What's the best way to do job costing?

I have my techs write the Job no on the top of their receipts for any supplies purchased. Then at the end of every day, the expenses are written in the lines of the job to be captured. Before receipts are scanned into QuickBooks, we verify that this has been completed on the job. If we do need to capture something that we did not just purchase, it is not on a receipt, like extra caulking, then it is added at the tech's discretion. I also write on the top of the receipt if it was SM (Supplies and Materials), GS (Goods Sold), Small Tools (TOOLS), or FUEL. So if it is marked GS, it should have a job number. IF anything is missing, it goes back to the tech.

A Job form might help too: The first option is a number field where they enter the number of the item used, just copy the item name from the pricebook, so it can be copied over to the invoice. And the second is a drop-down with qty. Just create an item for each sellable item you have on your truck. Also, I think Ply, which integrates with Jobber, can help do a lot of this, but it costs.

Hey Ernie, I have been using a different credit/ debit card for supply purchases only. This means anything for the costumers only. I have a company account for everything else like tools, gas, maintenance. This makes it super easy for me to find what I spent money on and where the money is being spent. It's nice to be able to just print out each account for the year and hand it to your tax guy also. I use store apps as well to track what I bought and if I need to return something it's easy to look up. 

Hope this helps.

Here are a few images of using the expenses. This wont add it to the job though. Maybe then the office or whoever bills it out can transfer it over.

One simple approach is to track costs by job as they happen rather than waiting until the job is completed.

For each job, I would separate costs into a few basic categories: labor, materials, subcontractors, and other expenses. Then compare the total actual cost against the original estimate and target margin.

For materials, having techs record the job number on every receipt is a good system. The important part is entering those costs regularly, so you can see cost overruns while the job is still in progress.

I also find it useful to track change orders and customer payments separately. That gives you a much clearer picture of estimated vs. actual cost, cost variance, and projected final profit.

A simple spreadsheet can work well for this if you don't want to add another complicated system.

Definitely train your people to upload expenses. This is something I talk about with my team. I tell them the receipt is not to ever hit their pocket. They are getting paid hourly and I want them to take am minute before they start their car and upload receipts. I have claud bot do an audit of jobber expenses vs my credit card. If they didn't upload a receipt I write them up. I make a big deal out of it because it is a big deal. 

Ernie, since your technicians are mainly using materials already stocked in their vans, what about starting each job with a simple digital material checklist?

The technician records what was used before closing out the job. That information is tied to the job number and deducted from the van's inventory.

I'd also build in a weekly inventory check to catch anything that wasn't recorded.

Ideally, Jobber would automate this process. Once a technician marks the job complete, the system checks whether materials and labor have been entered before moving the job to invoicing.

This would help with three things:

• More accurate job costing
• Better inventory control
• Fewer missing expenses

The goal is to make tracking part of the workflow rather than another task someone has to remember.