: GCs generally won’t be scared away by this type of billing. They’re aware that good subs know to bill this way. ✍️ Push until you get pushback: Luebker says, “Worst-case scenario, you just redo a billing, which takes 3 minutes. But maybe you get an extra $15,000 out of it. They’re not going to pull the contract.” 📊 Use data to be more confident: If you can show you’re not pulling these numbers out of thin air, you’ll appear more confident. To learn more about Josh's strategies for more intentional billing, check out the full article at the link in the comments.