Plain answers, then the statute
Short, sourced guides to the questions that cost contractors money: pricing and estimating, getting paid, bonds and insurance, payroll. Every figure carries a numbered citation, every guide is fact-checked and dated, and each one links to the calculator that does the math.
Pricing
Estimating
Change Orders That Get Paid: Notice, Pricing, Signatures
A change order is a signed modification to the contract. See the notice clock, how to price the change like a small bid, and how it reaches the pay application.
Fact-checked September 23, 2026 · 4 sourcesHow to Build a Construction Estimate, Line by Line
An estimate is what the work costs you, not what you charge. Takeoff, MasterFormat structure, five cost buckets, contingency and the step to a bid price.
Fact-checked September 23, 2026 · 4 sourcesHow to Write a Construction Bid That Wins Work
A bid is a responsive offer, not a price. Read the solicitation, run a bid/no-bid check, price from a burdened estimate, and hand in every required element.
Fact-checked September 23, 2026 · 4 sourcesPayments
Bonds
Contractor Bond vs Insurance: Who Gets Paid, Who Repays
A bond and a liability policy pay different people and end in different places. See the three-party structure, what each covers, and where a state needs both.
Fact-checked September 23, 2026 · 5 sourcesContractor License Bonds: What They Are and Who Pays
A contractor license bond is a state-required guarantee, not insurance. See who a claim pays, who repays the surety, and the amounts in CA, OR and WA.
Fact-checked September 23, 2026 · 6 sourcesInsurance
General Liability Insurance for Contractors: What CGL Covers
What a commercial general liability policy answers for, the two sub-lines that matter on a jobsite, and why this page publishes no premium figure.
Fact-checked September 23, 2026 · 5 sourcesWorkers' Comp for Contractors: Class Codes and Mods
Workers' comp premium is payroll by class code, a rate per $100 of that payroll, and your experience modification. How each piece is set, and by whom.
Fact-checked September 23, 2026 · 4 sourcesPayroll
Certified Payroll and Form WH-347: What to File Weekly
Certified payroll is a weekly payroll submission plus a signed Statement of Compliance. What Form WH-347 asks for, line by line, and who has to file it.
Fact-checked September 23, 2026 · 5 sourcesLabor Burden: What an Hour of Your Crew Really Costs
Labor burden is the gap between the wage on the check and the cost of an hour on site. The four payroll taxes, the wage bases, and the formula.
Fact-checked September 23, 2026 · 6 sourcesPrevailing Wage: How to Read a Wage Determination
Prevailing wage is set by a government body, not by the market. What a wage determination is, who it binds, and how to read the one on your contract.
Fact-checked September 23, 2026 · 5 sources