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Learn more from members of our team and industry-leading experts.

Technology

Best Procore Alternatives for UK Small Contractors (2026)

An honest comparison of Procore alternatives for UK small and medium contractors — Construction AI, Planyard, LiveCosts, Fieldwire, Buildertrend and Archdesk — with UK-specific commercial workflows front and centre.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Technology

The Architect of My Doom

We built managed agents into our platform. They build programmes, write RAMS, price tenders. The outputs are good enough that oversight quietly becomes a rubber stamp. Here's what that does to construction.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Industry

The Two-Speed Site: Why AI Is Widening the Gap Between Big and Small Contractors

Tier-one firms are embedding AI while the small contractor is still in Excel and Outlook. That gap is about to decide who wins work — unless the tools get cheaper faster.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Financial

The Retention Ban Is Coming: What the 2026 Payment Reforms Mean for Your Cash Flow

The government has confirmed it's banning cash retentions in construction. Here's what the Commercial Payments Bill actually changes, when, and what to do about your cash flow now.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Contracts

Delay Analysis: How to Prove an Extension of Time When It's Contested

A delay you can't demonstrate is a delay you'll pay for. Here's how as-planned versus as-built analysis turns 'we were late because of you' into an entitlement you can defend.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Tenders

Tender Qualifications: How to Price a Job Without Signing Up to Everything

The cheapest way to lose money is to win a job on someone else's terms. Qualifications are how you price what's in front of you, not what they hope you'll swallow.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Technology

8 in 10 AI Projects Fail. Here's Why Construction's Don't Have To

Most AI projects fail — and it's not the technology's fault. Here's why they collapse, why construction is especially exposed, and how to be in the minority that works.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Contracts

Early Warnings Under NEC4: The Clause That Quietly Saves Projects

The early warning is NEC4's best feature and its most ignored. Miss it and you can lose entitlement you were owed. Here's how to actually run the process.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Financial

Interim Valuations: How to Measure and Value Work in Progress

Under-measure and you're funding the client's project. Over-measure and you'll pay it back with interest. Here's how to value work in progress accurately, every month.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Site Management

Inspection & Test Plans: How to Build Quality In Instead of Snagging It Out

Snagging is what you do when quality control failed earlier. An inspection and test plan moves the check to before the work is buried. Here's how to build one that gets used.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Technology

Do Small Contractors Actually Need BIM? An Honest Answer

BIM gets sold as mandatory and magic. For a lot of small contractors it's neither. Here's where it genuinely earns its keep and where it's a box-tick that costs you.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Compliance

Principal Designer Duties Under CDM 2015: The Role Everyone Forgets

Everyone knows the principal contractor carries CDM. Fewer understand the principal designer — and on design-and-build, those duties can quietly land on you.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Tenders

Procurement Schedules: Why Late Material Orders Wreck Good Programmes

The programme said the steel starts week 12. Nobody ordered it until week 10, and the lead time was six weeks. Here's how a procurement schedule stops that.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Financial

Cash Flow Forecasting: The S-Curve That Tells You When You'll Run Out of Money

Profitable projects still go bust — because profit isn't cash. Here's how to forecast a project's cash position with an S-curve and see the squeeze before it happens.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Project Management

Managing Subcontractors: How to Run a Package Without Becoming a Babysitter

You can't build it all yourself, and the subcontractors you rely on are the ones most likely to sink your programme. Here's how to run packages so they deliver.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Financial

Dayworks: How to Record and Recover Work That Isn't in the Contract

Dayworks are where honest money quietly disappears. Here's how to record daywork so it survives the QS's red pen — and actually gets paid.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Compliance

The Golden Thread: What the Building Safety Act Actually Requires From Your Records

Everyone's heard 'golden thread.' Few contractors can say what has to be in it, in what format, or who's on the hook at Gateway 2. Here's the plain-English version.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Project Management

Handover and O&M Manuals: How to Close Out Without the Client Chasing You for Months

Practical completion isn't the finish line — the O&M manual and handover pack are. Get them wrong and your retention sits there while the client waits on paperwork.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Financial

Contra Charges: How to Back-Charge a Subcontractor Without Starting a War

A contra charge recovers a subcontractor's default from money you owe them — but only if it's contractual, notified, and evidenced. Here's how to do it so it sticks.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Technology

The AI Agent Battle: When Construction Disputes Go Autonomous

When AI agents manage construction disputes autonomously, escalation replaces resolution. Here's why the industry needs guardrails before agents start arguing.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Technology

Is SaaS Dead?

One construction manager and an AI built a full SaaS platform. If that's possible, the subscription model has a problem. Here's where software is heading.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Technology

What Happens When a Construction Manager Builds Software With AI

No development background, no team, no idea what a database migration was. Twelve months later: a working platform with 27 tools and live users. Here's how.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Financial

Cost Value Reconciliation: Knowing Whether Your Project Is Making Money

Most contractors don't know if a project is profitable until it's done. CVR tells you every month. Here's how to do it and why it's your most important report.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Contracts

NEC4 vs JCT: Which Contract Framework and When It Matters

NEC4 is gaining ground where JCT has dominated. Here's what's actually different, when each contract framework makes sense, and what your software must handle.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Financial

Final Accounts: How to Close Out the Money Without Leaving Any Behind

The final account is where your project margin is decided. Here's how to prepare, present, and negotiate so you get paid what you're owed, not what's left.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Project Management

Document Control on Construction Projects: Stop Losing Information

The wrong drawing revision cost a six-figure rework bill. Here's how to set up construction document management — from naming conventions to digital control.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Site Management

Defects and Snag Lists: How to Close Out a Project Without Losing Your Mind

The last 5% of every project takes 50% of the effort. Here's how to manage defects and snagging lists, and close out without months of painful callbacks.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Tenders

Pricing Preliminaries: The Costs That Make or Break Your Tender

Preliminaries are where small contractors underprice into a loss or overprice out of the job. Here's how to price site overheads properly and stop guessing.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Project Management

Submittals in Construction: Why They Matter and How to Manage Them

A submittal stuck in an architect's inbox for three weeks is a programme delay. Here's how to manage submittals so approvals don't hold up your project.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Project Management

Construction Programmes: How to Build One That Actually Works

A programme that sits in a drawer is worthless. Here's how to build a realistic construction programme and use it as a management tool, not a tender box-tick.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Compliance

Principal Contractor Duties Under CDM 2015: What You're Actually Responsible For

Principal contractor duties go beyond signing a form. Here's what CDM 2015 actually requires, what catches people out, and how to manage it properly.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Financial

Retention in Construction: What Every Contractor Needs to Know

Retention is your money, held by someone else, often longer than the contract allows. Here's how it works, your rights, and how to make sure you get it back.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Project Management

RFIs in Construction: How to Get Answers Without Losing Weeks

A bad RFI sits unanswered for a fortnight. A good one gets answered in days. Here's how to write RFIs that get responses and manage the ones that don't.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Contracts

Extension of Time Claims: How to Protect Your Programme and Your Profit

A delay that isn't notified is a delay you'll pay for. Here's how to identify delay events, notify properly, and build EOT claims that actually succeed.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Industry

I've Spent 30 Years Fighting Construction Software. So I Built My Own.

After three decades in UK construction, I built purpose-built project management software because generic tools weren't designed for how we actually work.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Technology

AI in Construction: Cutting Through the Noise

Every construction software vendor claims AI. Most is marketing fluff. Here's what AI construction management actually looks like on real UK projects.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Project Management

Managing Drawing Revisions Without Losing Your Mind (Or Your Money)

Building from superseded drawings is one of construction's most expensive mistakes. Here's a practical system for managing revisions that works on busy sites.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Technology

Moving From Spreadsheets to Project Management Software: A Contractor's Honest Guide

Spreadsheets got you this far. Drowning in versions across multiple projects? Here's how to choose construction project management software and make the switch.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Technology

Why Most Construction Software Fails Small Contractors

Enterprise construction software wasn't built for small contractors. Here's why affordable options barely exist, what to look for, and why the gap is closing.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Contracts

Practical Completion: What It Means, What to Check, and Why It Matters

Practical completion triggers half your contract obligations. Here's what it actually means, the common arguments, and how to manage the process properly.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Site Management

Site Diaries: What to Record and Why It Matters Legally

A good site diary has won more disputes than any lawyer. Here's what to record, how to record it, and why site diary software beats a notebook in adjudication.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Financial

Payment Applications Under the Construction Act: A Practical Guide

Late payments kill small contractors. Here's how the Construction Act protects your cash flow, what a compliant payment application looks like, and your rights.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Financial

How to Value Variations Properly (And Stop Leaving Money on the Table)

Variations are where most contractors either make or lose their margin. Here's how to identify, notify, value, and recover the true cost of changed work.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Tenders

How to Write a Winning Tender as a Small Contractor

Winning construction tenders isn't just about price. Here's what actually gets small contractors on shortlists — from tender management to bid presentation.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Contracts

JCT Minor Works vs Intermediate: Which Contract and When

Choosing the wrong JCT contract costs thousands. A practical guide to when Minor Works is right, when you need Intermediate, and the grey area in between.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Tenders

Subcontractor Bid Comparison: How to Compare Quotes Properly

Cheapest isn't always best. Three numbers on a page isn't a comparison. Here's how to evaluate subcontractor tenders and pick the right firm at the right price.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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Compliance

RAMS: What CDM 2015 Actually Requires (And What's Just Gold-Plating)

Most contractors over-complicate RAMS. Here's what CDM 2015 actually requires, what's gold-plating, and how AI generates focused method statements in minutes.

SMStephen Mckenna MCIOB
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