Florida General Contractor Course Notes

Business & Finance is one of the three examinations required for Florida Division I general-contractor licensure. Across the combined three-exam path it represents about half of the tested questions. Treat it as a contractor-business exam: entity/qualifier setup, bidding and contracts, purchasing, accounting, payroll, taxes, insurance, human resources, and Florida regulatory compliance.

• Using markup and margin as if they were the same percentage.

• Write the formula before touching the calculator; most finance misses are denominator mistakes.

Contract Administration is a separate required Florida general-contractor exam. It tests preconstruction and bidding, project contracts, licenses/permits/inspections, and construction procedures/operations. The recurring decision pattern is: verify the contract and current facts, protect notice rights, obtain required authority, document the action, and coordinate cost/schedule consequences.

• Treating a bid correction after the deadline as automatically permissible.

• On lien questions, build a mini timeline before choosing an answer.

Project Management is the field-execution exam: construction methods/materials/equipment, OSHA safety, and reading plans/specifications. It rewards correct calculations and disciplined field control—use current documents, protect engineered systems, inspect before concealment, control temporary conditions, and stop unsafe or unauthorized work.

• Forgetting to convert slab thickness from inches to feet.

• Write units beside every number.