In this episode of Pull the Permit, we break down why revenue alone doesn't tell you whether your contracting business is actually healthy. A company can be doing millions in sales, keeping crews busy, and still struggle with gross profit, cash flow, and thin net margins. Chris Fink and Keith Eneix explore the numbers contractors should actually track—from gross profit and COGS to job costing, close rates, cash collected, and weekly scorecards. They also discuss how better financial visibility and accountability can help contractors protect profitability and build a business that can operate without the owner being involved in everything. 00:00 - Why Revenue Doesn't Tell the Whole Story00:30 - Do You Know Your Gross Margin?02:28 - Why Revenue Can Be Misleading03:19 - When Bigger Jobs Don't Mean Bigger Profits04:17 - The Hidden Cost of Adding More Crews05:26 - Cash Flow & Accounts Receivable06:00 - Subcontractors vs. Internal Crews06:23 - Understanding COGS08:08 - Gross Margin & Net Profit Targets09:00 - Problems With Your Financial Reporting10:38 - Growth Mode vs. Profit Mode13:20 - Why Net Profit Matters15:21 - Tracking COGS Correctly18:46 - Building a Weekly Scorecard20:18 - Job Costing Every Project22:26 - Which Jobs Are Most Profitable?25:44 - Tracking Leads, Estimates & Sales27:31 - Close Rates & Average Job Value29:45 - Tracking Cash Collected31:30 - Diagnosing Sales Problems With Data33:49 - Labor & Production Efficiency34:20 - When KPIs Can't Fix the Wrong Person36:24 - Cash Position & Financial Runway42:28 - Weekly Scorecard Discipline44:27 - How Accountability Creates Freedom48:44 - Why Weekly Meetings Matter51:30 - Building a Sellable Business52:27 - The One-Page Scorecard Challenge53:17 - Final Thoughts 1. Revenue Doesn't Equal ProfitA big top-line number can hide serious problems. Labor overruns, overtime, materials, commissions, poor job costing, and slow collections can turn a large project into a low-margin job. One example discussed is a roughly $200,000 project that produced only about a 5% net profit. 2. Know the Numbers That Move Your BusinessGross profit, net profit, COGS, leads, estimates, close rates, average job value, cash collected, and production efficiency provide a much clearer picture than revenue alone. You don't need to track everything—focus on the numbers that show whether the business is on or off track. 3. Build a Weekly ScorecardDon't wait for a monthly P&L to discover problems weeks later. Pick five to eight important numbers, assign accountability, and review them every week. You don't need complicated software—a spreadsheet can be enough to start. "Math over mystery." "If you don't know your numbers, you don't know your business." "You have no cash, you have no options." Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode of Pull the Permit, like, share, and subscribe for more conversations designed to help contractors and home service business owners build stronger, more profitable businesses. Contractor business, contractor profitability, contractor revenue, gross profit, net profit, contractor COGS, job costing, contractor cash flow, contractor KPIs, contractor scorecard, home service business, contractor sales, cash reserves, business operations, contractor growth #PullThePermit #ContractorBusiness #ContractorProfit #HomeServiceBusiness #JobCosting #ContractorKPIs #CashFlow #ContractorSuccess
