Tracking Costs

Job Costing automatically aggregates costs from multiple sources to give you a complete picture of project spending. Understanding how costs flow into the system helps you maintain accurate job cost data.

Cost Sources

Job Costing pulls data from several areas of Readybuild:

Source	Counts As	Description
Estimate Entries	Estimated Cost	Original contract amounts by cost code
Change Orders	Change Order Cost	Approved scope additions
Purchase Orders	Committed Cost	Approved vendor commitments
Bills	Billed Cost	Vendor invoices received
Time Entries (Unapproved)	Committed Cost	Labor not yet locked
Time Entries (Approved)	Billed Cost	Labor costs locked in
Field Receipts	Billed Cost	Job site material expenses
Variance Bills	Variance Cost	Budget overrun tracking
Owner Invoices	Amount Invoiced	What's been billed to homeowner

How Invoice Amounts Flow Into Job Costing

When you create client invoices with cost codes assigned to line items, those amounts flow into Job Costing:

Invoice Line Items With Cost Codes

When a line item has a cost code:

• The amount appears in Job Costing under that cost code's Amount Invoiced column
• You can analyze revenue by category (e.g., "How much have we billed for Framing?")
• The WIP Report shows accurate cost code breakdowns

Invoice Line Items Without Cost Codes (Un-Costed Items)

When a line item has no cost code:

• The amount is tracked separately as "uncosted" billing
• It still counts toward total project billing in the WIP Report
• It appears in the Un-Costed Items section below the main table when viewing Production costs
• The Un-Costed Items header row shows aggregated totals (Amount Invoiced, Remaining to Invoice, % Invoiced)
• These amounts are included in CSV exports when exporting Production data
• You cannot analyze it by cost category

tip

Assign cost codes to all invoice line items for the most accurate profitability analysis. This allows you to compare what you've billed for each category against what you've spent.

Understanding Cost Types

Estimated Cost

The original budgeted amount for each cost code from your signed contract. This comes from the estimate assemblies in your proposal and represents your baseline for comparison.

Total Cost (Budget)

Estimated Cost plus any approved change order amounts. This is your current "budget" after accounting for scope changes the homeowner has approved.

Formula: Total Cost = Estimated Cost + Change Order Cost

Committed Cost

Money you've committed to spend but haven't been billed for yet. This includes:

• Approved Purchase Orders - Vendor commitments awaiting invoices
• Unapproved Time Entries - Labor recorded but not yet approved

Committed costs help you forecast cash flow and identify potential overruns before they happen.

Formula: Committed = Approved POs + Unapproved Time

Billed Cost (Actual Cost)

Money you've actually been charged. This includes:

• Bills - Vendor invoices you've received
• Approved Time Entries - Labor costs that have been locked/approved
• Field Receipts - Job site material purchases

Billed costs are your actual spending to date.

Formula: Billed = Bills + Field Receipts + Approved Time

Variance Cost

Budget overruns tracked via variance bills. When actual costs exceed budget, variance bills capture the difference. This helps you understand which cost codes had unexpected costs.

Projected Cost

The system's best estimate of what you'll spend when the cost code is complete:

• If NOT marked complete: The higher of (Budget + Change Orders) or (Actual Billed)
• If marked complete: Actual Billed + Variance

This calculation assumes you'll spend at least your budget unless actual costs already exceed it.

Cost to Complete

How much more you expect to spend on this cost code.

Formula: Cost to Complete = Projected Cost - Billed Cost

When a cost code is marked Complete, Cost to Complete becomes zero (no more spending expected).

Column Reference

Every column in the Job Costing table, with its calculation.

Cost Columns

Column	What It Shows	Calculation
Cost Code	The estimate category name	From signed contract
Estimated Cost	Original budgeted cost	From estimate assemblies
Total Cost	Current budget after change orders	Estimated Cost + Change Order Cost
Committed Costs	Money committed but not yet billed	Approved POs + Unapproved Time
Billed Costs	Money actually spent	Bills + Field Receipts + Approved Time
Budget Variance	Cost overruns tracked via variance bills	From variance bills
Complete	Whether the cost code is finished	Checkbox (yes/no)

Projection Columns

Column	What It Shows	Calculation
Projected Costs	Expected total spend when complete	If complete: Billed + Variance. Otherwise: higher of Total Cost or Billed
Cost To Complete	How much is left to spend	Projected Costs − Billed Costs (0 if complete)
Total VS Projected	Budget vs. projected difference	Total Cost − Projected Costs. Green ↓ = under budget, Red ↑ = over budget

Client Pricing Columns

Column	What It Shows	Calculation
Estimated Client Price	Homeowner price from signed proposal	From estimate
Total Client Price	Revised price including change orders	Estimated Client Price + Change Order Price
Amount Invoiced	What's been billed to the homeowner	From released owner invoices with this cost code
Remaining To Invoice	What hasn't been invoiced yet	Total Client Price − Amount Invoiced
% Invoiced of Client Price	Invoicing progress	(Amount Invoiced ÷ Total Client Price) × 100

Profitability Columns

Column	What It Shows	Calculation
Projected Profit	Expected profit dollars	Total Client Price − Projected Costs
Estimated Margin	Planned profit margin %	(Estimated Client Price − Estimated Cost) ÷ Estimated Client Price × 100
Projected Margin	Expected profit margin %	(Total Client Price − Projected Costs) ÷ Total Client Price × 100

The Complete Checkbox

Each cost code has a Complete checkbox. When checked:

1. Projected Cost equals actual billed cost (no future spending assumed)
2. Cost to Complete becomes $0.00
3. Margin calculations use actual rather than projected numbers

Use this to lock down cost codes when work is finished and no more costs will be incurred.

When to Mark Complete

• All materials have been received and billed
• All labor for that cost code is approved
• No more vendor invoices are expected
• The work scope for that category is finished

Viewing Cost Details

Click any cost code row to expand and see the line items that make up each cost:

Assemblies Section

Shows estimate entries from your signed contract for this cost code. These are the individual assemblies that roll up to the cost code total.

Bills/POs Section

Lists standard bills associated with this cost code, showing bill numbers and amounts.

Bills/POs (Variance) Section

Shows variance bills that track budget overruns. These costs impact profitability but were not in the original budget.

Bills/POs (Purchase Orders) Section

Lists approved or received POs, showing the vendor commitment before billing.

Change Orders Section

Shows change order estimate entries that added to this cost code's budget.

Client Invoices Section

Lists owner invoices released to the homeowner for this cost code. Only invoice line items with a cost code assigned appear here.

Invoice Line Items Without Cost Codes

Invoice line items without an assigned cost code are tracked separately and shown in the Items Without Cost Code section at the bottom of the details panel. These amounts still count toward total billing but cannot be analyzed by cost category.

Field Receipts Section

Shows job site material purchases recorded as field expenses.

Time Clock Sections

Two sections show labor costs:

• Unapproved - Time entries that count as committed cost
• Approved - Time entries that count as billed cost

Cost Calculation Timing

Job costs are calculated when you load the Job Costing page. The system:

1. Gathers all cost data from various sources
2. Calculates totals for each cost code
3. Stores results for quick access (cached for 1 hour)

If you've just entered costs in another area (bills, time entries, etc.), the Job Costing page will reflect those changes when you load or refresh it.

Tips for Accurate Cost Tracking

1. Assign cost codes to everything - Ensure POs, bills, time entries, and invoice line items have cost codes assigned
2. Approve time promptly - Move time entries from committed to billed regularly
3. Use variance bills - Track unexpected costs separately for better visibility
4. Mark complete when done - Lock down finished cost codes for accurate projections
5. Review regularly - Check Job Costing weekly to catch issues early
6. Assign cost codes to invoices - Track revenue by category for profitability analysis

Related Topics

• Variance Analysis - Managing budget overruns
• Purchase Orders - Creating vendor commitments
• Time Tracking - Recording labor costs