Material Shrinkage for Contractors: Theft or Bad Coding
Material shrinkage in construction is usually a job coding problem, not theft. Here is the four-test sequence that tells a contractor which one they have.
By Reena11 min read
Reena
Invoice Audit Desk
Reena works the audit desk at CheckMySupply, checking supply-house invoices line by line against quotes, purchase orders, and packing slips.
Supply House Backorders, Substitutions and Job Cost
A backorder substitution at the supply house is an unpriced change to your job cost. Here is how to spot the swap on an invoice and get the money back.
By Reena11 min read
Counter Purchases: Where Contractor Spend Control Dies
Counter purchases wreck contractor spend control: the ticket skips every check you own. Here is what a counter run bypasses and the fix that survives August.
By Reena9 min read
Will-Call vs Delivery: The Real Cost for Contractors
Will call vs delivery contractor cost, done properly: the labor, the truck, and the price nobody checked. Plus the break-even that tells you which one to use.
By Reena9 min read
Truck Stock Inventory for Contractors: Where It Leaks
Truck stock inventory is where contractor price control dies first. Here is how truck stock, shop stock and will-call leak cash, and the system that stops it.
By Reena10 min read
Refrigerant Price Increases Every HVAC Contractor Feels
A refrigerant price increase hits an HVAC contractor where nothing is checked. Here is how refrigerant, line set and sheet metal drift, and how to track them.
By Reena10 min read
HVAC Equipment Price Seasonal Increase: April vs July
The HVAC equipment price seasonal increase is real, but the factory index barely moves April to July. Here is where the summer premium actually gets added.
By Reena10 min read
Water Heater Price Increase: A Contractor's Checklist
A water heater price increase often is not an increase at all. A contractor guide to model-year rollovers, new catalog numbers, and resetting your rate.
By Reena10 min read
PVC Pipe Price Increase: What a Contractor Can Verify
A PVC pipe price increase hits contractors every quarter and the reason given is always resin. Here is what you can actually verify, and what you cannot.
By Reena10 min read
PEX vs Copper Cost Comparison for Contractors, 2026
A PEX vs copper cost comparison contractors can actually use: what the BLS producer price series show in 2026, and how to price both off your own invoices.
By Reena9 min read
Copper Fitting Price Increase: What a Plumber Can Check
A copper fitting price increase tracks the copper market more tightly than anything else you buy. Here is the mechanism, the index, and how to check yours.
By Reena10 min read
Electrical Gear Lead Time and Price Escalation Exposure
Electrical gear lead time turns into price escalation exposure the day you sign. Here is how price protection actually works on panels, breakers, and gear.
By Reena12 min read
Conduit Price Increase: What Drives EMT, Rigid, and PVC
A conduit price increase starts with steel, aluminum, or PVC resin, not your rep. Here is what moves EMT, rigid, and PVC pricing, and how to check yours.
By Reena10 min read
Wire Price Increases: Romex, THHN and MC Cable Ranked
A wire price increase hits every electrical contractor differently. Romex, THHN and MC cable move at different speeds. Here is the 2026 ranking, and why.
By Reena10 min read
How Copper Prices Move Wire Prices at Your Supply House
The copper price effect on wire prices every contractor feels: how a move at the mill reaches your counter price, why it lags, and what the BLS data shows.
By Reena9 min read
The Contractor's Guide to Trade Material Costs in 2026
A trade material costs guide for contractors: what BLS index data says about electrical, plumbing and HVAC material in 2026, and which lines to watch.
By Reena11 min read
Purchase Order Tolerance Thresholds: Chase It or Not
What purchase order tolerance threshold should you set? Published practice runs a few percent or a dollar cutoff. How to pick yours and what to always chase.
By Reena10 min read
Core Charges and Environmental Fees on Your Invoice
A core charge is refundable, an environmental fee is not. How to read the core charge and environmental fee lines on a contractor invoice and claim deposits.
By Reena10 min read
Supplier Fuel Surcharges: What to Audit and Negotiate
Freight, delivery and supplier fuel surcharge lines move with diesel and nobody audits them. How the charge gets set, and what a contractor can negotiate.
By Reena11 min read
Supplier Credit Never Issued? How to Get It Posted
A supplier credit never issued to a contractor is invisible money. Track every promised credit from return to posted memo with a simple open-credit list.
By Reena10 min read
Invoice Quantity Does Not Match Delivery: The Fix
When the invoice quantity does not match delivery, the packing slip is your proof. The ten-minute weekly count that catches short shipments before you pay.
By Reena10 min read
The Contractor Invoice Control Process: Four Documents
A contractor invoice control process built on four documents: quote, PO, packing slip, invoice. Where each handoff leaks money, and how to close the gaps.
By Reena11 min read
Three-Way Match for Contractors, Without an AP Team
PO, packing slip, invoice. The AP control that catches most supply-house overcharges, rebuilt for a shop with one bookkeeper and a pile of paper tickets.
By Reena12 min read
Credit Request Email Template for Contractors
A short, polite credit request email your supply house will actually honor, plus what to attach, who to send it to, and how fast you need to send it.
By Reena12 min read
Supply House Restocking Fees: What They Can Charge
Published distributor policies set restocking minimums of 15% to 25%, and wire cuts and special orders usually cannot be returned at all. Know before you buy.
By Reena12 min read
How to Catch a Duplicate Supply-House Invoice
Paid the same supply-house invoice twice? It happens more than shops think. How duplicates get created, how to spot them, and how to get the credit back.
By Reena12 min read
Quote vs Invoice Mismatch: How to Catch It
The quote said one number and the invoice said another. Why supply-house quotes and invoices drift apart, and the two-minute check that catches it every time.
By Reena12 min read