TECH NEWS

9 ways contractors can streamline processes in 2026

Your phone won't stop ringing, but half your day still disappears into paperwork. Quotes need typing, schedules need shuffling, invoices need chasing, all before a dollar lands in your account. Add a tightening labor market, and there's even less room to waste hours on busywork.

The construction and trades sector needs roughly 349,000 net new workers in 2026 alone, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors. With fewer hands on deck, the businesses protecting their margins are the ones tightening their processes rather than just adding headcount.

Here are nine ways to do exactly that.

#1 Standardize how you estimate and quote jobs

A vague estimate can turn out to be quite expensive.

A survey of more than 600 construction business owners and finance experts found that one in four companies would close if they made just two or three inaccurate bids. Create one standard template that prices labor and...

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FOSS dev builds a BASIC compiler using LLVM

personal tech Not just any old BASIC, either: OS-9’s BASIC09 Neither LLVM nor GCC directly support the BASIC programming language – but a former Microware boffin proposes fixing that. An interesting new proposal on the Discourse forum of the LLVM compiler suite has turned into a new standalone BASIC compiler.

https://media.thenextweb.com/2026/06/upwind-ai-sensor-endpoints-mcp-cloud-security-.avif

Upwind launches AI Sensor for Endpoints as security teams grapple with AI’s expanding reach

When cloud computing transformed enterprise IT, security vendors followed the workloads. Visibility into cloud infrastructure became a central requirement as organizations shifted applications and data into new environments. Artificial intelligence is now driving another change, but this time the challenge is not simply where applications run. It is understanding how

https://media.thenextweb.com/2026/03/Apple-MacBook-Neo-lifestyle.avif

Apple raises Mac and iPad prices as the AI memory crunch reaches the shelf

The AI boom has been an abstract thing for most consumers, a story about data centres and model launches happening somewhere else. This week it arrived somewhere concrete: the price of a Mac. Apple is raising prices on Macs and iPads to offset the soaring cost of memory and storage

https://media.thenextweb.com/2026/06/Bryson-DeChambeau-Youtube-panel-Cannes.avif

Cannes insights: What a two-time major champion knows about marketing that CMOs don’t

For one week every June, the advertising industry decamps to the French Riviera to take its own temperature. The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, now in its 72nd year, ran from 16 to 20 June 2025 and drew roughly 15,000 delegates from 90 countries, the sort of crowd

#1 Standardize how you estimate and quote jobs

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FOSS dev builds a BASIC compiler using LLVM

Upwind launches AI Sensor for Endpoints as security teams grapple with AI’s expanding reach

Apple raises Mac and iPad prices as the AI memory crunch reaches the shelf

Cannes insights: What a two-time major champion knows about marketing that CMOs don’t