Masonry bookkeeping: production rates, pallets and scaffold

Masonry is measured in units laid. Brick, block and stone go up at a rate a crew can sustain, and almost every question about whether a masonry job made money comes back to that rate: how many units the estimate assumed a crew would lay in a day, and how many they actually laid.

Books that track materials and payroll as monthly totals cannot see it. Books that put hours and material against each job can — and that is where masonry margin is found or lost.

Production rate is the number that matters

A masonry estimate is built on production: units per mason per day, adjusted for the wall, the height, the pattern, the access and the weather. Get the rate wrong by a modest amount and a job that looked profitable becomes one that broke even.

The books close the loop. With labor hours recorded by job, you can compare the hours the estimate assumed with the hours the job took, job after job, and your production rates become measured numbers rather than habits. That is worth more to a masonry business than any other report. See how to bid a job.

Masons and tenders

Most masonry crews pair masons with laborers — tenders who mix mortar, stock the wall and move scaffolding. The ratio affects production as much as the masons’ skill does.

Cost both at their burdened rates — wage plus payroll taxes, workers’ compensation and benefits. Masonry workers’ comp is not cheap, and a job costed at the bare wage understates labor on every job. The true hourly cost calculator works the rate out from your own figures.

Material by the job — and the pallets

Brick, block, stone, mortar, sand, ties and flashing should be coded to the job they are delivered to.

One masonry-specific leak is pallet deposits. Many suppliers charge a deposit on pallets and credit it when they are returned. Pallets left on finished job sites, or returned without anyone checking the credit, add up to real money over a year. Track pallet charges and credits on your supplier statement, and reconcile the statement monthly. See supplier terms and early-pay discounts.

Leftover material returned to the yard, or carried to the next job, should be credited back to the job it came from — otherwise the first job looks worse and the second better than either was.

Scaffolding: owned or rented

Scaffolding is a significant cost on most masonry work. Rented scaffolding is a job cost and should carry the job name. Owned scaffolding is equipment; its cost reaches jobs through an internal charge per day or per job, so scaffold-heavy work carries what it really costs. Moving and erecting scaffold takes crew hours too, and they belong on the job.

Cold weather

In much of the country, masonry work slows or stops in the coldest months, and work that continues needs heat, blankets, enclosures and sometimes admixtures. Those are costs of the job they were used on, not general overhead.

Recording them per job builds a history of what winter work actually costs — the basis for pricing it properly next season. A seasonal reserve built in the busy months carries the quiet ones.

New work and restoration are different businesses

New construction masonry — commercial block, residential veneer — is production work, often for general contractors, with pay applications and retainage. Restoration — tuckpointing, repair, chimney work — is smaller, slower per unit, and usually paid directly by the owner.

The margins and cash timing differ. Separate them with classes or income accounts so you can see which one is carrying the business. For commercial work, see retainage explained and lien waivers explained.

Callbacks

Efflorescence, cracking, water intrusion, mortar color mismatches. Return visits belong to the original job, so its true margin includes them. See what callbacks are really costing you.

Related

• Concrete contractor bookkeeping
• Construction bookkeeping, step by step
• Job costing for contractors

General information, not tax or legal advice.