Guide pillar ยท Job costs and profit
Job costing and profit: keep the next step clear.
Compare job revenue with the labour, materials and other costs actually recorded. Keep contribution, overhead, cash received and taxable profit distinct when reviewing the business.
- Busy but not profitable: where trade jobs lose margin
- How to calculate profit on a trades job
- How to spot jobs that were completed but never invoiced
- Job profitability spreadsheet vs connected job records
- Markup vs margin for tradespeople
- How to price travel and non-billable time into jobs
- Quoted cost vs actual cost: a weekly job review
- How to calculate the real hourly cost of a crew
- How to attach material costs to the right job
- Which reports should a small trade owner review weekly?
Most useful first
Busy but not profitable: where trade jobs lose margin
Being busy can coexist with weak profitability when prices, scope or recorded costs are wrong.
Read the guideWhat do you need to sort?
How to calculate profit on a trades job
A practical checklist, example or decision framework.
How to calculate profit on a trades jobMarkup vs margin for tradespeople
A practical checklist, example or decision framework.
Markup vs margin for tradespeopleBusy but not profitable: where trade jobs lose margin
A practical checklist, example or decision framework.
Busy but not profitable: where trade jobs lose margin
All job costs and profit guides
- Busy but not profitable: where trade jobs lose marginBeing busy can coexist with weak profitability when prices, scope or recorded costs are wrong.
- How to calculate profit on a trades jobCalculate a job's result by subtracting the costs assigned to that job from its revenue on a consistent tax basis.
- How to spot jobs that were completed but never invoicedFind completed but uninvoiced work by comparing completed job references with invoices and known billing exceptions.
- Job profitability spreadsheet vs connected job recordsA job-profit spreadsheet can be useful when its inputs are complete and one person can maintain them reliably.
- Markup vs margin for tradespeopleMarkup measures the uplift over cost.
- How to price travel and non-billable time into jobsPrice travel and other non-billable time by including it in a defined cost model or allocation.
- Quoted cost vs actual cost: a weekly job reviewCompare quoted cost with actual cost using the same scope and categories.
- How to calculate the real hourly cost of a crewCalculate a crew's hourly business cost by dividing a defined period's relevant labour cost by the productive hours available under the same assumptions.
- How to attach material costs to the right jobAttach material costs to jobs with a work reference, quantity and consistent cost basis.
- Which reports should a small trade owner review weekly?Review a small trade business through a few exception lists: open sales decisions, unfinished work, unbilled completions, outstanding invoices and jobs...
Keep these steps connected in the business.
JobDiary brings leads, quotes, customers, jobs, projects, crews, invoices, payments and job profit into one operational record. Check the product tour and trial against your own work.
See how it works| Time | Job | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 08:30 | 7 The GreenMow, edge, hedge | Done |
| 09:15 | 23 Seabury DriveMow, weed | Done |
| 10:00 | 9 Brookfield LawnMow, feed | In progress |
| 11:05 | 12 Castle ParkMow, hedge rear | Next |
| 12:00 | 31 Church RoadMow | Scheduled |
| 13:15 | 18 The RiseMow, edge, bins out | Scheduled |
Product screens use demonstration data.
The problem usually starts earlier
Getting paid
Reminders, invoices and part-payments.
See getting paid guidesRunning the round
Recurring jobs, weather and routes.
See running the round guidesPricing the work
Rates, quotes and price books.
See pricing the work guidesPaper to phone
Switching without losing jobs.
See paper to phone guidesSmall crews
Vans, hours and handovers.
See small crews guidesChoosing software
Fit, costs, alternatives and the limits.
See choosing software guidesLeads and customers
Enquiries, follow-up and customer history.
See leads and customers guidesScheduling
Crew capacity, dispatch and changed plans.
See scheduling guidesProjects and delivery
Scope, stages, extras and completion.
See projects and delivery guidesBusiness records
Access, offline work, equipment and data.
See business records guidesBy trade
Practical records for different kinds of work.
See by trade guides
