Job costing software for tradies: budget vs actual and margin on every job
Set a budget for each job, add materials, subbies and receipts as you go, and let approved timesheets bring in the labour. Every job shows budget against actual and its margin, so you know which jobs make money before the next quote goes out.
A$12 or NZ$13 a month ex GST after the trial. Free during early access.Costing
24.8% marginDeck and pergola
Example customer
| Category | Budget | Actual | Variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Materials Over budget | $6,200.00 | $6,540.00 | -$340.00 |
| Labour | $4,800.00 | $4,420.00 | $380.00 |
| Subcontractors | $2,500.00 | $2,500.00 | $0.00 |
| Other | $600.00 | $380.00 | $220.00 |
| Revenue (invoiced) | $18,400.00 | ||
| Actual costs | $13,840.00 | ||
| Gross profit | $4,560.00 | ||
| Margin | 24.8% | ||
Example figures only. Approved timesheet hours come in as labour.
How a job's costs come together
Costing sits on each job, next to its schedule, its invoices and its daily log.
Step 1
Set your team's rates once
In Settings, Team and labour rates, give each person a cost rate per hour (what they cost you) and a charge-out rate (what you bill), both ex GST.
Step 2
Budget the job
Open the job's Costing page and set a budget under materials, labour, subcontractors and other. If the job came from a quote, Fill from quote copies its lines in as a starting point.
Step 3
Add costs as they happen
Add each cost with its category, supplier or subbie, quantity, unit cost and date. Labour takes hours and a team member's cost rate, or a rate you type. Snap the receipt and it's kept on the cost.
Step 4
Let timesheets bring in the labour
When you approve someone's week of timesheets, each finished entry becomes a labour cost on its job at that person's cost rate. Approved weeks are locked, so the numbers don't move.
Step 5
Watch budget against actual
The job shows budget, actual and variance for each category, flags any over budget, and shows gross profit and margin. The jobs list shows every job's margin.
Step 6
Bill the costs and check what made money
Tick costs to put on a new draft invoice, with a markup on materials and labour at the charge-out rate. The profitability report lists revenue, costs, profit and margin for jobs in any date range, with a CSV download.
What job costing tells you
- Margin worked out for you
- Revenue is what you've invoiced on the job ex GST, or the quote until there's an invoice. Gross profit is revenue less actual costs, and margin is that profit as a share of revenue.
- Receipts on the cost
- Attach up to 5 receipt photos to each cost you add, so the paperwork sits with the job instead of in the ute.
- Profitability across jobs
- Sort jobs by date, margin or revenue to see which work pays best, and download a CSV for your accountant.
- Costs stay with the boss
- Crew logins never see costs, rates, margins or invoices. They clock on and off, and their approved hours turn up in costing for you.
Good to know
- Costs are entered by hand, one at a time. There's no import of supplier bills or bank feeds.
- Xero and MYOB sync is marked Coming soon, so costs and margins stay in Tradie Business for now.
- Amounts are ex GST, and the app doesn't track GST credits on purchases.
- Fill from quote copies the quote lines at their quoted prices under Other, so change them to what you expect the work to cost you.
Trades where the margin is in the detail
Job costing pays off most where materials, labour and subbies all go into one job:
- Builders
- Subbies, materials and your own crew's hours on one job, against the budget from the quote.
- Landscapers
- Plants, soil and hire costs added as they're bought, with receipt photos.
- Metal fabricators
- Steel and finishing costs on the job, and workshop hours from timesheets as labour.
- Concreters
- The pump, the concrete and the crew's hours, to see what each slab really made.
- Deck builders
- Decking boards marked up onto the invoice when the material price moves.
- Plumbers
- Margins compared across call-outs and bigger jobs in the profitability report.
What it costs
Solo is A$12 (NZ$13) a month ex GST for one person. Crew is A$22 (NZ$24) for up to five. See full pricing.
Questions about job costing software
How does it work out the margin on a job?
Revenue is what you've invoiced ex GST, or the quote until there's an invoice. Take away actual costs for gross profit, and margin is profit divided by revenue.
Do timesheets go into job costing?
Yes. When you approve a person's week, each finished timesheet entry becomes a labour cost on its job at that person's cost rate, and the week is locked.
Can I bill costs to the customer with a markup?
Yes. Tick the costs to bill and they go onto a new draft invoice on the job. Materials take a markup from 0 to 200%, and labour uses each person's charge-out rate when it's set.
Can my crew see job costs?
No. Crew logins see only their jobs, their week and their own time, never costs, rates, margins or invoices.
Does job costing sync with Xero or MYOB?
Not yet. Xero and MYOB sync is marked Coming soon. For now, download the profitability report or the timesheet export as a CSV.
More on how Tradie Business works
Quoting software for tradies
Up to 50 lines with units, GST worked out, emailed from your phone and signed online by the customer.
Invoicing software for tradies
Tax invoices from a job or quote, emailed with your bank details, with reminders, payments and credit notes.
Job scheduling software for tradies
A week and day diary on your phone, crew on each job, and customers booking your free times online.
SWMS software for tradies
SWMS templates, risk ratings, crew signing on phones and a link for the builder.
Every feature, and what's coming soon · Pricing · All 80 trades
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