Job Cost Ready
Can you trust what each job actually cost?
Know where each job stands while it's still running.
I help contractors build the systems behind accurate job costing, connecting estimating, accounting, labor, expenses and subs so you can trust what each job cost and see where the difference came from.
12 questions. Free. Your readout shows on screen, no email needed.
Example only, illustrative numbers. All figures are direct job costs, not the contract price or revenue.
Six questions every job should answer
- What did we expect it to cost?
- What did it actually cost?
- What was the gross profit / gross margin?
- Where was the variance?
- Why did it happen?
- What should change next time?
If your systems can't answer all six with numbers you trust, the problem usually isn't one tool. It's how costs move from the purchase to the job report.
Why "actual" can be wrong
A job-cost report is only as good as what reaches it. Three things have to be true for every cost:
Every receipt, card purchase, bill, sub invoice and hour of labor gets recorded.
Assigned to the correct job, cost category and period, original scope or change order.
Your estimate and your actual costs use the same categories, so estimate vs actual means something.
Labor
Materials on budget. Subs on budget. Labor over. Job margin below plan.
Job costing isn't just bills and receipts. Labor can be the cost that moves most, and if time isn't tracked by job, an overrun stays hidden in payroll until the job is over.
We set up time tracking by job (and by phase where it helps), budgeted vs actual hours during the job, and routines your team will actually follow.
| Labor hours estimated | 140 |
| Labor hours actual | 215 |
| Job margin | Below plan |
Receipts and expenses
A purchase line says where and how much. It doesn't say what the job needs to know.
Example: a purchase line that shows only a store and $487.31.
- Which job was it for?
- What was bought?
- Which cost category?
- Original scope, or a change order?
The fix is a capture routine: the job and the details get recorded at the time of purchase. Tools follow the requirement, not the other way round.
Subcontractor commitments
A job can look ahead of budget just because the sub's invoice hasn't arrived yet. Tracking what you've committed, not only what's been billed, shows the real position while the job is running.
| Budget | $18,000 |
| Committed (subcontract) | $18,000 |
| Invoiced so far | $9,500 |
| Paid | $9,500 |
| Still to come | $8,500 |
A clean P&L doesn't mean clean job costing
Sub costs, materials and payroll can be right for the whole company. That's what your bookkeeper and CPA make sure of.
The same costs may not say which job they belong to, against which budget, or whether they were change-order work.
We don't replace your bookkeeper, CPA or tax preparer. We build the operating system that feeds them clean information and gives you job-level answers.
What Job Cost Ready actually calculates
We make these reliable
- Job revenue
- Direct job costs: labor, materials, subs, equipment, permits, other direct costs
- Gross profit and gross margin per job
- Estimate vs actual by category, the variance, and where it came from
We don't calculate
- Net profit per job after overhead, unless your business already has an allocation method
- Tax, revenue recognition or payroll decisions (those stay with your CPA and payroll provider)
What better data lets you diagnose
Once costs land on the right job, patterns show up. The data is for decisions, not prettier reports.
While the job is still running Examples
- Example: labor hours at 60% of budget with the job about 40% complete.
- Example: a material purchase landed on the wrong job.
- Example: receipts are missing for three purchase lines this week.
- Example: the job looks under budget because two sub invoices haven't arrived, but the commitments show they're coming.
- Example: material spend is running above the estimate category.
Seeing it sooner gives you the chance to act sooner. It doesn't stop a job from going over.
From guessing to seeing
- "I think this job is doing okay."
- "I know what we billed."
- "Payroll looks high but I don't know which job is causing it."
- "The sub hasn't sent the bill yet."
- "We will figure out the margin when the job is over."
- "I have to ask three different people where the numbers came from."
- "I know what we budgeted."
- "I can see actual labor hours against the budget."
- "I can see the direct costs already assigned to the job."
- "I know what we have committed to subs even if every invoice has not arrived."
- "I can see what is running over and where."
- "I know what needs to be reviewed this week."
- "I can use what happened on this job to improve the next estimate."
What the implementation includes
Every piece below is part of the fixed-scope project, built around your business. These are deliverables, not add-ons.
Diagnose
- Job Cost Trace
- One recent real job traced through your current process.
- Job Cost Gap Map
- Where the chain breaks and the highest-priority fixes.
Design
- Job Cost Architecture
- How estimating, direct costs, accounting categories, job assignment and ownership line up.
Build
- Cost Capture System
- Purchases, receipts and vendor bills reach the correct job and category.
- Labor Cost System
- Time by job and budgeted vs actual hours, where labor is a direct cost.
- Subcontractor Cost Control
- Where applicable: commitments, invoices, payments, scope and change-order costs.
- System Configuration
- Your existing tools configured where they fit; changes recommended where they can't support the workflow.
- Job Cost Control Center
- A clear job-cost report or view and a weekly review routine inside the systems you already use.
Roll out
- Team Rollout Kit
- SOPs, responsibilities, training, rules and a named internal owner.
- Bookkeeper Handoff
- Coding structure, process and a responsibility map.
Verify
- Test Job Verification
- A real job run through the implemented workflow before final signoff.
Stabilize
- 30-Day Adoption Check
- We check the routines are being followed and correct what is slipping.
- 30-Day Fix Window
- Anything I configured that doesn't work as documented, I fix.
You do not need to become a job-costing expert before we start. I diagnose the gaps, design the workflow, configure the system and document the process. Your job is to give me the information I need, make the necessary decisions and hold your team to the process once it is built.
What you'll need to do
- Give access to your systems and records
- Answer questions and make decisions
- Provide records for the Job Cost Trace and the test job
- Name an internal owner
- Make your team available for rollout and training
- Hold people to the routines once they're built
How we work
Getting started: Take the scorecard book a 15-minute call get a fixed-scope proposal.
- DiagnoseWe trace a real job and map where the job-cost chain breaks.
- DesignWe build the cost structure, workflows and ownership around how the business actually works.
- ImplementWe configure the systems, document the process and train the team.
- VerifyWe run a real job through the workflow before final signoff. Test Job Verification
- StabilizeWe check adoption and correct what is slipping.
Payments: 50% to start, 40% when the system is set up and your team is trained, and 10% after Test Job Verification. The details are set in your written agreement.
We work with the systems you already have where they can support reliable job costing, and recommend changes where they can't. Job costing needs a real accounting platform underneath; spreadsheets can support it, not replace it. Ongoing oversight after the project is a separate option.
System-willing, not system-ready
You do not need good systems before we start. You do need to be willing to use the systems we build.
A good fit if you
- Run real active jobs, with enough going on that you can't keep the numbers in your head
- Have, or will set up, a proper accounting platform with a real chart of accounts
- Will track time by job, where labor is a direct job cost
- Will collect receipts and assign every job-related cost to the right job
- Can name someone to own the process each week
- Will hold your team, and subs where applicable, to it
Probably not for you if
- The plan is "nobody will change anything, just figure it out"
- You want job costing run from a spreadsheet instead of a proper accounting system
- You have a controller, an ERP and mature job-cost accounting already
- You're just starting out, without active jobs yet
- You need tax prep, monthly bookkeeping or bank reconciliations only
If your team will not follow the agreed process, including time by job where applicable, receipt collection, and assigning job-related costs to the right job, Job Cost Ready is not a fit.
Verification-backed implementation
We do not just configure the system and leave. We run a real job through the workflow before final signoff. If something I configured does not work as documented, I fix it at no additional charge.
Verification depends on client access, records and participation in the documented process. It is not a promise about margin, savings or other financial results.
Starting investment
Most implementations are custom, fixed-scope and fixed-price. Projects start around $4,000 depending on what we find.
You are not buying a template library or another software subscription. You are hiring me to diagnose the gaps, design the workflow, configure the system, train the team and verify it on a real job.
You get the scope and the fixed price in writing before anything starts. I personally lead each Job Cost Ready implementation and only take two active builds at a time. If both build slots are full, you can join the next opening.
Take the free Job Cost Readiness Scorecard
12 quick questions. Not a full diagnosis: a way to see why the number that says what a job cost might not be the real number. Answer all 12 and your readout appears on screen. No email needed.
Questions
Do I need specific software?
No. We work with the systems you already have where they can support reliable job costing, and recommend changes where they can't. You do need a real accounting platform with a proper chart of accounts.
Is the Job Cost Control Center a separate software product?
No. It's a job-cost report or view and a weekly review routine set up inside the systems you already use. There's no proprietary software to buy or learn.
Will you replace my bookkeeper or CPA?
No. We build the operating system that gets clean, job-level information to them and back to you.
What if my team won't track time?
That's the most important thing we talk about on the call. We help set the routine and the follow-up, but leadership has to back it.
What is Test Job Verification?
Before final signoff, we run a real job through the implemented workflow with your team. If something I configured doesn't work as documented, I fix it at no additional charge. It depends on you providing the access, records and participation it needs; the details are set in your written agreement.
Do you guarantee results?
No financial results are guaranteed. Test Job Verification confirms the system we configured works as documented, and we fix anything we configured that doesn't, at no charge. The details are set in your written agreement.
How do payments work?
Fixed price, paid in three milestones: 50% to start, 40% when the system is set up and your team is trained, and 10% after Test Job Verification. Review timelines and the exact terms are set in your written agreement.
What happens to my scorecard answers?
They stay in your browser. They're only sent if you enter your email and press Email my results. Then your name, email, type of work, your answers and a summary of your readout go to me, and a short summary (name, email, type of work, how many gaps and whether you ticked the tips box) is stored in MailerLite, the email service that sends your results. You only get other emails (job-costing tips and occasional emails about Job Cost Ready) if you tick the separate, optional box, and you can unsubscribe anytime.
A note on advice
Kelly is not an accountant, CPA or lawyer. What she provides is operational guidance and implementation based on her personal experience running businesses and operations departments, not accounting, tax, legal or financial advice. For those, please talk with your own CPA, attorney or financial professional.