What do measurement and ordering errors cost a window installation company?

Start by following one error from end to end. The replacement unit is the obvious expense, but there is also the extra trip, the crew hours that could have gone to billable work, storage for the wrong unit and sometimes a customer credit. Ask the owner to walk through a recent example with every cost attached.

Then see where those costs appear in the books. Some installers record remakes as part of materials, others bury them in general costs, and some never record them because a supplier absorbed the loss. How they are classed changes the margins you are shown, so ask your accountant to look at it with you.

Finally, look at the process that should prevent errors. Who measures, is there a second check, how are specifications confirmed with the customer and what happens when the supplier makes the mistake? A tight process is a good sign; a shrug is not. Ask whether remake rates are tracked at all, and whether the owner can show a month where errors spiked and what changed afterwards. Look at how often the same person was involved.

Key takeaways

• Add up every cost of one error, not only the replacement unit.
• Ask how remakes are classified in the financial statements.
• Look for a second check on measurements and order specifications.
• Find out who pays when the supplier is at fault.