Run your building or trades firm as a business, with the numbers and the words
A complete business toolkit for small contractors, from sole trader with a van to a firm of about 25: real overheads, your true charge-out rate, pricing by job type, cash, getting paid, pipeline, crew, subcontractors, insurance and the weekly numbers.
- A 10-chapter e-book that follows one composite five-person renovation firm through a quarter, with every step tied to a file
- The Contractor Business Workbook: 17 sheets from overheads and charge-out rate to a 13-week cash forecast, debtors, pipeline, crew capacity, subcontractors, equipment, callbacks, renewals and two dashboards
- A 7-sheet Hire, Subcontract or Say No Calculator with a break-even workload, a weighted job-fit scorer and a minimum charge calculator
- 4 fillable PDF forms, 7 Word documents including 9 brand-ready chasing letters, 42 messages and 28 AI prompts, 4 cheat sheets, a 42-event calendar and a 29-task board
The Small Contractor Business Kit · Bodhih Pro Kits · 241 by Bodhih Training, trainers to 2,000+ companies since 2008.
How do you run a small construction or trades business profitably?
Know your overheads and the true charge-out rate they imply, set a target margin and minimum job for each type of work, forecast cash thirteen weeks ahead, chase invoices on fixed days, and track where your work comes from. The Small Contractor Business Kit from Bodhih Training gives you a file for each step.
Want the full free guide first? Read How to Calculate Your Charge-Out Rate as a Contractor or Tradesperson.
You already feel the problem. Here is what it is costing you.
Busy all year, nothing left
The team is paid, the suppliers are paid, and the account still dips into the overdraft. Prices cover the job's direct costs but not the vans, insurance, yard, office and your own quoting time.
An hourly rate copied from competitors
Your rate is what others charge, not what your business costs to run. Below break-even, every extra hour of work makes things worse.
Saying yes to everything
Low-margin jobs, long payment terms and retentions fill the crew's weeks and block the work that pays. Without a stance by job type, every enquiry looks the same.
Chasing money when you remember
Late invoices get an angry text at 10 at night or nothing at all. Debtor days creep up and the cash gap widens.
Hire or subcontract on gut feel
Another employee feels safer; a subcontractor feels cheaper. Neither feeling knows your real workload, the break-even point or the status rules.
Doing the office at night
Quotes, invoices, renewals and subcontractor documents live in your head and your phone, and get done after a full day on the tools.
Picture the next few weeks with the kit open beside you.
Picture your first hour with the kit. You open the Start Here map, type last year's overheads into the workbook and watch the Charge-Out Rate sheet show you what every productive hour must carry. Before the kettle has boiled twice, you know your real hourly rate.
Now it is Friday afternoon, three weeks in. As you roll the 13-week cash forecast forward, you see a thin week coming in week seven, while there is still time to bring forward a stage payment. The Debtors sheet shows which letter each late invoice needs, and the letters are already written in your name.
Imagine an enquiry for a big commercial fit-out on 90-day terms. You score it on the job fit sheet, see payment risk flagged, and decline politely with words from the message library, keeping the crew's weeks for the bathrooms and kitchens that earn their keep.
And then the monthly review. You open the Dashboard: margin by job type, debtor days, the lowest cash week, crew utilisation, callbacks. Whether you start with the e-book tonight or the workbook first thing tomorrow, the business is visible, and you decide from the numbers.
20 files that do the work for you
The e-book shows you how. The tools make it happen. Here is exactly what you download.
The Small Contractor Business Kit (e-book, PDF)
The guide: methods, worked examples, scripts and exercises
Start here: contractor business map
The business as ten parts with the file to open for each, your first hour, your first week, a 30/60/90 day plan, the 'Brand it in five minutes' box and links to measure your starting point.
Contractor Business Workbook
17-sheet workbook: settings, overhead budget, overhead recovery and charge-out rate, pricing strategy by job type, job profitability log, 13-week cash forecast, debtors with chase stages, pipeline and lead sources, crew and van capacity, subcontractor register, vans and equipment with a replacement fund, callbacks, renewals and two dashboards with charts.
Hire, Subcontract or Say No Calculator
7-sheet calculator: the cost of hiring against subcontracting at your real workload with a break-even point, workload scenarios, a weighted job-fit scorer with say-yes, conditions or no verdicts, and a minimum charge and call-out calculator.
Business health check
Three-page fillable health check: the numbers you know and the ones you do not, 12 areas scored 1 to 5, red flags, and your top three fixes with owners and dates.
Job fit scorecard
Two-page fillable scorecard for any enquiry: the job and client, six weighted criteria, red flags, minimum job and margin checks, a say yes, yes with conditions or no decision, and the words to decline politely.
Subcontractor and new starter onboarding checklists
Four-page fillable pack: a subcontractor onboarding checklist (documents, status, rates, quality and site expectations) and a new hire and apprentice induction checklist (first day, first week, first month).
Monthly business review and renewals checklist
Four-page fillable pack: the monthly business review (numbers, jobs, cash, pipeline, people, quality, decisions) and an insurance and licence renewal checklist to use before every renewal.
Terms of business discussion sheet
Brand-ready discussion sheet: 20 topics for your terms of business with what to decide and plain-words starting wording, a one-page client summary and a quote checklist, for a lawyer to finish.
Payment chasing letter sequence
9 brand-ready letters from a courtesy note to a letter before formal action, plus a stage payment cover letter, a disputed-invoice reply, a retention release request, a payment plan letter and a phone-call script.
Contractor message library
42 ready-to-edit messages in 9 groups: enquiries and quotes, deposits and payments, payment reminders, saying no, trade partners, subcontractor briefings, client updates and callbacks, crew announcements, and reviews.
Crew handbook and subcontractor agreement starter
Brand-ready starter: a 12-section crew handbook (hours, timesheets, vans, tools, safety, clients' homes, phones, training, conduct, AI use) and a 16-topic subcontractor agreement discussion sheet for a lawyer.
Monthly owner report template
Brand-ready nine-section monthly report for a partner, bank, adviser or your own file: summary, numbers that matter, jobs, cash and debtors, pipeline, people and protection, risks, decisions and owner's time.
Worked example pack: a renovation firm's quarter
The kit's forms and sheets completed for one illustrative five-person renovation firm over one quarter: health check, overheads and charge-out rate, pricing by job type, cash forecast, debt chasing, job fit decisions, a hire-or-subcontract decision, protection and a monthly review.
AI prompt pack for contractors
28 tool-agnostic prompts grouped by the 7 parts of running a trades business, each with what to paste in and what to check before you use the output, plus privacy and human review rules.
Job fit decision card and mistakes to avoid
If-this-then-that rules for 10 enquiry decisions, 6 pricing and cash moments and 5 people and protection moments, plus 12 common mistakes with what to do instead.
Numbers that matter: KPI card
Fourteen numbers a contractor runs on: plain definitions, exact formulas, where each lives in the workbook and what to do if it moves.
Contractor country notes (October 2026)
Dated reference: what to check on status, construction tax schemes, payment law, licensing, safety and insurance, with verified notes for the UK, US, Canada, Australia and India.
90-day business reset and monthly review calendar
42 calendar events: a 90-day reset of overheads, pricing, cash, pipeline, people and protection, a weekly owner's hour and three monthly business reviews, each naming the file to open.
Contractor business task board
29 business reset tasks as a CSV ready to import into Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner or Jira, with phase, week, the file to open and a due date.
Chapter by chapter
Each chapter opens with a real situation, gives you a method and ends with something to do today, using the tools in your kit.
- Format
- PDF e-book + XLSX + fillable PDF + DOCX + printable PDF + ICS + CSV
- Files
- 20 files plus a one-click ZIP
- E-book
- 61 pages
- Workbooks
- 17-sheet business workbook and 7-sheet calculator, with sample data marked SAMPLE, formulas and charts
- Works with
- Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice, Word, Google Docs, Acrobat Reader, Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar, Trello, Asana, Notion
- Best for
- Small building, renovation and trades firms, from sole trader to about 25 people
The Business Behind the Tools
Who the kit is for, what it covers, the ten-part method and how the tools fit together.
How a Trades Business Really Makes Money
The five parts of every price, why busy firms lose money, and markup versus margin.
Overheads and the True Charge-Out Rate
Listing every overhead, counting productive hours honestly and calculating the true charge-out rate.
Pricing Strategy: Margins by Job Type, Minimum Jobs and Saying No
Target margins, minimum jobs, call-out charges and a stance for each type of work, including what to say no to.
The Cash Cycle and the 13-Week Forecast
Why profit is not cash in trades, how deposits and stage payments close the gap, and a 13-week forecast.
Getting Paid on Time
A polite, firm chase sequence with fixed days, payment plans and disputed invoices, with legal steps left to your lawyer.
The Work Pipeline
Logging every enquiry by source, scoring job fit, following up, and building trade partnerships and repeat work.
Crew Capacity and Choosing the Jobs That Fit
Planning thirteen weeks of crew and vans, filling gaps early and choosing jobs that fit the business.
Hiring, Apprentices and Subcontractors
Hire or subcontract on real numbers, employment status as a legal question, apprentices and onboarding.
Insurance, Licences, Equipment and Callbacks
Insurance in general, licences, a replacement fund for vans and tools, and callbacks as a cost line.
Systems, AI and the Owner's Hour
The weekly owner's hour, the monthly review, software categories, AI with a human review rule, and getting off the tools.
Off the Tools, On the Business
What changes when the business is visible, and three habits to keep.
Numbers That Matter: Definitions and Formulas
Fourteen numbers with formulas, matched to the workbook.
Six Rules for Using AI in a Trades Office
Six rules for using AI safely in a trades office.
Not just reading. Tools you will actually open again.
E-book
- The Small Contractor Business Kit: 10 chapters, 2 appendices and 6 hand-drawn figures (PDF)
Start here
- 00-Start-Here-Contractor-Business-Map: the business in ten parts with the file for each, your first hour, your first week, a 30/60/90 day plan and a 'Brand it in five minutes' box
Workbooks
- Contractor Business Workbook (17 sheets): Start here, Settings, Overheads, Charge-Out Rate, Pricing Strategy, Job Log, Cash Forecast, Debtors, Pipeline, Sources, Crew Capacity, Subcontractors, Vans and Equipment, Callbacks, Renewals, a Dashboard with 31 live measures and a margin-by-job-type chart, and a Cash View with a 13-week balance chart
- Hire, Subcontract or Say No Calculator (7 sheets): Inputs, Hire or Subcontract with break-even workload, Workload Scenarios, Job Fit scorer, Minimum Charge and a Summary chart
Fillable PDF forms
- Business health check: the numbers you know, twelve areas scored, red flags and your top three fixes
- Job fit scorecard: six weighted criteria, red flags, minimum job and margin checks and a decision
- Subcontractor and new starter onboarding checklists: documents, status, rates, site expectations, and a first day, week and month induction for employees and apprentices
- Monthly business review and renewals checklist: numbers, jobs, cash, pipeline, people, decisions, and an insurance and licence renewal checklist
Word templates (brand-ready)
- Terms of business discussion sheet: 20 topics in plain words for your lawyer, a one-page client summary and a quote checklist
- Payment chasing letter sequence: 9 letters from a courtesy note to a letter before formal action, plus a phone-call script
- Contractor message library: 42 messages for enquiries, quotes, deposits, reminders, saying no, trade partners, subcontractors, clients, crew and reviews
- Crew handbook and subcontractor agreement starter: a 12-section crew handbook and a 16-topic subcontractor agreement discussion sheet
- Monthly owner report template: nine sections for a partner, bank, adviser or your own file
- Worked example pack: a five-person renovation firm's quarter, with every main form and sheet completed
- AI prompt pack for contractors: 28 prompts, each with what to paste in and what to check
Cheat sheets
- Job fit decision card and mistakes to avoid
- Numbers that matter: KPI card with 14 numbers, formulas and actions
- Contractor country notes, dated October 2026
Calendar and import
- 90-day business reset and monthly review calendar (ICS): 42 events for Google Calendar, Outlook or Apple Calendar
- Contractor business task board (CSV): 29 tasks for Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner or Jira
When you have worked through it, you will be able to…
Every outcome is practised with a worked example and a tool, not just described.
- Work out your real overheads, overhead recovery rate and true charge-out rate
- Set a target margin, minimum job, call-out charge and stance for each type of work
- Forecast cash thirteen weeks ahead and spot thin weeks while you can still act
- Chase late invoices politely and firmly on fixed days, with letters ready to send
- See which lead sources bring the work that pays, and score job fit before quoting
- Plan crew and van capacity, and compare hiring with subcontracting at your real workload
- Keep insurance, licences, subcontractor documents and equipment checks in date
- Run a weekly owner's hour and a monthly business review, and hand over office work step by step
Know your starting point. Prove your progress.
People who measure before and after improve faster and can show it. AssessAll, our sister assessment platform, has AI-graded assessments that pair with this kit. Take one now, work through the kit, then re-take it.
Small Business Operating Decision Assessment for Shop, Service and Studio Owners
Take the assessment →AssessAll assessmentFour Quarters: Financial Judgement for Managers Who Are Not in Finance
Take the assessment →AssessAll assessmentCommercial Terms and Contract Reading
Take the assessment →JobularyA development plan that survives week six (Jobulary)
Make it a growth plan →A taste of Chapter 1
Here is the trap Sarah and Jake both fell into. If your prices cover the direct costs with a little on top, every job looks profitable. The client pays, the materials are paid for, the team is paid. But if the little on top does not add up to your overheads across the year, the business loses money while looking busy. More work at the same prices makes it worse, not better, because each extra job brings its own slice of the problem. The fix is not to work harder. It is to know three numbers: what your overheads are, how many hours a year you can actually charge to jobs, and therefore how much every chargeable hour must carry. That is Chapter 2.
The honest comparison
| Free templates and typical advice | This kit | |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly rate | Copied from competitors | Calculated from your overheads, productive hours, labour cost and target margin |
| Pricing | One rate for everything | Target margin, minimum job, call-out charge and a stance for each job type, checked against the Job Log |
| Cash | Check the bank balance | A 13-week forecast with a buffer, flags and a balance chart, rolled forward weekly |
| Getting paid | Chase when you remember | Chase stages by days overdue and 9 letters, with legal steps left to your lawyer |
| Hire or subcontract | Gut feel | A calculator with the break-even workload and a clear note that status is a legal question |
| Protection | Find out when something lapses | Renewals, subcontractor documents and equipment checks with warning dates |
| Measurement | A blank spreadsheet | Live dashboards with 31 measures and a KPI card with formulas and actions |
Made for you if…
- Owners of small building and renovation firms, from sole traders to about 25 people
- General contractors doing domestic and light commercial work
- Electricians, plumbers, carpenters and joiners, painters and decorators, tilers, roofers, HVAC and refrigeration firms, landscapers and handymen
- Office managers and partners who run the money, paperwork and schedule
- Tradespeople planning to step back from the tools and run the business
- Contractors in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, the Gulf, Singapore, Africa and the Philippines
Probably not for you if…
- Anyone looking for a line-by-line estimating method for individual jobs: The Trades Estimating and Quoting System covers take-offs and unit rates
- Anyone wanting legal, tax, insurance or safety advice: the kit is educational and points you to your accountant, lawyer, broker, regulator and a competent person, with country notes dated October 2026
- Homeowners managing their own build or renovation: The Renovation Project Manager and Self-Build Owner's Kit are written for you
Built by trainers, tested in real rooms.
Bodhih Training has designed and delivered corporate programmes since 2008. Bodhih Pro Kits package what works in those workshops into a guide plus the exact tools we use, so you can apply it the same day without a facilitator in the room.
From here to using it in three steps
- STEP 1
Tap Get the kit
Name, email and country. UPI, card or netbanking in India; international cards everywhere else. No account to create.
- STEP 2
Download instantly
Your download page opens at once, with every file and a one-click ZIP. A permanent link lands in your inbox too.
- STEP 3
Open the first tool
Start with the quick-start chapter, then the main spreadsheet or planner. Most buyers use something from the kit the same day.
See your business as clearly as you see a job
As you open the workbook and type last year's overheads, you will see the hourly rate your business actually needs. Whether you start with the e-book tonight or the cash forecast on Friday, every tool is ready to use with your own numbers the same day.
Personal licence for the buyer's own use (and use with your own team, crew and clients where the kit says so). Please don't share or resell the files. Team and company licences: solutions@bodhih.com.
What buyers say
No ratings yet. Only people who have bought this kit can rate it - every buyer gets a one-click rating link a couple of days after their purchase.
The Bodhih family, when you are ready for more
The Renovation Client Communication Pack
Give homeowners a professional client pack.
The Site Safety and Handover Kit
Keep small sites organised and safe day to day and hand jobs over cleanly.
The Trades Estimating and Quoting System
Price building and trade jobs with a system.
AssessAll
250+ AI-graded assessments to measure skills and earn verified credentials.
Jobulary
Individual development plans that start from evidence and stay yours.
Bodhih Training
Run this topic as a live workshop for your team, in person or online.
Pewple
Book a vetted coach for career, leadership or communication. Pay per session.
Bodhih.org pathways
Certification pathways in Applied AI, Workplace English and management.
The Small Contractor Business Kit: FAQs
Read the free guideAlready bought? Resend my linkCan I use this with my staff, crew and subcontractors?
Yes. Within your own business, under the personal licence, you can use the tools with your office team, crew and subcontractors, and send the letters and messages to your clients. Company and multi-site licences are available from solutions@bodhih.com.
Does it work in my country?
The method works anywhere: overheads, charge-out rates, margins, cash forecasting and chase stages are universal, and the workbooks use any currency and a sales tax placeholder. Employment status, construction tax schemes, payment law, licensing and insurance differ by country and state, so the dated country notes cover the UK, US, Canada, Australia and India and tell you what to check elsewhere. Laws need local checking with your adviser.
How do I work out my charge-out rate as a contractor?
Add up a year of overheads, divide by the productive hours your crew can charge to jobs to get the overhead recovery rate, add the labour cost per productive hour, then divide by one minus your target net margin. The Charge-Out Rate sheet in the workbook does this from your Settings and Overheads.
What is the difference between markup and margin?
Markup is what you add on top of cost; margin is the share of the price you keep. A 25% markup gives a 20% margin, and a 25% margin needs a 33% markup. The KPI card and the Charge-Out Rate sheet show both formulas.
Is this an estimating or quoting system?
No. This kit runs the business: overheads, the hourly rate, pricing rules by job type, cash, collections, pipeline, people and protection. Line-by-line job estimating belongs to The Trades Estimating and Quoting System, and running a single job to handover is The Contractor Job File Kit.
Is the content legal, tax or safety advice?
No. The kit is educational. Templates are discussion sheets for a lawyer, tax and employment points are for your accountant, insurance is for your broker, and safety follows your national safety regulator and a competent person. Nothing in the kit makes a job or a business compliant, and it makes no promise about work, margins or income.
How do I measure my starting point?
Start with the Business Health Check in the kit. To measure your own judgement, AssessAll offers the Small Business Operating Decision Assessment for Shop, Service and Studio Owners, Four Quarters: Financial Judgement for Managers Who Are Not in Finance, and Commercial Terms and Contract Reading (separate products at assessall.com).
How do I turn this into a development plan for myself?
The 90-day calendar gives you the business plan. For your own growth as an owner, Jobulary's article on a development plan that survives week six shows how to set goals you keep beyond the first enthusiasm.
Do I need special software?
No. The workbooks open in Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice, the forms in any PDF reader, the templates in Word or Google Docs, the calendar in Google, Outlook or Apple Calendar, and the task board imports into Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner or Jira.
Can I put my own logo on the letters and templates?
Yes. Every client-facing and crew-facing Word template starts with a [YOUR BUSINESS NAME] · [LOGO] · [CONTACT] line, and the Start Here map lists which files to brand. It takes about five minutes.
How much does The Small Contractor Business Kit cost?
₹999 including 18% GST for buyers in India, or $29 for buyers outside India. One-time payment, no subscription, with an automatic invoice.
How do I get the files after paying?
Instantly. Your download page opens the moment payment succeeds, and a permanent download link is emailed to you. Download each file separately or everything in one ZIP.
What software do I need?
Any of the usual tools: Excel or Google Sheets for spreadsheets, Word or Google Docs for templates, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Preview, Xodo or GoodNotes for the fillable PDFs, and Google, Outlook or Apple Calendar for the calendar plan.
Can I get a refund?
Because it is a digital download, kits are not refundable once downloaded. We always refund a duplicate charge or a failed delivery, and if a file is corrupted and we cannot fix it within 3 working days. Full terms: bodhih.org/refunds.
Can my company buy this for a team?
Yes. Team and company licences, and workshops on this topic run by Bodhih Training, are available. Write to solutions@bodhih.com or call +91 99000 11601.
