Construction Job Cost Tracking

Track labor, materials, and subcontractor costs per job so you know which projects make money and which don't.

What This Is

Job costing tracks what you spend on each project separately. Labor hours, material costs, subcontractor payments, equipment rental. All coded to specific jobs so you can see exactly what each project cost you and whether it was profitable.

Without this, you’re looking at total revenue and total expenses for the month. That tells you whether your business is profitable overall. It doesn’t tell you that your commercial work is making 18% margin while your residential remodels are losing 3%. That distinction matters when you’re deciding what work to pursue.

The Tracking

Code every expense to a job number. Labor hours tracked by project. Materials receipts assigned to specific jobs. Subcontractor invoices allocated correctly. Monthly reports showing actual costs versus estimates for each active project.

The Reports

Job profitability by project showing revenue, costs, and margin. Work-in-progress reports tracking costs on open jobs. Completed job analysis comparing estimates to actuals. Historical data showing which types of work consistently make money and which don’t.

Why This Matters

Your bank account shows $60,000. You assume business is good. But $35,000 of that is a deposit for a job you haven’t started yet. Another $15,000 is profit from two jobs that went well. The remaining $10,000 is what’s left after covering losses on a kitchen remodel that ran over budget. Without job costing, all you see is the $60,000 and assume everything’s fine.

The real damage happens over time. You keep bidding kitchen remodels at the same rates because you don’t realize they’re consistently unprofitable. You turn down commercial work because the margins look thin on paper, not realizing those jobs always come in under budget. You make pricing decisions based on gut feeling instead of actual cost data from similar past projects.

Pricing Blind

Without historical job cost data, every estimate is guesswork. You’re hoping your labor hours are accurate and that materials don’t run over. Sometimes you’re right. Sometimes you lose money and don’t figure it out until months later when you’re wondering why cash is tight.

Hidden Losses

That job you thought made $12,000? You forgot to account for the extra week of labor when the materials arrived late. Or the subcontractor invoice that came in after you closed out the job mentally. Final actual profit was $4,000, but you bid the next similar job thinking you had good margins.

What Changes

You see real profit margins by job type. Those big commercial projects that seemed risky? They’re your most consistent moneymakers. Those small residential jobs you thought were easy profit? Half of them lose money once you account for all the trips back to fix small issues.

Bidding becomes data-driven instead of hopeful. You know what a similar job cost last time. You know your actual labor rates including the time that doesn’t make it onto time cards. You know which subs stay on budget and which consistently run over. Your estimates reflect reality instead of optimism.

Accurate Estimates

Historical job cost data shows what things actually cost, not what you hoped they’d cost. Bidding a bathroom remodel? You have data from the last five you did showing real labor hours, material waste, and unexpected costs. Your new estimate accounts for reality.

Strategic Decisions

Which customers are profitable? Which job types consistently make money? Where are you losing margin and why? Job costing answers these questions with numbers instead of impressions. You stop pursuing work that feels profitable but isn’t, and focus on what actually makes money.

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