Fewer than 4 in 10 contractors catch overruns in time. Here’s the tracking method that spots profit drift mid-job — before the decision window closes.

Marcus checked the timesheet on day nine of a twelve-day coatings job. Hours tracked: 284. Budget: 290. Six hours of cushion left. He closed the laptop satisfied — the job was running clean.

Thirty-eight days later, the job cost report landed. Net margin: 3.1%. He’d quoted 16%.

Nobody on the team could explain where the other thirteen points went. The hours looked fine. The schedule held. The client signed off. And yet somewhere in those twelve days, the margin quietly left the building — and nobody saw it happen.

According to a study published by GlobeNewswire on August 5, 2026, fewer than 41% of contractors can identify potential overruns while they are still manageable on at least half of their projects. The rest find out too late — after the job closes, after the invoice is sent, after the decision window is permanently shut.

You’re not the problem. The tracking method is.

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