THE SOFTWARE DOES NOT FIX JOB COSTING. THE COST CODE STRUCTURE DOES.
Most platforms can do job costing. Very few are set up to do it. What separates the ones that work is six capabilities: multi-level cost codes, committed cost alongside actual cost, labor burden charged to the job, equipment charged by the day, WIP calculated out of the cost ledger, and a project manager who can read the report in 30 seconds. Job costing is a setup problem before it's a software problem.
General accounting software was built to close a month for a company. Job costing software has to close a month for every job in the company at the same time, which is a different build. It needs somewhere to put a commitment that has no invoice against it yet, a way to push payroll tax and workers comp onto the job with the wage, a daily charge for a machine you already own, and a WIP schedule it can produce by itself. Buying the license does none of that. The setup does.
Want it set up for you? Onboarding only, from $4,500 one time. Books migrated and job costing built, then your own team keeps it up.
WHAT IT MEANS.
Construction job costing software is accounting software set up so every dollar of labor, burden, material, equipment, and subcontract cost posts to a cost code on a specific job rather than to a company-wide expense account.
The trade decides which of the six capabilities is make or break. On civil and earthwork, it's equipment allocation, because the fleet is the second largest cost on the job and it's the one most often put in overhead. On concrete and other labor-heavy trades, it's burden. On electrical, it's phase-level cost codes for rough-in, trim, fixtures, fire alarm, and low voltage, because a generic three-bucket setup can't tell a foreman which phase is over.
Under $3M in revenue, the make or break is discipline rather than software. A QuickBooks file set up correctly with a weekly cost review beats an expensive platform nobody keeps current. Construction-native tools such as Sage, Foundation, or ControlQore earn their keep when the business outgrows discipline and needs committed cost, automatic burden, equipment by the day, and a WIP schedule the system builds itself.
WHAT GENERAL ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE WILL NOT DO.
Cost codes collapse into three buckets
A generic setup puts everything into material, labor, and overhead. Job costing needs at least two tiers, a broad category with subcategories under it, built the way the trade builds the work. A project manager asking whether the underground is over can't get an answer out of three buckets, so he stops asking and manages the job from his own spreadsheet.
Committed cost is invisible until the invoice comes in
The money is committed the day a purchase order or a subcontract gets signed, not the day the invoice reaches accounts payable. A system that reports actual cost only tells you about the overrun weeks after the week you could have done something about it. Committed cost is what turns a job cost report into a forward-looking document.
Labor burden is in overhead instead of on the job
Payroll tax, workers comp, and benefits belong on the job with the wage that generated them. When burden is held in a company-wide overhead account, every job reads 25% to 30% more profitable than it is. That's the single most common reason a contractor feels profitable and has no cash left at the same time.
Owned equipment costs nothing on the report
A machine you own costs a daily rate whether it works or is idle, and that rate has to reach the job it's assigned to. When the fleet is in overhead, civil and earthwork jobs read as profitable while the equipment loses cash under a line nobody reviews. One verified civil client found $779,000 in total to date once they started charging equipment to jobs by the day.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN DOLLARS.
A verified concrete client at $4.9M in revenue went from $161,000 of net profit to $1,112,000 with the same crews and the same revenue. No rate increase, no new customers. Cost started posting to the job that caused it, which let them see which work made money and which work was costing them to perform.
A verified civil client at $7.1M in revenue operated 34 machines and 14 trucks on one blended hourly rate. Charging equipment to jobs by the day, separate from fuel and separate from the operator, uncovered $779,000 in total to date. They downsized the fleet and started billing idle days.
WHAT WE SET UP.
The estimate is written in phases and assemblies and the general ledger is written in accounts, and until somebody translates one into the other, actual cost and estimate can't be compared. We build the code list off the format you bid in, then set the software up to hold it. That's the work the license doesn't do for you.
One burden rate per labor class, applied to the job with the wage instead of at month end by journal entry. One daily rate per machine, charged to the job it's assigned to whether it works that day or is idle. Both are calculated off your own trailing cost rather than a rule of thumb, and both get reviewed twice a year.
If the monthly WIP schedule takes four hours in Excel, it doesn't get done, the financials are wrong, and the bank stops trusting them. WIP is calculated from the job cost records every month for every client, along with the cost to complete review and the 13 week cash flow forecast. Those are baseline deliverables here, not upgrades.
Your PM opens the job and reads actual against estimate by cost code in 30 seconds, without calling accounting and without opening a spreadsheet. If that takes longer, the job costing isn't working, whichever logo is on the screen. We set the PM-facing report up and then we test it on the PM.
THE OUTPUTS, NAMED.
FLAT MONTHLY FEE. NO SURPRISES.
Three tiers, priced by your trailing twelve month revenue. Which one you're in depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. No hourly billing. No payroll. The one-time onboarding fee is right here in the table.
Built for subs doing $1M to $12M. Above $12.5M we quote.
| Last 12 months revenue | Core | Strategic | Platinum | One-time onboarding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $1M | $1,900 | $3,100 | $3,300 | $2,500 |
| $1M to $3.5M | $2,600 | $4,100 | $5,300 | $4,500 |
| $3.5M to $6.5M | $3,800 | $5,900 | $8,300 | $6,000 |
| $6.5M to $9.5M | $5,100 | $7,600 | $11,800 | $7,500 |
| $9.5M to $12.5M | $6,100 | $8,900 | $14,900 | $9,000 |
| Above $12.5M | Quoted | Quoted | Quoted | Quoted |
The onboarding fee covers migrating your books back to the start of your last taxable year and getting you fully operational in 60 days. It's billed once, with your first invoice. It's the same for all three tiers, and it moves with your revenue band. Your first month is prorated, and your monthly engagement starts on the first of the first full month.
Just want the setup? Onboarding only is the same onboarding work with no monthly service after it, one time, at the onboarding fee plus $2,000. Start a monthly engagement later and $2,000 counts toward it. It starts at $4,500, and the price for every band is on the pricing page.
The three tier columns are the whole price. Which one fits depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. No payroll. No hidden line items. The onboarding fee is right here in the table.
- Online software only: QuickBooks, Sage, Viewpoint and similar. No VPN or hosted desktop.
- Not in any tier: payroll, pay applications, collections on receivables.
- Pricing valid through 2027.
CFO work. Your own bookkeeper keeps doing the books.
You stop guessing.
You get the CFO work. Job costing built against the way you estimate, a 13 week cash forecast, monthly WIP, and a meeting every month that ends in decisions and never in a report.
Your bookkeeper still does the books.
Core, plus bookkeeping and bank reconciliations, plus job costing and WIP software set up and managed for you. Use your own online accounting software or we supply it, one price.
Every job shows its margin while it is still open.
Everything in Core, plus the bookkeeping and bank reconciliations done for you, and the job costing and WIP software set up, loaded with your cost codes, and managed every month. Use your own online software, or move to ours and we cover it.
A bookkeeper we choose does the books and reconciliations. No payroll.
Strategic, plus a controller who handles payables and receivables the way an in-house controller would. You approve every payment.
You approve, and the money side gets handled.
Everything in Strategic, plus a controller we choose who handles your bills and receivables for you the way an in-house controller would. They call vendors, pay the bills and keep the accounting current. We plan the cash flow first, and you approve every payment because it is your money.
A controller we choose does the payables and receivables. No payroll, no pay applications, no collections.
FREQUENTLY ASKED.
