Job costing answers one question: did this job make the money the quote said it would? Pricing sets the target; job costing checks it, while the work is happening and not three months later when the accountant sends the year's numbers. This guide collects every QuoTrak article on job costing and margin tracking.
What to track
For each job, record the actual materials (from supplier invoices and receipts, not the estimate), actual labor hours by person, subcontractor invoices, and any extra costs such as permits, equipment hire or dump fees. Compare each against the quoted amount. The difference is the story of the job: where the estimate was right, where it was optimistic, and what to change next time.
Gross margin per job
Job margin = (price − direct costs) ÷ price. It should be checked at three points: when the quote is written (the planned margin), partway through (hours and materials to date against the plan), and at completion (the real number). A job that shows 30% on the quote and 12% at the end is telling you something specific; the articles below help you work out what.
Why margins shrink
The usual causes are unbilled extras (work done without a change order), labor hours running over without anyone noticing until the timesheets are in, material price rises between the quote and the order, and callbacks. None of them show up in a bank balance until much later, which is why tracking per job matters.
Job costing versus accounting
Accounting software tells you whether the business made money last quarter. Job costing tells you which jobs made it and which lost it, in time to do something about the ones still running. The two are complementary; the comparisons below explain what each tool is for.
Software that tracks margin as you go
The simplest system is a quote with the cost against each line, and actuals logged against the same lines as the job runs. QuoTrak's Projects do this with receipts and time logged from the field. If your prices are the problem rather than the tracking, start with the pricing guide.