BOREWELL AND DRILLING CONTRACTORS
How Borewell Contractors Can Price Per Foot and Collect Cash
The customer calls in March because the tap has run dry. Your rig goes out the next morning, drills past the depth you quoted, and hits no water. Now the argument starts about who pays for the extra feet and the dry bore.
We advise on the commercial side: how you quote and write down the terms, how rig days and diesel are costed, and how balances are collected before the crew moves on. We do not advise on geology, water yield or regulatory permissions. A qualified hydrogeologist or the authority decides those.
Discuss your priorities ↗COMMON CHALLENGES
The pressures
we often see.
- 01Quotes say a rate per foot, but the customer hears one price, so a bore that goes deeper than expected becomes a quarrel at the end of the job.
- 02Failed bores are treated differently every time, sometimes charged in full, sometimes in part, sometimes dropped, because no standard term was explained before drilling began.
- 03The rig earns only while drilling, yet travel between sites, waiting for customers and breakdowns eat days that nobody records or costs.
- 04Diesel, bits, hammers and casing pipe are bought in a hurry, so the real cost of a job is known only months afterwards, if ever.
- 05Balance payment is promised once water is found and then slips, because the crew has already left and the owner has no hold on the customer.
OUR FOCUS AREAS
Where the work
usually starts.
- 01A quotation format that states rate per foot, casing length included, minimum depth and what happens past the quoted depth.
- 02The dry-bore term, written in plain Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu or English as needed and read to the customer before work starts.
- 03Rig day sheets showing feet drilled, travel time, waiting time and breakdown time for each rig.
- 04Cost per foot built from diesel, bit wear, crew wages, compressor oil and casing, compared with the rate you quote.
- 05Advance and stage payments tied to depth reached, so cash arrives before the rig leaves.
- 06Bit and hammer stock, with a record of feet drilled per bit by rock type encountered.
- 07Who on the crew records depth readings and signs the customer sheet each evening.
- 08Pump and motor sales, if you offer them, kept separate from drilling in the books.
START THIS WEEK
Things you can do
before you call anyone.
- Write down how you handle a bore that finds no water. Pick one rule you can live with, put it on your quote, and read it aloud to the next customer before drilling begins.
- Give each supervisor one sheet with feet drilled, diesel taken, hours lost and customer sign-off. Collect it every evening for a week, even if it is messy.
- Hypothetical example: you quote ₹X per foot for 300 feet and a bore goes to 380. Check whether your quote said who pays for the extra 80 feet, and fix the wording if it did not.
- List every customer with a balance unpaid. Put the oldest first, note the promised date, and call the top three yourself.
A PRACTICAL ENGAGEMENT
Start with the priorities
that matter most.
We begin by understanding how your business runs today, find the gaps, and agree the scope in writing. Recommendations are shaped around your team, your resources and your goals.
- A one-page quotation and terms sheet covering rate per foot, casing, extra depth and dry bores.
- A daily rig sheet that supervisors can fill in under a minute on a phone or paper.
- A per-job costing sheet comparing the quoted rate with the actual cost of drilling.
- A collections routine with stage payments, balance chasing and a rule for who calls whom.
Not the right fit when: This does not fit if the issue is a licence, a groundwater regulation or a dispute heading to court, which needs the authority or a lawyer. We also do not advise on siting or yield.
Explore a business audit ↗LET’S MOVE YOUR BUSINESS FORWARD
