The Job Costing Gap That’s Silently Killing Your Margins

Job costing is the foundation of any profitable Fire Protection or HVAC business in Australia. Without it, you might be booked solid—but still losing money.

If you’re still guessing your profits, it’s time to stop. More jobs shouldn’t mean more stress. When done right, job costing shows you exactly where you stand—before, during, and after every job. You’ll know what’s working, what’s costing you, and what to fix.

The Cost of Not Using Job Costing

Ever feel like you’re flat out with work but have no idea where the money’s going? It’s a common trap. You invoice jobs that look good on paper, only to discover weeks later that the margins have vanished. This happens when:

• Time isn’t tracked accurately
• Materials get missed
• Jobs are underquoted
• Invoices are delayed

Quick example: A fire services business in NSW ran 25+ jobs in a month but still lost $8,000 due to missed hours and delayed invoicing. Without job costing, the losses were invisible until the end-of-month report.

How Real-Time Job Costing Protects Your Margins

Catching issues after the job is done is too late. You need to know, during the job, if you’re still on track. If your techs are writing hours on paper (or not at all), you’re flying blind. And if no one checks costs until month-end, you’re already losing money. Instead, pick one job and:

• Get your team to log hours and materials daily (using an app like FieldInsight or even a shared sheet)
• Review the job’s current profit position every evening

Once you start doing this, you’ll notice cost overruns early—and act while the job is still live.

Profitable Quoting Starts with Smart Data

Think your quotes are solid, but margins keep slipping? The real issue is quoting from assumptions—not real numbers. If you quote based on what you hope something costs instead of what it actually costs, you’ll always undercut yourself. Take one job that hit your profit target. Use that job’s data to build a quoting template:

• Labour hours
• Material usage
• Overhead allowance
• Margin target

Most quoting software lets you save these templates. Refine them with each new job. The more you quote from history, the more confidence you build into every price.

Aligning the Field and Office for Accurate Job Costing

The fastest way to lose profit? Let the field and office work from different playbooks. You can’t cost a job accurately if techs forget to log materials or the office doesn’t have real-time info. That gap creates confusion—and costly errors. Make it easy:

• Have techs log hours and materials on-site, before leaving (using a mobile app is key)
• Set up your system to notify the office automatically
• Confirm job updates are reviewed daily

This loop ensures that what’s happening on-site is captured and costed immediately.

Turn Every Job Into a Learning Opportunity

If you’re not reviewing jobs once they’re finished, you’re missing a goldmine of insight. Too often, businesses just move on to the next job—no pause, no reflection. That’s how the same mistakes keep costing you. Pick one job each week to review:

• What was quoted vs. actual?
• What ran over time or budget?
• What went well?

Document this in a simple job close-out form. Share one key takeaway with your team. You’ll start spotting recurring issues—and fixing them.

Forecast with Confidence, Not Hope

If you only know your numbers after the month ends, you’re reacting, not leading. Job costing lets you forecast ahead using live data. With active job tracking, you can see how the month is shaping up before it ends. Set up a basic forecast dashboard:

• List active jobs, their expected profit, and labour hours
• Update it daily based on field input and invoicing
• Meet weekly to assess if you’re on or off track

This turns month-end surprises into daily visibility.

Start Using Job Costing Today

If you’re still waiting for month-end to check profitability, you’re not really job costing. Here’s your starting point:

• Pick one job this week
• Track it from quote to invoice
• Log labour, materials, and completion time
• Compare actuals to your quote

You’ll immediately see where your money goes—and what needs to change. Don’t wait for another month of “busy but broke.” Book a call and let us show you your profit—before the job even starts.

Want to see how it works in action? Schedule a free demo of FieldInsight and get hands-on with job costing tools that show you exactly where your margins stand—every step of the way.