Job costing — knowing the actual cost of each job versus what you charged — is how contractors improve profitability over time. Without it, you're guessing. Here's how to track job costs simply.
What to Track Per Job
- Labor: Actual hours × hourly labor cost. Not wages — your full labor cost (wages + payroll taxes + insurance)
- Materials: Actual cost from receipts, not estimates
- Equipment and vehicle: Time used × cost per hour
- Subcontractors: Actual invoices
The Comparison
Compare your actual cost to your estimate. If you consistently underestimate a certain job type (say, bathroom tile or exterior painting), your pricing for those jobs needs to change.
Simple Method
A per-job notes file or a basic spreadsheet works at small scale. Log estimated vs. actual for hours and materials on every job. Review monthly.
TimeFotos keeps job records by address so you can reference past similar jobs when estimating future ones.
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