Open-Book Construction Means You See The Invoices

When we get an invoice for construction work, you get to see it. You can see what the framing cost and how much you’re paying us on top of that. That’s what we mean by open-book, cost-plus construction at Den & Burrow.

We do our construction work on a cost-plus basis, with a standard markup. It costs what it costs to build, and our markup is visible alongside those costs. You get to see all the invoices we receive, with the billing available as the work moves along.

To me, that visibility is the important part. You can follow the costs while the job is happening, rather than only looking at a total.

That visibility does not make the total fixed. If material or labor costs change during a project, those changes become visible in the billing. I want the client to be able to see what is happening with the money being spent.

We also analyze that cost data. It gives us a basis to forecast a little about where costs may go. The invoices show us what the work is costing now, and we use that information to look ahead.