When you sit down with someone who understands both sides of the construction world — the boots-on-the-ground reality and the high-level financial discipline — the conversation naturally goes deep. That is exactly what happened when Alexander interviewed Reece Barnes, Head of Construction Network at Adaptive and host of the Builders, Budgets & Beers podcast.
Across an hour of easy conversation, Reece unpacked the biggest forces reshaping residential construction today: financial systems, AI, builder psychology, process standardization, and how homeowners should actually choose their builder.
From Resenting Construction Work to Becoming a Voice in the Industry
Reece grew up inside the world of building. His father, a long-time educator turned custom home builder, always had him involved in summer projects, remodels, concrete work, or house flips. And like many kids who get dragged onto job sites, Reece hated it.
But seeing construction through a new lens changed everything.
After college, Reece took a role at Buildertrend, selling software to contractors. For the first time, he found himself helping builders solve real problems. He cared. He related. Many of the builders he worked with reminded him of his dad.
From there, his path into construction tech and eventually Adaptive took shape.
How Builders, Budgets & Beers Started
The podcast was born in the most construction-industry way possible: two guys drinking beers at the International Builders Show, saying, “We should start a podcast.”
It began as a two-host format, but eventually Reece took the show solo. That was the unlock. His conversational, off-the-cuff style resonated with people, and his downloads quickly spiked.
The goal of the show is simple:
Reduce the fear and intimidation builders feel around financials.
By getting builders, CPAs, consultants, and operators to share stories — wins, failures, and real-life lessons — the industry gets more transparent and more confident.
Why Financial Clarity Is the Critical Skill Builders Need
Nearly every major theme in the conversation returned to one truth:
You cannot scale if you do not know your numbers.
Reece has countless examples of seasoned builders who discover, after the fact, that they were losing money, undercharging, or double-paying invoices. One Minneapolis luxury builder found $130,000 in duplicated expenses during a financial cleanup.
This is not rare. It is common.
Reece’s advice to any builder starting or growing a company:
1. Build a clean chart of accounts.
It doesn’t need 200 cost codes. It needs consistent, meaningful ones.
2. Categorize costs the same way every time.
Data only helps if you can compare project to project.
3. Know your margin before you scale.
If you don’t know whether you made money on 10 projects, you have no business taking on 20.
4. Treat your construction company like a real business.
Not a trade operation with financials as an afterthought.
The builders who scale most successfully?
The ones who come from the commercial world, where standardization is non-negotiable.
AI Is Not Replacing Builders — It’s Replacing Bad Systems
Reece used the perfect analogy: the blacksmiths of the early 1900s.
When the Model T arrived, they didn’t lose their livelihoods overnight — they adapted. They learned new skills. The market shifted.
AI is doing the same thing to construction workflows today.
Not the craftsmanship.
Not the client relationships.
Not the project management thinking.
AI is removing the tedious, error-prone, time-sucking tasks that builders have simply accepted as “part of the job,” including:
Invoice categorization
Job costing
Cost allocation
Tracking changes across projects
Eliminating duplications and inconsistencies
Reporting and financial summaries
In Reece’s words:
Builders should spend time on the work that requires judgment, experience, and relationships — not dragging PDFs into folders or reconciling cost codes line by line.
Why Efficiency Should Never Mean Less Profit
One of the most important parts of the podcast came when Alexander described his shift in billing practices.
As his systems improved and AI reduced repetitive tasks, some clients assumed they should pay less because the same work took less time.
This is a fundamental misunderstanding.
If a builder invests in better processes, better systems, and better software, the outcome improves:
fewer mistakes
faster delivery
clearer reporting
better oversight
more predictable budgets
more available project management time
That increased value should never be penalized.
Efficiency is not a discount — it is a differentiator.
Advice for Homeowners Building a Custom Home
When asked what advice he would give a friend building a custom home, Reece responded with clarity:
1. Ask the builder what their financial process looks like.
Not just how they bid.
How they track.
How they catch mistakes.
How they bill.
How they verify.
If they can’t explain it clearly, that’s a red flag.
2. Look for process, not personality.
A charming handshake means nothing without structure behind it.
Does the builder walk you through:
selections
change order workflows
billing cadence
communication expectations
pre-construction
weekly updates
If they don’t bring this up on their own, proceed carefully.
3. Evaluate how they handle problems.
Ask:
“How do you catch shortcomings on a job site?”
“What happens when something doesn’t go to plan?”
Good builders have answers. Great builders have systems.
Why Builders Who Understand Financials Win the Next Decade
The construction industry is shifting fast.
AI.
Process standardization.
Rising client expectations.
Margin pressure.
Labor shortages.
Project complexity.
In this environment, the builders who survive and grow will be the ones who:
treat their company like a business
embrace clarity over chaos
use tools that reduce human error
adopt financial systems early
educate their clients
invest in efficiency, not nostalgia
What Reece is doing at Adaptive, and what he advocates through his podcast, is giving builders the confidence and visibility they’ve historically lacked.
And when builders have clarity, everyone wins — the business, the team, and especially the client.
Where to Find Reece
Instagram: @reecebarnes / @adaptivereece / @adaptivebuilds
Podcast: Builders, Budgets & Beers
Website: adaptive.build
Details
Date
3/6/25
Category
Content
Reading Time
10 Min
Guest Info
Reece Barnes
Head of construction network
At Adaptive
Reece Barnes is the Head of Construction Network at Adaptive and the host of the Builders, Budgets & Beers podcast. With a background in construction technology, financial systems, and builder workflows, he helps residential builders understand their numbers, streamline operations, and adopt modern tools like AI. He grew up around custom homebuilding, worked in construction software sales, and now focuses on elevating financial clarity across the industry.
