You priced the job, won the work, and now the team is on site. But as the project moves forward, are you actually making the money you thought you would?
Without accurate job costing, you’re guessing. And guesswork can cost you.
📃 What is Job Costing?
Job costing is the process of tracking all costs associated with a particular job – labour, materials, subcontractors, plant hire, waste removal, and overhead allocations.
Done right, it gives you a clear picture of:
- How profitable each job really is
- Where you’re underpricing or overdelivering
- What type of work is most profitable for your business
❌ The Cost of Inaccurate Job Costing
Many construction businesses lose money without realising because:
- Labour hours aren’t recorded properly
- Materials are bought but not assigned to the correct job
- Small extras are forgotten (waste runs, repairs, fuel)
- Overheads aren’t factored in
- You can end up finishing a job thinking it went well, only to find out weeks later you barely broke even.
💼 How to Improve Your Job Costing
- Track labour time daily – not weekly, not at the end of the job
- Allocate materials properly – make sure every delivery is assigned to a job
- Don’t forget the little things – even fuel, dump runs and tool hire add up
- Use job codes or project tracking tools in your accounting software
- Compare estimated vs actual costs after every job
🚀 Why It Matters
When you get job costing right, you:
- Price future jobs more accurately
- Stop undercharging without realising
- Understand which types of work make you the most profit
- Build a more resilient and scalable business
📢 We Can Help
At SGL Accountancy, we help construction business owners set up proper job costing systems. Whether you want to understand why your profit margins are low or just make quoting more accurate, we’ve got the tools and support to help.
Ready to stop guessing and start tracking?📅 Book a chat with us today and let’s put you in control of your job costs.