How to run a construction company without being on site

You run a construction company without being on site by replacing your eyes with a system. Vetted subbies. Photos at every stage. A back office that chases. And site visits when they count, not every day.

My back office is in Tangier. The jobs are in the UK. I still do site visits myself. I just don't do them to check somebody turned up.

Why are most owners stuck on site?

Because they are the system. The quote is in their head. The subbie only answers to them. The client only has their number.

If that's you, a day off costs you money and a holiday costs you a client. That's not a business yet. It's a job with overheads.

What replaces you on site?

Proof. You don't need to be there if you can see what happened.

• Photos before the job starts, during it, and when it's finished. Every job, no exceptions.
• A short checklist for each kind of job, so done means the same thing to everyone.
• A clear note of what was found and what was done, sent the same day.

No photos, no payment. Say it once at the start and stick to it. Subbies get used to it in a week.

We built an app for this side of it. With SayScope you walk the job, talk, and take photos. It drafts the report, grouped by area and by trade, for you to check. A report that takes an hour to write doesn't get written.

Who can you trust to do the work?

Only people you've checked. Insurance, qualifications, references, and one small job before a big one.

The first job with a new subbie, I want to see with my own eyes or through someone I trust. After that, the photos tell me. A subbie who does a clean job when nobody is watching is worth more than a cheaper one you have to stand over.

And never rely on one. Have a second for every trade. The day your only plumber's van breaks down is the day the emergency comes in.

What does the back office do?

Everything that isn't the work itself. Takes the job in. Books the subbie. Chases the photos. Sends the report. Raises the invoice. Chases the payment.

It doesn't need to be in the same country as the job. It needs to be on the phone, on time, with the job in front of them. Mine runs from Morocco.

When do you still have to be there?

Be honest about this. Remote doesn't mean never.

• Pricing a big or unusual job. You need to see it.
• Meeting a client who is about to give you a lot of work.
• The first job with a new subbie.
• When something has gone wrong. Then you go, and you go fast.

That last one matters most. A client forgives a mistake. They don't forgive an owner who hid behind an email.

What does the client see?

If you've done it right, a better service than the firm whose owner is on site all day. The phone gets answered. The report arrives the same day with photos. The invoice matches the quote.

They don't care where your office is. They care that the job stopped being their problem.

How do you start?

1. 01Make photos compulsory on every job from Monday.
2. 02Write the checklist for your three most common jobs.
3. 03Give one person the phone and the diary. Not you.
4. 04Put every job in one system, not in WhatsApp.
5. 05Take one day a week off site and see what breaks. Fix that. Repeat.

The system I built for this is Plan@Job. It's what I wanted when I was running jobs from a phone in another country. The model behind it is in how I made my money.