Chapter 9 · Operations
Run Your Flipping
With Professional Discipline.
The step-by-step systems that ensure every project stays on budget, contractors deliver on time, and you avoid the common pitfalls that erode your profit margins.
- Deals per year (Beginner)
- 1–2
- Focus on quality over quantity
- Startup capital needed
- $25k–$100k+
- For down payments, rehab, and reserves
- Physical demand
- Moderate
- Site visits and project management
First job of the day
6:45AM
Acquisition
One working day
A full day in house flipping, from the night before to the close-out. Each stop has one pro move; tap it to build that part of your system.
8:00PM
Confirm tomorrow
Stop 1 of 7
8:00 PMThe night before
Confirm tomorrow
Text tomorrow's customers to confirm the time and address, check the weather and your route, and load what you can tonight.
Pro move: A confirmed job is rarely a no-show.6:45 AMAnalysis
Acquisition
Analyze property, run comps, estimate ARV, and confirm rehab costs with contractors before making an offer.
9:00 AMLegal
Closing
Secure financing, title insurance, and complete the purchase. Ensure all permits are accounted for in the budget.
11:15 AMExecution
Rehab
Manage contractors on a strict schedule. Verify work milestones before releasing any progress payments.
Pro move: Get paid before you pull away.1:30 PMSale
Staging & Marketing
Stage the home for the target buyer. Coordinate professional photos and active listing status.
3:45 PMFinish
Sale & Close
Negotiate offers, manage inspections, sign closing documents, and distribute final payments.
Pro move: Get paid before you pull away.6:00 PMEnd of the day
The 10-minute close-out
Restock what ran low, log today's numbers, send any invoice still open and look at tomorrow. Ten minutes tonight saves an hour of scrambling in the morning.
Pro move: A few numbers a week tell you whether the days are working.
Before you go: from the list, not from memory.
Before you go
0 of 6
- Laser measure for accurate floor plans
- Camera for comprehensive documentation
- Note-taking system for potential repair items
- List of specific questions for your contractor
- Personal safety gear (boots, flashlight, mask)
- Current 'After-Repair Value' (ARV) research sheet
Systems scale, hustle doesn't
Three short lists every job runs on. Make them yours: add what you always forget, cut what you never need. If a process only lives in your head, nobody else can run it, and nobody can buy it.
Site visit preparation
0 of 6 checked
- Laser measure for accurate floor plans
- Camera for comprehensive documentation
- Note-taking system for potential repair items
- List of specific questions for your contractor
- Personal safety gear (boots, flashlight, mask)
- Current 'After-Repair Value' (ARV) research sheet
Why a written list beats a good memory
- Every customer gets the same result, even on a bad day.
- A helper can do the job your way from day one.
- The finish list is your quality check: problems get caught before the customer sees them.
- A business with written processes is easier to hand off, and to sell.
Where to keep it: taped inside the van door, or in your phone's notes. Want it with your SOPs and photos?
Document your process
Create a clear scope of work for your contractors.
Cash flow
You can be profitable on paper and still short on cash. Every day between finishing a job and getting paid is money you earned but can't spend.
Based on $35,000 a job and 10 jobs a week. Use your own numbers
Customers have this long to pay
Earned, but not in your account
$1,250,000
On average you wait about 25 days for each job's money. That gap is what you'd have to cover from savings for fuel, supplies and rent.
Rough math: weekly sales ÷ 7 × days you wait.
Three habits that close the gap
- Invoice before you leave. Send it from your phone in the driveway, while the customer can see the finished work.
- Take a deposit on big jobs. When a job takes a full day or special supplies, ask for part of the price when they book.
- Let reminders do the chasing. An automatic reminder at day 3 and day 7 beats an awkward phone call.
We may earn a commission from some links. It never changes what we recommend, and we'll tell you when the free option is enough. As an Amazon Associate, BeProEx earns from qualifying purchases.
Cash flow, profit and taxes in full: Chapter 10
Never lose a day
Two things take a whole day from a small business: running out of something, and having no plan when something goes wrong.
How long does it take to restock?
At 2 jobs a day, reorder anything with 6 or fewer jobs left.
- Not counted yet
- Not counted yet
- Not counted yet
- Not counted yet
- Not counted yet
- Not counted yet
- Not counted yet
- Not counted yet
Count in jobs, not bottles
"Enough for 6 more jobs" tells you when to reorder. "Half a jug" doesn't. Count once a week in your close-out, and reorder anything that turns orange. Buy enough to stay ahead, not a year's worth: stock on a shelf is cash you can't use.
Tap any supply for good, better and best picks.
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Measure the work
Five numbers, once a week, in two minutes. Watch which way they move rather than comparing yourself with anyone else.
Week of November 9
Your speed
Time your next job of each kind and see where you sit between a typical beginner and a pro.
Cosmetic Refresh
Full Gut Rehab
These are estimates; actual time is determined by permit approval speed and contractor availability.
The 90-day tune-up
Every three months, 30 minutes with your numbers and these five questions. Small fixes, often, keep the business lean as it grows.
- 1Which step on the run sheet keeps getting skipped? Fix it or cut it.
- 2What did you buy or subscribe to that you didn't use? Cancel it.
- 3Which kind of job had the most redos or complaints? Change how you do it.
- 4Where does the day still lose the most time? Fix the biggest drain first.
- 5What still only lives in your head? Write it down.
One system, not five apps
Every new app is one more place to check and one more thing to pay for. Add tools in stages, and only when each one replaces something.
Starting out
Under about 8 jobs a week
A shared calendar, one spreadsheet for customers and jobs, and your run sheet. Free, and plenty for now. We'll make the spreadsheet for you, set up for your services and prices.
Customers, jobs, prices, your run sheet and weekly numbers in one file. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers.
Busy
About 8 jobs a week and up
One field-service app replaces the calendar, the customer spreadsheet and your invoice templates: booking, reminders, invoices and job notes in one place. Most import your customers straight from the spreadsheet.
Running a business
A crew, or more than one line of work
Now the question is the whole business, not the next job: sales, money, crew and operations side by side, with numbers you can act on.
Suiteboard is BeProEx's sister product: an AI dashboard for running the whole business. BeProEx Experts get a discount.
Before you add an app, name what it replaces. If it replaces nothing, wait.
Two apps doing one job? Keep the one you open every day and cancel the other.
We may earn a commission from some links. It never changes what we recommend, and we'll tell you when the free option is enough. As an Amazon Associate, BeProEx earns from qualifying purchases.
When one person isn't enough
Your run sheet is what makes a first hire work: they follow the lists you already use.
When to hire help
- You are spending too much time on permit runs
- You have multiple projects overlapping
- You need a project manager to oversee daily site quality
How to scale
- Start with a reliable, licensed GC for the heavy lifting
- Hire a virtual assistant for document tracking
- Always verify licenses and insurance before hiring
Contractor Classification
Most people working on your flip should be independent contractors or licensed companies. If you dictate exactly how they work, provide the tools, and set their hours, the law may view them as employees, triggering tax and insurance obligations. Confirm your local rules. This is not legal advice.
Learning
Essential skills
Master the art of evaluating a deal before you spend a dime.
Core skill
Evaluating ARV
Real Estate Rookie · 11 min · How to Estimate ARV (After Repair Value) in 3 Steps
Prevents overpaying for a property
Gear used in this video
Core skill
Contractor Bidding
Ensures you stay within your budget
Gear used in this video
We may earn a commission from some links. It never changes what we recommend, and we'll tell you when the free option is enough. As an Amazon Associate, BeProEx earns from qualifying purchases.
Mistakes
Don't trip here
Avoid these common early traps.
1Skipping structural inspections
Optimism bias; hoping it's just 'cosmetic'.
Instead: Always hire a professional inspector before final purchase.
2Paying for work up front
Trusting the contractor's word.
Instead: Pay only for completed milestones, verified by a walkthrough.
3Ignoring permit requirements
Hoping to save time/money.
Instead: Check with the local building department. Unpermitted work is a deal-killer at resale.
Tooling
Manage your flips
Track costs and keep documents organized.
Project and cost tracking
Keeping your budget vs actuals synced.
Free way: Use Google Sheets with a dedicated project tracker template.
When it's worth paying: When you have multiple active flips and need automated task management.
Powerful for tracking contractor stages and milestones. Not the right fit if You are doing your very first small fix-up.
We may earn a commission from some links. It never changes what we recommend, and we'll tell you when the free option is enough. As an Amazon Associate, BeProEx earns from qualifying purchases.
Action Plan
Finish this chapter
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Your business plan, operations
How you run the day
0 of 7 in place
- Run sheet written: load-out, arrival and finish lists
- One spreadsheet for customers, jobs and prices
- Paid before you leave the job
- Restock list counted in jobs, with a second store
- A plan for bad days: weather, breakdowns, sick days, no-shows
- Five numbers logged every week
- 90-day operations tune-up on the calendar
Question 1 of 3
What is a recommended practice to avoid legal complications when hiring workers for your flips?
Next · Chapter 10
Money Management
Now that you can run a project, let's look at how to structure your business finances, secure construction lending, and manage the cash flow required for a successful flip.
Chapter 9 · Operations
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