Have you ever wondered why, despite
accurate estimates of materials, subcontractors,
and labor, you keep losing bids
to other builders' lower prices? Or why
you lose money on some of the jobs you
win, even though the construction goes
as planned? One reason may be the way
you deal with labor burden — the hidden
costs of labor. If you treat labor burden
as overhead instead of as a direct
cost, your prices will be either too high
to win the work, or too low to make
money.
What Is Labor Burden?
Direct costs for materials and subcontractors
are easy to estimate. Some suppliers
will even do the material takeoff
for you, and most subs will submit