Profitability
Job costing exists so you can fix a job while it is still open
The problem
Most project businesses learn a job lost money after it is closed, invoiced and forgotten — which makes the information a history lesson instead of a decision.
Why it matters
One unmanaged job can consume the profit of three good ones. Bid-versus-actual review during the job is the only point where the outcome is still changeable.
How to know if you have this
- Job profitability is reviewed after closeout, if at all
- Change orders are performed before they are approved
- Labor burden is estimated rather than calculated
- Estimators do not see actual results from prior bids
How Advisory Motion solves it
- 01Establish honest labor burden and equipment rates
- 02Review bid versus actual monthly on open jobs, not closed ones
- 03Install a change-order log with capture and approval discipline
- 04Feed actual results back to estimating so bids improve
Illustrative example
$47K recovered on one job
Mid-job review found unbilled change orders and a labor overrun tied to one crew. Both were addressed while the job was open — the difference between a 4% and an 11% margin.
Illustrative composite · not a client identification
Where this connects