Obra for Masonry contractors

Masonry job costing, from the footing to the last joint

Track each masonry job as its own project: brick, block, stone, mortar, scaffold and mason and tender labor. Know what every wall and veneer job made you.

Masonry is heavy material and slow, skilled labor. The brick and block are bought by the thousand and the pallet, the mortar and sand by the yard, and the crew lays it one course at a time for two or three weeks. The margin is decided by the brick the client picks after the bid, the footing that wasn't poured right, and the days the scaffold sits waiting on weather.

Obra keeps each job as its own project, with the brick and stone as allowances and the labor split between masons and tenders, so you know what the wall made you before the last joint is struck.

Brick and stone as allowances

Budget the brick and the stone accent on their own allowance lines. Log the yard invoices against them, edit an invoice down to its net amount when pallets go back, and turn any upgrade into a change order once the client has agreed to it. The allowance overage guide shows the wording that keeps the client on your side.

Masons and tenders, apart

Give the masons and the tenders their own labor codes. After a few jobs you'll know where the days go. The cost code guide has a short list you can copy.

The brick, the footing, the lintels

The three change orders below show up on most masonry jobs. Price each one the day it comes up, get the client's okay, then record it so the contract value moves with the work. The change order guide keeps the wording short.

The margin on every wall

When the last invoice is paid, the job's page shows the contract, the total cost and the margin. Compare your veneer jobs against your retaining walls and your chimneys. The markup and margin guide helps you set the number to aim for per square foot of wall.

What Obra isn't for a mason

Not takeoff software, not scheduling, not a repair-call dispatcher. Obra is the money on each job, in English and Spanish, from receipts your crew already sends, exported clean to the accountant.

Sample budget

Brick veneer, front elevation and two columns, plus 60 ft block retaining wall, Riverside

Line item Budget
Brick (allowance) $7,800
Block, rebar, grout $3,100
Mortar, sand, ties, flashing, lintels $2,400
Stone accent (allowance) $3,600
Scaffold and mixer rental $1,100
Dump fees and hauling $500
Permit and inspection $300
Crew labor, masons and tenders $12,200
Direct cost budget $31,000
Contract value $40,500
Gross margin budgeted $9,500

Illustrative figures in US dollars for a fictional project; use them to see the shape of the budget, not to price a job.

The cost codes this trade actually uses

  • 01 Brick and block
  • 02 Stone and veneer
  • 03 Mortar, sand and grout
  • 04 Rebar, ties, lintels and flashing
  • 05 Footings and concrete
  • 06 Scaffold and mixer rentals
  • 07 Permits and inspections
  • 08 Crew labor, masons
  • 09 Crew labor, tenders and mixing
  • 10 Dump fees and hauling
  • 11 Vehicle and fuel

The change orders that eat the margin

The brick the client picked after the sample board
The allowance was for a standard modular brick. The client picks a tumbled, oversized unit at the yard and the price per thousand doubles. Get the okay on the difference before the pallets ship, then record it against the allowance.
The footing that wasn't poured to plan
The retaining wall footing is four inches narrow and the inspector wants it fixed before the first course. Extra concrete, rebar and a lost day are a change order, approved with photos before the pour.
The lintels and flashing nobody specified
The plans show brick over three windows and no steel lintels or through-wall flashing. Supplying and setting them is real work outside the bid. Price it, get it approved, then lay the course.

Questions people ask

Brick is bought by the thousand and I always over-order. How do I track it?
Log the yard's invoice against the brick line when it arrives. When the extra pallets go back, edit that expense down to the net amount and attach the credit slip. The edit gets re-confirmed, and the brick line shows what you actually kept.
Can I keep masons and tenders separate?
Yes. Two labor codes, two lines. After a few jobs you'll know whether the wall was slow because of the masons or because the tenders couldn't keep mud in front of them.
Does Obra do tuckpointing and repair service calls?
No. Obra is for jobs with a contract and a budget: veneers, retaining walls, chimneys, block buildings, hardscape. A repair route needs a scheduling and invoicing tool.
Can my tender send receipts from the yard?
Yes. A photo by WhatsApp, email or the app, in English or Spanish. They never see the job's numbers. You confirm it to the right job in a few seconds.
Free download

Not ready for an app? Start with our free Excel template.

A ready-made spreadsheet to track costs and income per project — with categories and the totals already set up.

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