Seed Development + Design: How a Georgia remodeler reversed a six-figure loss and rebuilt their business with Buildertrend

A crisis of cash, clarity and control

Preston remembers the moment clearly. “I was on the phone with Eric in the middle of the night and said, ‘We’re out of money. What do we do?’”

Cash was gone. Estimates weren’t matching actuals. Change orders and selection upgrades were being missed. Jobs looked profitable on paper – but the bank account told a different story.

For months, the team didn’t know if they’d make payroll with Preston asking, “We had a few months of not knowing if we were going to make it. We were asking, ‘Are we closing doors this month?’”

“We’re out of money. What do we do?”

Preston Reed

Founder & Owner, Seed Development + Design

Eric describes it as operating in a dense fog. “I was stuck in a tunnel. I kept casting Buildertrend and Breakthrough Academy to the side. I didn’t even know what I should be looking at financially.”

Both founders knew how to build great projects, but they didn’t know how to build a scalable business. “You’re not taught how to be an entrepreneur in school, so what are we supposed to do financially?” Eric asked.

Something had to change, and fast.

The turning point: Systems, coaching and a ‘no choice but to fight’ mentality

In late 2022 – before the crisis peaked – Seed Development + Design had signed up for Buildertrend after a single Google search for project management software. Their goal was straightforward according to Preston, “It’s a single place to track projects, schedules and project budgets.”

But with chaos piling up, they hadn’t fully implemented Buildertrend. They shared the full story on The Building Code podcast – listen here:

Who is Breakthrough Academy?

At the same time, they joined Breakthrough Academy for coaching and accountability. Within weeks, they realized how critical that decision was. “We didn’t know how badly we needed them,” Preston said.

Breakthrough Academy provides business coaching, accountability and systems for builders, remodelers and trades. It gives owners the structure, planning tools and leadership frameworks needed to grow profitably and sustainably.

Building the structure they’d been missing

Breakthrough Academy helped Seed Development + Design rebuild the business from the inside out by giving them the structure they’d never had, including:

• A master business plan with defined one-year and five-year goals
• Financial systems that replaced guesswork with clarity
• Coaching and accountability to navigate day-to-day decisions
• Profit First, a financial model that completely reframed how they viewed cash

“It was a paradigm shift in how we viewed our financials,” Preston recalled.

But clarity didn’t mean comfort. It immediately forced them to make difficult decisions: pausing subcontractor use and taking everything in-house. Eric ran sales, and Preston became the lead on every job site. For six months, they did whatever it took to keep the lights on.

Buildertrend then became the system that tied it all together, giving the Seed Development + Design team the day-to-day visibility to put Breakthrough Academy’s framework into action.

The Buildertrend shift: Financial visibility, accurate costs and captured revenue

As Buildertrend became more integrated in their business, the pair said that’s when the fog started to lift. “Buildertrend opened our eyes,” Preston said. “We were tracking our projects to a level that we knew each project was profitable.”

How Buildertrend moved the needle

Real-time job costing

For the first time, Seed Development + Design could see – line-by-line – whether a job was profitable before it was too late. “Buildertrend finally gave us visibility,” Preston said. “We could track our projects in a way that showed exactly where we stood financially.”

Capturing change orders and selections

Before Buildertrend, upgrades slipped through the cracks and the company unintentionally absorbed the cost. “Clients would go from tile A to tile B, and we’d end up eating it,” Preston said. “Now, those changes are documented and captured so nothing gets missed.”

“I had been estimating everything, but I never really knew if those numbers were accurate. Once Buildertrend came in, our eyes opened to what jobs were truly costing.”

Eric Stenger

Founder & Owner, Seed Development + Design

Selections also transformed client communication. With a transparent process, homeowners can build their own budget – choosing where to splurge and where to save – which eliminates surprises and protects margins.

Operational efficiency

Buildertrend also eliminated hours of administrative work and gave the founders room to lead.

“It cuts the time spent behind a computer doing pointless stuff,” Eric said. “Now we can use that time to actually grow the company.”

Cash flow clarity

With job costing, scheduling and invoicing connected in one system, Seed Development + Design finally had predictable cash flow.

“Being able to project invoicing out for cash flow management has been huge,” Preston said.

Seed Development + Design didn’t just stabilize – they started climbing.

The Results: A complete financial comeback

What happened next is exactly what earned Seed Development + Design Breakthrough Academy’s Turnaround of the Year award in 2024 – a recovery few remodeling firms ever achieve.

The story, by the numbers

“We ended 2023 with a negative 12% net. By the end of 2024, we’d made all that money back and then some,” Preston said.

Average project size and backlog

2024: $76K, 3-4 months

2025: $94K, 4-5 months

Close rate

18% (2024) → 20% (2025)

Goal achievement

“We exceeded our goals from day one of 2024,” Preston said.

Just a year earlier, the company was facing a six-figure loss. Once they fully integrated Buildertrend and Breakthrough Academy, they didn’t just recover – they rebuilt a stronger, more profitable business.

Why Buildertrend and Breakthrough Academy

“Buildertrend gives us clarity to see how our projects are tracking. It keeps us profitable year-round,” Preston said. “And we feel heard because Buildertrend keeps improving the system, making our lives easier.”

Clarity. Confidence. Control. Community.

“There’s so much knowledge in those conversations,” Preston added. “Whatever problem you’re having, someone there has been through it.”

That combination of Buildertrend and Breakthrough Academy is what pulled Seed Development + Design out of survival mode and propelled them into sustainable growth.

Book a demo to see how Buildertrend can turn your chaos into clarity.

And discover how Breakthrough Academy can give you the systems, clarity and coaching to scale with confidence. Start your transformation today at btacademy.com.