A job costing spreadsheet that shows which jobs make money
This job costing spreadsheet tracks every job against its estimate, so you see problems while there’s still time to fix them. A busy schedule doesn’t always mean a profitable one. However, once you add labor burden and overhead, the real numbers come into focus. As a result, you can bid the next job with confidence.
Thank you for reading this post, don’t forget to subscribe!Who it’s for
Contractors, trades, remodelers, and project-based service businesses that quote jobs and want to know which ones actually pay.
What the job costing spreadsheet helps you do
- Compare estimate vs. actual for labor, materials, subcontractors, equipment, and other costs.
- See percent complete, earned revenue, and whether each job is overbilled or underbilled.
- Add labor burden and overhead to see true job profit.
- Flag jobs running over budget or below your target margin.
What’s included
- Job Costing Workbook (Excel): settings, a job list for up to 100 jobs, a cost log, and a printable one-page job report.
- Sample jobs filled in, so you can see how it works before entering your own.
How it works
First, set your labor burden and overhead rate once. Next, enter each job’s contract and estimate by category. Then post costs to the cost log as you pay them. The workbook does the rest. For example, it shows percent complete using the cost-to-cost method and warns you when a job drifts off budget.
Why job costing matters
A job can look healthy on gross profit and still lose money once overhead is counted. Because of that, job costing is often the fastest way for a contractor to raise profit without adding work. The IRS covers how construction and long-term contracts are reported in Publication 334, Tax Guide for Small Business. For pricing help on the next bid, see our Pricing & Profit Calculator.
Want LNS to set up job costing in your books? Work with us.
Instant download. Requires Excel 2016 or newer (or Microsoft 365).