At RMG, we work with construction contractors at every stage of growth — and one of the most consistent patterns we see is this: the contractors who maintain strong surety relationships and grow their bonding capacity are the ones who treat their Work-in-Progress ("WIP") schedule as a management tool, not just a reporting requirement.
To a surety, the WIP isn't just a report — it's the early warning system.
When a surety reviews your WIP, they're asking a specific set of questions:
- Which jobs are performing as expected?
- Where are margins holding — and where are they quietly eroding?
- Do underbillings represent earned revenue, or are they masking unapproved change orders?
- Are overbillings supported, or are they covering cash flow pressure?
- How does backlog risk compare to available working capital?
A clean, consistent WIP signals disciplined estimating, strong job cost controls, and management that understands project risk. Those signals matter — because they are exactly what drives bond capacity.
When the WIP is inaccurate or poorly maintained, surety confidence erodes quickly. Unexplained margin fades, stale job data, or inflated underbillings raise concerns about potential losses before they ever hit the income statement. For a surety, those losses aren't theoretical — they're contractual.
What We See in Practice
In our work with general contractors, specialty trades, and heavy highway contractors throughout New Jersey and the greater New York region, we've seen WIP issues surface in a few common ways: cost-to-complete estimates that don't get updated as job conditions change, underbilling positions that grow without a clear explanation tied to approved work, and overbilling that looks fine on paper until a project stalls and cash flow tightens.
In each case, the WIP was telling a story — one the surety would eventually read. The question is whether your team is reading it first.
The Bottom Line
The quality of your WIP directly impacts your surety's willingness to support your next job. If your WIP is accurate, timely, and transparent, your surety can extend capacity with confidence. If it's not, growth slows — regardless of how strong last year looked.
