Splitting ownership in a construction business, without the handshake

In a construction business, partners rarely bring the same thing. One puts up the capital and the equipment. One holds the license. One runs the crews, and one brings in the bids and the customers. An even split feels fair on day one and often feels wrong by the second busy season.

Pie Divide gives you and your partners a structured way to decide ownership together, and a record of how you decided.

#Why construction splits are hard to get right

• Contributions look nothing alike. Cash, equipment, a contractor's license, field supervision, and client relationships are all real, and none of them compare easily.
• Some contributions carry risk. Bonding, insurance, and personal guarantees are easy to forget when you're picking a round number.
• The conversation gets skipped. It's faster to shake on 50/50 than to say out loud what each partner is bringing. That's how resentment gets built into the ownership.

#How Pie Divide works for a construction partnership

1. Set up the project. One partner creates it and invites the others by email. Everyone works from their own account.
2. Agree what counts before anyone is scored. Partners negotiate the weight of each contribution. A weight can only go up if another comes down, and nothing changes until a partner accepts it.
3. Score each other privately. Every partner scores themselves and every other partner, from 1 to 10. Your own score counts for less than your partners' scores, so nobody can rate themselves into a bigger share.
4. See the split and approve it together. One result, with each partner's percentage and the categories behind it. It's final only when every partner approves. Anyone can dispute and run another round.

You finish with the split, how you got there, and a timestamped record of who approved it. Take that to your lawyer when you paper the operating agreement.

#The Construction template

The free run uses Pie Divide's general standard weights, which lean toward capital, execution, and the original idea. That's a reasonable start, but it's not how most construction businesses run.

The Construction template is built for construction and contracting businesses. It's weighted toward project delivery, licensing, and capital. It comes with the $49.99 one-time upgrade per project, along with fully custom weights and your own categories and items, so your partners can still negotiate every number.

• Free: the full process with every partner, on the standard weights. No card.
• $49.99 one-time upgrade per project: the Construction template, custom weights, and your own categories. No subscription.

You can upgrade part-way through, and your work is kept. See pricing.

#What Pie Divide doesn't do

Pie Divide is not a law firm. It does not draft your operating agreement, file with your state, or handle licensing or bonding. It helps your partners reach and record a decision. After you finalize, you get a dated checklist of common next steps to take with your lawyer and accountant.

#Start with a free run

Run all four phases with your partners on the standard weights. Upgrade to the Construction template when you want it weighted around your business.

Run a free split

Read how the process works or the guide to splitting equity between co-founders.

Pie Divide is not a law firm and does not provide legal, tax, or financial advice.