Paperwork pressure – how do you handle it?

Builders’ Business is a column by builders for builders. Its objective is to provide a forum, particularly for small business operators, in which to share knowledge, experience, tips and ideas

Q: The amount of administrative work required for building businesses has picked up in recent years. How are you handling it?

Firm: Gray Brothers Builders Limited
Principal: Bretton Kennedy, Paul McBeth, Mark Ward
Location: Dunedin
Staff: 7 carpenters, 3 apprentices

Since I started building almost 40 years ago, the business has changed dramatically [says Bretton]. Back then, and even when I started my own business 25 years ago, all you needed to seal a deal was a good handshake. Unfortunately, that doesn’t quite cut it anymore. A few years ago, myself and another builder decided to amalgamate our teams, so that one of us could focus solely on the paperwork and the other could oversee the sites. We have ten guys between us and that keeps us busy enough to warrant him managing contracts, accounts, clients and health and safety full time. Short of reverting to the old days, I think this set up is the best way to go. If we hadn’t merged, I would have to spend my evenings completing the paperwork – which is honestly harder than the actual building work – and that’s not much of a work-life balance.

Firm: GJ Gardners Homes Taupo
Principal: Steve Elliot
Location: Taupo
Staff: 4 full-time, 2 part-time staff

The amount of administration work required – including contracts, variations of work, code of compliance documents, invoicing and Records of Work, to name a few – has definitely increased in recent years. Before becoming a franchisee for G J Gardner Homes 11 years ago, I had my own building company and did most of the paperwork myself, but there wasn’t anywhere near the amount there is today. These days, to deliver the seamless experience for customers that G J Gardner promises, having more hands on deck is necessary. In addition to builders – who are all independent contractors – we have four full-time staff and two part-time staff to manage sites, sales, estimating and complete all the admin work. While it might seem like a lot, having enough staff to ensure pricing, paperwork and client management run smoothly requires this level of commitment and the response from our customers shows it’s worthwhile.

Firm: Sherlock Homes 1984 Limited
Principal: John & Gary Sherlock
Location: Invercargill
Staff: 7 carpenters

When we started our business 30 years ago, there wasn’t much paperwork at all – not even GST! Over the years, the workload gradually grew to take up more and more time, and in the last few years it’s become a considerable amount of work. Luckily my brother and I both run the business, so we’ve divided up the management tasks – I run the day-to-day admin and manage pricing and accounts, while he project manages. I never really expected paperwork would take up my entire day but, to ensure the business runs smoothly, it’s essential it gets done. For example, there’s a significant number of forms that need to be filled out for the homeowners to receive their code of compliance and, given we often don’t get paid until they receive it, it’s not work that can be sitting on your desk for weeks. I find it’s hard to keep up with what’s required but we do the best we can. What we want to avoid is having as many admin staff as we do builders!