Signed to Settled
A construction project is supposed to turn the contract into revenue, the revenue into margin and the margin into cash. It can leak at three points: when the contract's signed, while the project's built and when the account's settled.
Each section below sets out what goes wrong at that point, what it costs and how to check whether it's happening to you.
Sign
Cash protected
What goes wrong
Sign starts well before the contract arrives, with the decision about who to work for and whether to bid at all. A client who can't fund the project or a tender you should have walked away from will cost more than any clause. After that, amendments move risk onto you that the price doesn't carry. Once the contract's signed, you've agreed to carry it.
What it costs
From the Daily Brief, 9 November 2026£420,000 to fix a slab that was already wrong when we signed for it.Check
- Did somebody read the whole amendment schedule before you signed, and write down what it changed?
- Does a named senior person have to approve a new client, a price and a contract before each one goes ahead?
What fixing looks like
A written bid or no bid decision against conditions agreed in advance, evidence of who's funding the project and then every amendment listed with what it moves, what it would cost and whether to price it, qualify it or strike it out, before anyone signs.
Build
Cash accelerated
What goes wrong
Variations get instructed and built without being valued, notices go out late and the reported figures drift away from what's been certified. The project looks profitable while the cash goes the other way.
What it costs
From the Daily Brief, 4 November 2026Fifteen words to get paid in March. Eleven months later they put £310,000 at risk.Check
- Does every instruction, verbal ones included, get logged and valued within a month?
- On every live project, is your reported WIP within 5% of what's actually been certified?
What fixing looks like
Notices served on time, a variation register somebody owns and one line in every monthly review comparing reported WIP with certified.
Settle
Cash released
What goes wrong
The final account stalls, the money you've earned sits with the client and every month it stays open you're funding them and your own supply chain.
What it costs
From the Daily Brief, 11 November 2026Ten seconds of silence that cost about £60,000.Check
- Do your final accounts close within six months of finishing on site?
- When you weigh up a dispute, do you compare what it'll cost to win against what you'd actually get back?
What fixing looks like
The account rebuilt line by line, a figure you can defend in front of an adjudicator and a decision on adjudication made on the numbers.
Where many people start
Many people call me about a final account. The cause is usually a clause nobody priced or a notice that went out late, so once the account's settled the work often moves back to the earlier stages, on the projects coming through behind it.
Next
If you'd like to see where your business stands, the three-minute self-check scores you at each stage. If something's live on your desk, send me the notice, the clause or the account and you'll have a straight answer within two working days. If neither, read the Daily Brief for a month.