07/17/2026
Here is what going broke while growing looks like for a contractor.
It looks like winning every bid and dreading every Friday, because Friday is payroll and the draws are always two weeks behind the checks.
It looks like paying your subs late and hearing your name change on the street.
It looks like the accountant saying the company shows a taxable profit while the cash sits in retainage, unbilled work, and a change order the customer refuses to sign. The profit is on paper. The tax bill is due in cash.
None of this shows up in the revenue number. Revenue was up the whole time. Revenue is up right until the day the bank calls the line.
The number that tells the truth is job profitability. What each job actually cost in labor, materials, equipment, and subs, against what it actually paid. Some jobs carry the company. Some jobs bleed it.
An owner who cannot name which is which is guessing, and the personal guarantee on the line of credit does not care that revenue grew.
Revenue tells you how much work you sold. Job profitability tells
you whether that work was worth doing.
Run the second report before the bank runs it for you.
