How Much Time Is Your Team Actually Spending on? (The Hidden Cost of DIY Permitting)

Most sign company PMs don't think of code checks as a cost center. They think of it as part

of the job - something that happens before the real work starts. But when you add up the hours, the picture changes.

The Actual Time Cost

A typical code check for a straightforward sign in a well-documented jurisdiction takes an

experienced PM 45–90 minutes - without confirming allowances. That includes:

•  Finding the current municipal code

•  Identifying the correct zoning district

•  Navigating to the sign chapter and relevant sections

•  Reading and interpreting the allowable standards

•  Confirming whether any overlays or MSPs apply

•  Documenting the findings for the project file

For complex jurisdictions - overlays, poor documentation, outdated online codes - that

number can reach 3-4 hours per job. And that's before you account for the time spent

getting a question answered by a planning department that takes two business days to

respond.

What That Adds Up To

If a PM handles 200 code checks per year at an average of 2 hours each, that's 400 hours annually - roughly 7.6 full work weeks spent on code research alone.

At a fully-loaded labor cost of $45–$50/hour for a sign PM, that's $15,390–$17,100 per PM, per year, an internal cost for a function that can be outsourced at $70/job - a total outsource cost of $14,000 for the same 200 jobs. The math is close at average complexity. At above-average complexity, outsourcing wins clearly.The Opportunity Cost Is Bigger Than the Time Cost. The more important number isn't the labor cost - it's what your PM could be doing instead. Every hour spent reading municipal sign codes is an hour not spent:

•  Managing active projects

•  Communicating with clients

•  Reviewing fabrication specs

•  Chasing down permits that are already in review

PM capacity is the constraint in most sign companies. Code checks are a high-volume task relative to actual project management. Treating them as the same category of work is a resource allocation mistake.

The Quality Argument

There's also an accuracy question. A PM doing code checks as a secondary task - while

managing active projects, fielding client calls, and hitting fabrication deadlines - is more

likely to miss an overlay district, misread a sign area formula, or overlook an MSP than a

specialist doing code research full-time. A permit rejection costs far more than the code check that would have prevented it.

What to Do With This

Run the math for your shop. Count the average code checks per month, estimate the average hours per check, be realistic with the amount of time it actually takes, not how much time you wish it did - multiply by your PM's fully-loaded hourly rate. Compare that to $75per job outsourced. If the numbers are close, consider the quality and opportunity cost arguments on top of the direct labor comparison.

At Easy Code Checks, we handle code research and permit filings for sign companies at flat rates across every U.S. jurisdiction - so your team can focus on the work that requires their expertise.

Flat rate. No surprises. Every jurisdiction.

Learn more at easycodechecks.com →