𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐯𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠?

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐯𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠?

When contractors, construction companies and subcontractors are running multiple jobs at the same time it can be difficult to keep track of all the costs. Job cost reports provide critical information about the current status of jobs.

𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒋𝒐𝒃𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.

I have found that reviewing the estimate vs actual reporting can find errors in incorrect accounting, omission of costs not captured and show overhead allocation improperly recorded. Making sure to review the report every month is an important process for the bookkeeper, accountant, owner and estimator.

Keeping these values in line shows how hard the company is working to keep total costs as a percentage of income AKA markup. Each job should stay on target because if the budget is out of control the business becomes out of control!

Knowing the numbers helps when bidding on future projects of similar size and scope.