Dallas Permits And The Q Team: A Survival Guide For Small Contractors
The Premise
If you build in Dallas, you already know this: The permit office can make or break your year.
This guide is about how to survive Dallas permits without blowing your margin or your sanity, and how to use (or dodge) Q-Team intelligently instead of letting it bully your business.
Reality check: Dallas is better, but still slow
Progress is real. But a “32% improvement” doesn’t solve your cash flow problem.
Historically, commercial permits in Dallas could take 300+ days. After reforms, median issuance times dropped into the 112–189 day range.
But if you’re sitting on a 3- to 6-month permit cycle while paying rent, staff, and carrying costs, that is still a killer. Big players lean on Q-Team. Small shops need to be more surgical.
Q-Team in plain English
It’s a paid, expedited review process. But it comes with a catch.
What it is
A structured review with multiple city stakeholders in the room. You pay normal fees PLUS $1,000/hour for review time.
The Squeeze for Small Shops
For big developers, paying $50k to save months is just math. For a small contractor doing a modest TI, the fees (even for "minor commercial" 2nd Q-Team) can eat 10–15% of your entire profit.
Step one: quantify the pain
Before you decide to pay for speed, you need a simple picture of what delays actually cost you.
The Calculation
- Carrying Cost per Week$$$
- Opportunity Cost (Lost Revenue)$$$
- Client Risk FactorHigh/Low
If you’re saving 8 weeks on a project that nets $40k revenue, spending $2k on Q-Team is cheap. If you're saving 2 weeks on a $15k project, skip it.
Redesign your Dallas strategy
For many small contractors, the smartest move is to make Dallas one node in a broader pipeline.
Balance your pipeline
Actively target easier-permit cities (Plano, Frisco, Terrell) for bread-and-butter work. Reserve Dallas proper for high-value jobs where the client understands the pain.
Build delay into pricing
Stop pretending Dallas permits are a simple “2–4 weeks” line item. Separate design/permitting from construction. Charge a design + permit coordination fee up front.
How to talk to clients without sounding whiny
You gain a competitive edge when you can explain Dallas permits calmly and clearly.
"You’ve got two paths: Standard review (lower fees, longer timeline) or Expedited (higher fees, predictable timeline). We can run the numbers on whether speed is worth the cost for you."
Position yourself as a guide, not a victim. Make it the owner's decision whether speed is worth the extra cost.
Stop letting permits run your business
Book a working session and we will help you redesign your pipeline, pricing, and client contracts so you can survive Dallas permits without losing your shirt.