Recent years have presented significant challenges for the Australian construction sector. However, emerging indicators suggest improved conditions ahead. The latest Xero Small Business Insights data for September 2025 reports a strong quarter, with construction sales increasing by 6.6% year-on-year—the highest rise in two years—and employment up by 3.9%, the second-strongest industry result for the period.
These positive developments create an ideal opportunity to reassess your business strategy and strengthen future performance.
Three key actions to enhance your construction business outlook:
- Optimise your cash conversion cycle: Effective cashflow management remains one of the most difficult aspects of running a construction business. Improve liquidity by issuing progress invoices at predetermined milestones and negotiating shorter payment terms. Ensuring consistent inflows helps support essential overheads such as materials, equipment hire and the substantial costs of labour and subcontractors.
- Implement real-time job costing: Estimating costs informally is no longer sufficient. Compare actual labour and material costs against quoted amounts for every project, and review this data frequently. Real-time visibility enables more accurate quoting, improved budgeting and more reliable cashflow and revenue forecasting.
- Systemise operations through cloud-based platforms: Cloud solutions streamline project tracking, invoicing and budgeting. Centralised digital systems reduce administrative workload, support compliance management for staff and subcontractors, and improve oversight of project financials. Well-structured financial processes are critical to ensuring projects remain profitable.
For tailored guidance on strengthening the financial stability of your construction business, our team is ready to assist.
