The programme belongs to the landlord, not to the firm doing the work. An opening date written into the lease turns every week of delay into a penalty to be paid rather than a simple annoyance.
Trades block one another. Electrics before plasterboard, screed before flooring: an order held in the system prevents the day two firms stand waiting together.
The variation is the real margin. Every client change must be recorded in writing and priced before it is built, or it is given away.
Materials carry lead times that drive the programme. Tracking order and delivery date on the job shows six weeks ahead which site will slip.
Council sign-off is a milestone of its own. Inspections, paperwork and defects are managed like a job, because without them nobody opens.
The hours spent on each site decide the price of the next one. Not knowing exactly how many hours a hair salon cost means pricing the next on instinct and discovering the loss only at the end.