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7 Costly Mistakes Building Contractors Make (and how to avoid them)

The financial traps that quietly eat contractors' profits, explained in plain English, with a simple fix for each one. Written by a specialist accountant for the building trade.

  • Why "turnover up, profit down" happens, and how to stop it
  • The CIS & reverse-charge VAT traps that trigger penalties
  • How to know your tax bill months in advance
  • The one report that tells you if you can afford the next job

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Free · PDF 7 Costly Mistakes Building Contractors Make — free guide cover
Written by a Chartered Management Accountant Built for the construction trade Plain English, no jargon

What's inside

Seven mistakes we see building contractors make again and again, and a clear action point for fixing each one.

1

You don't know which jobs make money

Busy and profitable-looking, yet a couple of loss-making jobs are hiding in the mix. How to cost a job properly and see your real margin.

2

You're confusing turnover with profit

Why bigger isn't better, and the markup-vs-margin maths trap that quietly costs contractors thousands on every quote.

3

You run out of cash when you're flat out

Profitable on paper but skint in the bank. The simple 13-week forecast that shows a cash dip while you still have options.

4

You're getting CIS and reverse-charge VAT wrong

The two rules that catch out more contractors than anything else, and exactly how to set them up so they just run.

5

You only hear from your accountant once a year

Why a year-end-only relationship costs you money, and how easy it really is to move to someone proactive.

6

You keep getting surprise tax bills

The demand that lands when the money's already spent, and the dead-simple habit that means you're never caught out again.

7

You're trying to do it all yourself

When the shoebox and the out-of-date spreadsheet start costing more than they save, and what to put in their place.

If any of these sound like your firm, this guide is for you.

Who wrote it

Advice from someone who's run the numbers

This guide is written by Patrick Berne, founder of Berne & Co Accountancy Services. Before setting up in practice, Patrick spent most of his career as a Financial Controller inside real businesses, running the numbers, sitting on senior management teams, and controlling the cash and costs that decide whether a firm thrives. It's that hands-on commercial experience, not just tax knowledge, that goes into every page.

Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA, CGMA) 10+ years in industry finance Specialists for building contractors

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