Gain the edge on every home that you build

Protect your margin, win more of the right customers and turn every handover into your next referral. Practical advice for Australian home builders and residential builders on contracts, SWMS, site safety and building a team that runs the job without you.

Why builders read Your Builder’s Edge

Know what the best builders do

We talk with top builders and advisers and keep across what’s working in the industry, then turn the useful parts into short guides. You get the lessons without the trial and error.

Answers you can use on Monday

Every guide ends in steps you can put in place this week: a pricing check, a variation process, a weekly cash flow routine, a better handover.

Numbers from real jobs

Margins, fees, labour hours and timeframes from builders who’ve done it, so you can see how your business measures up.

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A builder holds up a set of plans with a pencil in hand, inside a plastered house still under construction

Top 10

Top 10 ways to improve your margin

Your margin is decided before the slab goes down. Ten proven ways to win more of it back, starting with your very next quote.

  • Most margin is won or lost before the slab goes down: in which jobs you take and how you price them.
  • Set a margin target, price backwards from it and check your spreadsheet works out margin, not markup.
  • Track labour hours and costs against the estimate while the job runs, when a shortfall can still be fixed.

5 minute read

New this month

Mistakes to avoidin Contracts and warranties

Contract mistakes builders make before they sign

Most contract disputes are set up before anyone signs. Close the seven gaps that cost builders money and start every job on firmer ground.

5 minute read

Explainerin People and leadership

Owner burnout: the warning signs

Burnout usually starts in the business before it shows up in your body. Spot the early signs in yourself and your managers, and change course in time.

4 minute read

Explainerin Safety and compliance

SWMS explained

Plenty of builders file a SWMS unread, yet it is the record a regulator asks for after an incident. Know when you need one and who signs it in your state.

4 minute read

Explainerin Finance and margin

WIP reporting explained

Your accountant says you made money, yet you still can't say which jobs did. A WIP report shows the real profit on every job while there is time to act.

4 minute read

More guides

See all articles

Explainerin Contracts and warranties

Security of payment explained

Security of payment laws are one of the fastest ways to recover an unpaid claim. Every state runs its own Act, so learn yours before you need it.

4 minute read

Mistakes to avoidin Customers, leads and referrals

Customer communication mistakes during the build

Most customer complaints during a build start with silence. Fix seven habits and keep your customers onside, and off your phone, all the way to handover.

3 minute read

How-to guidein Site operations and delay

A site supervisor's weekly routine

When a supervisor's week has no shape, the paperwork happens at night and problems surface late. Give it a rhythm that catches them while they are cheap.

4 minute read

Mistakes to avoidin Finance and margin

Estimating mistakes that eat your margin

Most margin is lost at the estimating desk, long before anyone sees it on site. Fix seven habits and price jobs that actually make you money.

3 minute read

Top 10in Business value and reporting

Top 10 numbers to track in a building business

Turnover and a healthy bank balance can hide a business that is losing money. Track these ten numbers and you will always know where the money is going.

4 minute read