Job costing
Job costing is working out what each job really cost (crew time, chemicals, materials) so you can see its margin, not just its revenue.
- job cost
- cost per job
- job profitability
Revenue tells you how busy you were. Job costing tells you which jobs, services and crews make money. For exterior cleaning the main costs are labor (from crew time on the job, including drive), chemicals, and any materials such as sealer.
Use job costing to check your rates. If a service's gross margin keeps landing below your target, the price per square foot is too low or the production rate you priced it on is wrong.
Formula
job cost = labor cost + chemical cost + materials job margin = job revenue − job cost
Example
Invented: an $829 house and driveway job took a two-person crew 4 hours at $32 an hour each ($256), used $45 of chemicals, and no materials. Job cost is $301 and the margin is $528, or 64%.
Track it in Birdy
Leads, quotes, jobs and invoices on one customer record, set up with your own data.
Related
- FeatureJob costingWhat every job kept after labour, chemicals, materials and callbacks, per job, service and truck.Read
- FeatureTime tracking and crew payCrew clock-in, timesheets, time off and pay by the hour, by the job or by a crew split.Read
- Free toolJob profit calculatorWork out one job's margin and profit from the price, the crew's hours, drive time, chemicals and overhead.Read
- GuideHow to price pressure washingPressure washing pricing from your own costs: how much to charge per square foot, minimum charges, house wash vs flatwork vs roof, and a worked example.Read
- GlossaryGross marginGross margin is the share of a job's price left after the direct costs of doing it: (revenue minus job costs) divided by revenue.Read
- GlossaryRevenue per truck dayRevenue per truck day is completed job revenue divided by truck days, where one truck day is one crew working one day.Read
- GlossaryPrice per square footPrice per square foot is a rate charged for each square foot of surface cleaned, the most common way to price house washes, flatwork and roofs.Read