The Excavation & Earthmoving Fix Kit
Built for excavation, earthmoving, grading and site work contractors.
No single company owns this trade nationally, and that's not an oversight — earthmoving and site excavation is a bid-and-build subcontracting business, built job by job on local geology and local general contractors, not a brand a GC or homeowner picks by name. This kit finds where the money leaks in your own work and gives you the steps and the words to close each one.
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The 7 leaks it covers
3 you can close it · 2 the other side owes it · 2 a pro decides
- Standby time waiting on 811 utility locates never logged or billedWhere to look first: For every dig, log the 811 ticket number, the date and time you called it in, the earliest legal start time under your state's rules, and the time marks were actually in place.Keep it from coming back: Make the 811 ticket log part of every job start. Write standby terms into your bids so delay time has a price before the job starts.You can close it
- Added trench shoring, sloping or trench box cost absorbed instead of change-orderedWhere to look first: In every bid, price trench protection as its own line based on the depth and soil the plans and soil report show.Keep it from coming back: Price protective systems by depth and soil type in every bid, and write in the bid that deeper cuts or worse soil are a change.You can close it
- Reclassified spoil disposal cost absorbed instead of passed throughWhere to look first: In every bid, write down that your price assumes spoil leaves as clean fill under your state's standard, and that testing results showing otherwise are a change.Keep it from coming back: Put a clean-fill assumption and a testing clause in every bid, and price testing as its own line.You can close it
- Never reconciling bid quantities against actual yards movedWhere to look first: For every unit-price pay item, write down the bid quantity and the actual quantity from haul tickets, survey, or as-built.Keep it from coming back: Set up a running bid-vs-actual sheet for every unit-price item at job start, and update it with each haul ticket.The other side owes it
- Differing site condition fixed and backfilled before written noticeWhere to look first: When you hit rock, soft ground, water, contamination or anything the plans did not show, stop work in that spot if it is safe to.Keep it from coming back: Train every foreman: photo and notice first, dig second. Keep a blank notice form in every truck.The other side owes it
- Self-employment tax not set aside from untaxed business/contract incomeWhere to look first: Open a separate savings account used only for tax.Keep it from coming back: Move the set-aside the same day each payment lands. Put every estimated-tax date your CPA gives you on the calendar at the start of the year.A pro decides
- Not knowing the differing-site-condition notice deadline in your own private contractWhere to look first: Pull the contract you signed for each open job. Find the section on differing, concealed or unknown site conditions.Keep it from coming back: Before you sign any new contract, write the site-condition notice deadline and the notice address on the front of the job file.A pro decides
Free: one full leak from this kit
No sign-up, no email. Here is leak 1 of 7 exactly as it appears in the kit, so you can see what you get before you buy.
Standby time waiting on 811 utility locates never logged or billed
You can close it- For every dig, log the 811 ticket number, the date and time you called it in, the earliest legal start time under your state's rules, and the time marks were actually in place.
- If the crew and machines sat waiting past that legal start time because marks were late or missing, log the hours, the people and the equipment.
- Check your contract for how standby or delay is paid.
- Send the GC or owner a written notice the same day with the log attached.
- Never dig early to save the wait - the wait is a cost to track, not a reason to skip the locate. State wait periods differ, so check the rule in each state you work in (for example, California and Texas set their own).
Your part: Log it in the field and send the notice.
Email to the GC or owner: 'Hi [NAME], this is [YOUR NAME] at [COMPANY] on [PROJECT]. We called in 811 ticket [TICKET #] on [DATE/TIME]. Under [STATE] rules we could legally begin at [LEGAL START TIME]. Marks were not complete until [DATE/TIME]. During that time our crew of [NUMBER] and [EQUIPMENT] were on standby for [HOURS] hours. The standby log is attached. Under [CONTRACT SECTION], please confirm how this delay will be handled, or let me know if you need anything else from us. Thank you, [YOUR NAME], [PHONE].'
Make the 811 ticket log part of every job start. Write standby terms into your bids so delay time has a price before the job starts.
What this kit can't decide for you: Whether standby is billable depends on your contract; that is your and your attorney's read.
That's 1 of 7. The other 6 come the same way in the kit: steps, words to send, a habit to keep each one closed.
Opens secure checkout. Instant download after payment. 30 days to ask for a refund — refund policy · terms
What people in this work look up
When excavation and earthmoving contractors go looking for answers, they search things like “excavation business”, “811 call before you dig”, “excavation pricing” and “trench shoring requirements”. Those searches turn up forms, averages and other people's numbers. This kit starts from your own records instead: the 7 places money leaks in this work, where to look first and the words to send to close each one.
What you get for each leak
- Numbered steps to close each leak
- Your part, spelled out
- Words you can use: letters and scripts, ready to send (fill in the brackets)
- A habit that keeps each leak from coming back
- An honest line on what the kit can't decide for you
A page from the kit
Questions people ask
Can I bill standby time waiting on 811 locates?
Yes, if you log it. Standby waiting on utility locates is one of the leaks in the kit.
Who pays for trench shoring?
Price it as its own line based on depth and soil, and change-order added protection. The kit shows how.
What do I do when I hit a differing site condition?
Give written notice before you fix and backfill it. The kit shows the deadline to check in your contract.
What it can't decide for you
This kit works from your own records. It doesn't give legal, tax, licensing or financial advice, and it never tells you what to charge. Where a CPA, attorney, insurer or state board makes the call, the kit says so and gets your records ready for them.
11-page PDF · instant download after payment · Code VYR-KIT-DOZER-01
Opens secure checkout. Instant download after payment. 30 days to ask for a refund — refund policy · terms
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