If You’re Doing Rebuilds Without This, You’re Bleeding Cash

Without clear budgets for labor, materials, and subs, restoration and home service businesses stand to lose money.

I’ve been helping restoration business owners get more profitable, reduce the chaos, and build a business they can sell for a significant amount of money when they decide to move on. And this topic today? It’s one that could make or break your profitability on rebuild jobs.

Let me tell you how I started my rebuild division—because I did it the right way (for me). At that point, I had already been in the mitigation business for eight years. Before I ever said yes to a rebuild job, I spent time talking to people in the industry.

I spoke with contractors who had wildly successful rebuild operations, and I learned from their wins. I also talked with folks who were struggling—big time. And, I had some eye-opening conversations with owners who had completely walked away from rebuild work because it created so much chaos and financial pain.

And guess what? The #1 mistake I kept seeing over and over again was this:

They were starting jobs without a documented budget.

They’d get a signed contract, mobilize the crew, and start working hard to take care of the customer. But they had no labor plan, no material budget, no target GP%. They were running fast, and hoping it would all work out.

Now, have you ever heard the saying: “Hope is not a strategy?” That fits perfectly here.

One of the best decisions I ever made was this: We never start a job without a written, detailed budget. Labor, materials, and targeted gross profit—all documented before we lift a hammer.

Why? Because how can your PM or your production team hit the bullseye if they don’t even know where it is?

This isn't just about job costing after the fact. This is about job planning before anything starts. When your team has clear targets and a process to review progress against those targets, you can hold people accountable, improve over time, and actually grow a profitable rebuild department instead of just hoping for the best.

If you’re already doing rebuilds, but haven’t committed to pre-job budgeting, now’s the time. And if you’re still running a mitigation-only business but thinking about expanding into rebuilds, do yourself a favor and start with this process in place. It’ll save you a ton of pain—and a lot of money.

Need help creating a system like this for your team? Let’s talk.