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31st October 2020 Following the National Lockdown announcement in England, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been extended for a month. Employees will receive 80% of their current salary for hours not worked. The government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) – also known as the Furlough scheme – will remain open until December, with employees receiving 80% of their current salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of…

The quote is just the beginning. If you thought EstimatorXpress was just about creating an accurate, professional-looking quote – at speed – you’d be wrong. We put as much work into the project management side of the software as we do the estimating side – for one reason. HBXL is in the business of helping you win the work and then profit from it. We’re here for the whole journey…

12 tips on managing a building project to make money: 5 minute read EstimatorXpress software’s project management tools >> OK so you won the job. Great! But you’re not on top of the job. Bad! It’s not the winning that counts (although you need to win to do the work – I get that). It’s how you carry out the building project once you’ve won it. Success is ensuring the…

Following the Chancellor’s statement on 22nd October 2020, we have highlighted two government support schemes that we believe could be of interest to the construction community. Self Employment Income Support Scheme Grant Announced on 22.10.20 The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme Grant has been given an Extension by the Government. It will provide support to the self-employed in the form of two grants, each available for three month periods: November 2020…

Public Health England (PHE) have provided advice on reporting cases of Covid-19 at your business premises. In the case of construction companies those business premises are both the company office and building sites. This is what they say: As an employer, you have a duty to ensure your staff report any symptoms of Covid-19 and immediately self-isolate and book a test. If you are informed of more than one confirmed…

Does your building firm stand out from your competitors? When costs are close there’s often little to choose between competing building firms – so what’s a homeowner to do? What is it that gets companies on to the short list? Visuals. Lovely images of what could be. Basically, an impressive visualisation of a dream extension could make all the difference between who wins and loses. And PlansXpress is your quickest…

Want more business success for your building firm? Are you keeping things just the way they are? Or have you imagined a better way of working? Are you using these strange times as an opportunity to make improvements? You need a plan. Yep. A plan. You’ve probably heard the saying ‘Failing to plan is planning to fail’. Well we can all wing it when it comes to the smaller things…

Do you think about marketing your building firm better – but don’t know where to start? Do you want to undertake larger, more profitable work? Do you want a steady stream of decent business? Do you want to attract the best people to work for your company? If the answer is yes, then read our tips and tricks. If you really want to raise your profile and attract the ‘better…

This is the third in a series of three articles on knowing your costs, for improved financial health and a better chance of winning good profitable work. You’ll find the other two articles here: Part I: How to reduce your overheads >> Part II: How to include all the costs in your estimates >> “Growing your business by working 20% more hours is not growth. That is called working longer…

This is the second in a series of three articles on knowing your costs, for improved financial health and a better chance of winning good profitable work. You’ll find the other two articles here: Part I: How to reduce your overheads >> Part III: How to price for profit and not just to fill the diary >> Not many people have the capacity to remember every last item that needs…

This is the first in a series of three articles on knowing your costs, for improved financial health and a better chance of winning good profitable work. You’ll find the other two articles here: Part II: How to include all the costs in your estimates >> Part III: How to price for profit and not just to fill the diary >> James from our partners Comera Professional has these valuable…