Renovation projects lose money between the estimate and the final invoice
A flip is bought on one number and sold on another. Between them sits a scope of work that grows after demolition, a schedule that stretches while the loan keeps charging interest, and invoices that arrive after the money is spent. Reperline keeps each property's estimate, extras and dates in one place, so you see the margin leak while the work is still under way.
Three ways the margin disappears
The scope grows once the walls are open
Demolition finds rotten joists, old wiring or a waste pipe nobody saw at the viewing. The contractor prices the extra on site, you agree by phone, and the change order lives in a chat until the invoice arrives. By then the money is spent and the estimate still looks fine.
Every extra week costs holding money
Bridge loan interest, insurance, utilities and property tax run every day the house is not sold. A slip on finishes is not only a delay on paper: it is cost that never appears on a contractor invoice, so nobody books it against the job.
Quality is checked by eye
A walk through before listing catches what is obvious and misses what is not. What turns up later becomes rework paid twice, a price cut at negotiation, or a buyer's survey that reopens the deal.
Where the money leaks, and what Reperline shows
| Where money leaks | What you usually see | What Reperline shows |
|---|---|---|
| An extra agreed on site | Nothing, until the invoice arrives | The extra entered as a commitment on its line the day it is agreed. The line's forecast moves at once, and a signal fires when it passes the plan by more than 5%. |
| Contractor draws ahead of the work | A draw request that looks routine | A signal when a line is invoiced faster than the work progresses, above 1.2 times by default. |
| A stage that drags | A promise that it will be done next week | A forecast end from the actual pace, and a signal when it lands more than 7 days after the planned date. |
| Holding costs | Interest paid from another account | Interest, insurance and utilities as budget items, so the forecast of the whole job includes them. |
| A site that goes quiet | No news, which feels like good news | A signal after 7 days without a fact from an active stage. |
| A stage marked as done | A thumbs up in the chat | An entry of 100% without a note is flagged, and each entry can carry up to five photos. |
What Reperline closes for a flip
One estimate per property, invoices and extras on its lines, a forecast per line.
Budget
Overrun, spend ahead of progress, a late stage and a silent site, sent to Telegram.
Signals
Stages with planned dates and a forecast end from the real pace.
Schedule
Progress, notes and photos from your contractor or site lead in Telegram.
Field facts
Start from the renovation template
The renovation template gives a new project eight stages, from survey and design through demolition, services, walls and finishes to furniture, cleaning and photos, and finally the sale or rental. It adds six budget groups with a contingency line. Amounts start at zero: you enter your own estimate, because Reperline never invents a figure.
Each property is its own project. With several flips running, the overview shows which one is drifting and why, instead of a folder of spreadsheets that are each a week out of date.
Where Reperline does not fit
Reperline does not calculate your margin. It holds no purchase price, after repair value or sale price: it tells you what the job will cost, and the margin arithmetic stays with you. How to calculate your real flip margin shows one way to lay it out.
It does not manage listings, offers from buyers or a punch list.
If you do one small flip a year and the whole estimate fits in your head, a spreadsheet is enough. Reperline pays off when several properties run at once, when contractors and money move faster than you can check by phone, or when a lender or partner wants figures nobody can quietly rewrite.
Questions
Can I track several flips at once?
Yes. Each property is a project with its own budget, stages and signals, and the overview lists them side by side. The price is per project with unlimited users: see pricing.
Does my contractor need to learn new software?
No. Site facts come from a Telegram Mini App: percent done, a note and up to five photos. There is nothing to install beyond Telegram.
How do I count loan interest and other holding costs?
Add them as budget items with a planned amount, and enter each payment as it is made. They then count in the forecast of the whole job like any other line.
What happens when an extra is agreed on site?
Enter it as a commitment on the line it belongs to. The forecast of that line becomes what is invoiced plus what is committed, so an overrun shows on the day the extra is agreed, not when the invoice arrives.
Read next
- 6 min read
How to calculate your real flip margin (and where it disappears)
How to calculate a fix and flip margin with every cost in it: the full formula, a template you can copy, and the three places the margin disappears.
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Renovation overruns: how to see them before the invoice
Renovation overruns found before the invoice: why they surface late, four early signals on site and in the budget, and what a system needs to catch them.
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