EXCAVATION AND EARTHMOVING CONTRACTORS
Earthmoving Contractors: Machine Hours, Diesel and Getting Paid
A builder rings at six in the evening and wants a JCB on site at seven the next morning. The owner agrees, the operator is on leave, the diesel is not accounted for, and the last site has not paid its running bill.
We help earthmoving owners run each machine like a small business: hours, diesel, operators, repairs, billing and collection. We stay away from soil work, site safety, blasting rules or permits.
Discuss your priorities ↗COMMON CHALLENGES
The pressures
we often see.
- 01Hourly rates are quoted to match the competitor, and nobody knows what an hour costs after EMI, diesel, operator wages, tyres and breakdown time are counted.
- 02Operators record running hours on a slip that the site engineer signs, and billing is later disputed because the slip and the machine meter differ.
- 03Diesel leaves the tank for the machine, the generator and sometimes elsewhere, and the owner has no routine to compare litres issued with hours worked.
- 04Builders pay on running bills in irregular cycles, and the owner pays operators and diesel suppliers first, which keeps cash tight.
- 05A machine under repair earns nothing, yet no one tracks how many days each machine stood idle or what the repair really cost.
OUR FOCUS AREAS
Where the work
usually starts.
- 01Cost per machine-hour for each machine: EMI, insurance, diesel, operator, maintenance and idle time
- 02Daily log of hours, diesel issued, site and signatory for every machine
- 03Diesel consumption per hour benchmarked for each machine and checked weekly
- 04Mobilisation and transport charges quoted separately from the hourly rate
- 05Running bill schedule per site with agreed dates and a payment follow-up list
- 06Preventive maintenance calendar and a repair cost record per machine
- 07Operator roster, leave cover and advances recorded in a register
- 08Fleet utilisation: billed hours against available hours for each machine monthly
START THIS WEEK
Things you can do
before you call anyone.
- Choose one machine and add up everything it cost last month: EMI, diesel, operator, repairs, insurance and idle days. Divide by hours billed to see your true hourly cost.
- Hypothetical example: if a machine costs ₹1,15,000 a month and works 100 billed hours, each hour costs ₹1,150. Charging ₹1,000 loses ₹150 an hour. Run your own figures.
- Start a diesel issue register this week. The supervisor notes litres, machine and hours worked every day.
- Call every site with an unpaid bill and ask for a payment date, then write it down.
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 machine costing sheet that shows the minimum hourly rate you should accept for each machine
- A daily machine log and diesel reconciliation format signed by operator and site contact
- A billing and collections schedule for every site, with the overdue list reviewed each Monday
- A fleet utilisation and repair report that tells you which machine to keep, replace or hire out
Not the right fit when: Hold off if the issue is an accident, a permit problem or a contract dispute that needs a lawyer or the authority. Handle that first.
Explore a business audit ↗LET’S MOVE YOUR BUSINESS FORWARD
