Guides for trades businesses

Practical pieces on pricing, estimating, invoicing and hiring — written for people who run the business rather than study it.

How to calculate your billable hourly rateMost contractors bill too little because they price against competitors instead of costs. Here is the arithmetic that actually produces a rate you can live on.Writing an estimate that actually wins the jobSpeed, clarity and options decide more bids than price does. What belongs on a trades estimate, and what quietly costs you the job.What belongs on a contractor invoiceWhat a trades invoice must contain, what makes it get paid faster, and what to keep so it survives an audit or a dispute.1099 or W-2: classifying the people who work for youMisclassification is one of the most expensive mistakes a trades business can make. Here is the distinction, and what it means in practice.