Job-Costing Tracker (Estimate vs. Actual)

$24

Secure checkout through Gumroad. Instant download link on screen and by email.

Made by a working carpentry and remodeling contractor.

Most small contractors find out how a job really did after it is over. This tracker shows you during the job: what you budgeted, what you have committed, what you have paid, and where the margin is heading, while there is still time to do something about it.

What is inside

Job-Costing-Tracker.xlsx: blank and ready for your next job
Job-Costing-Tracker-EXAMPLE.xlsx: filled in with a made-up example job so you can see how it works
Summary: budget, approved change order cost, revised budget, committed, actual, projected final cost, variance, % used, contract and margin, cash in vs. out
Job Setup: contract price and budget by category
Change Orders: 40 rows with Approved, Pending and Declined status
Costs and client payment logs that roll up automatically

How to use it

Save a copy of the blank tracker for each job.
On Job Setup, enter the contract price and your budget per category. The categories match our estimate template, so subtotals copy straight across.
Log change orders, costs and client payments as the job goes.
Check the Summary tab. Red means a category is projected over budget.

Why track committed cost

Paid invoices only tell part of the story. A purchase order or a sub you have hired is money already spoken for, even if the bill has not arrived. Tracking committed cost next to actual cost is what lets the projected final number show trouble early.

What job costing tells you that your bank balance does not

Money in the account at the end of the month mixes deposits for jobs that have not started with bills for jobs that are finished. Job costing separates them, one job at a time, so you can see which kinds of work actually make money, where your estimates run light, and whether a change order covered what it really cost. Over a few jobs, that is what makes your next estimate more accurate.

Business tool only, not accounting or tax advice.