Notes on automating a contracting business
Longer answers to the questions we get asked most, written for owners rather than for search engines.
We write these to answer the questions contractors actually ask before they call, in more depth than a FAQ answer allows. The topics come out of real conversations: what to automate first, what it costs, what it actually saves, and what AI will not do for you. No hype, no invented savings figures, and no case studies we cannot back up. If a post quotes a number, it shows you the arithmetic so you can check it against your own business.
Who it is for
Owners and operators of small contracting businesses in the Denver area. Roofing, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, concrete, carpentry, and general contracting. Usually somewhere between two and thirty people, where the owner is still the one pricing the work and still the one doing the paperwork after dinner. If you are evaluating whether AI is worth any of your time, these are written for you rather than for someone shopping enterprise software.
What we will and will not write
We will write about what to fix first, how to work out the arithmetic yourself, what a build actually involves, and what AI cannot do for a contractor. We will not publish savings percentages we cannot show the maths for, case studies we do not have permission to tell, tool roundups for products we have not run in our own business, or anything written to hit a keyword rather than answer a question. If a post ever stops passing that test, it comes down.
All posts
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Do I Have to Replace My Software to Use AI?
You almost never have to replace the software you already run to use AI. Here is how it works on top of QuickBooks and the tools you already have.
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How Much Can AI Automation Save My Contracting Business?
Nobody can quote you a savings figure without your numbers. Here is the arithmetic to work out your own, across hours, cash timing, and work you never bid.
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What Tasks Should I Automate First in My Contracting Business?
Automate the task that is repetitive, triggered by something real, and costing you evenings. Here is how to find yours, and what to leave alone at the start.
Rather just ask us directly?
Thirty minutes, free. We'll tell you what we'd fix first.
Rather write it out? Send a message instead.