Job costing and WIP reports for construction and trades
I build construction job costing reports, WIP schedules and field service reporting for contractors, trades and service companies. I spent years supporting the software these companies run on, so I know where the data lives and where it breaks.
Who I work with
Small and mid-sized companies that run their jobs, crews and service calls through a construction or field-service ERP.
- General contractors and subcontractors
- Electrical, mechanical, plumbing and HVAC contractors
- Field service companies with service contracts and work orders
- Controllers who rebuild the WIP schedule in Excel every month-end
Problems I hear from contractors
Job profitability you see too late
You find out a job lost money at close-out, when it's too late to change anything. The data was there all along.
A WIP schedule that takes days
Every month-end someone exports job costs, fixes the spreadsheet and hopes the formulas still work.
Service contracts you can't read
Contract revenue sits in one place, labour, parts and travel in another. Nobody can say which contracts actually make money.
Labour hours that don't line up
Timesheets, payroll and job cost show different hours, and nobody trusts the labour numbers on a job.
Reports I build for contractors
Job cost reports
Budget, committed and actual cost by job, phase and cost code, with cost to complete and projected margin.
WIP schedule
Percent complete, earned revenue and over/under billing, produced automatically at every month-end.
Service contract profitability
Revenue against labour, parts and travel for each contract and customer.
Work order reporting
Open, aging and completed work orders, callbacks and turnaround time, by technician and branch.
Technician and labour hours
Hours by job, work order and employee, compared with estimates and with what was billed.
Plan vs. actual dashboard
Backlog, margin, billing and labour across all jobs in one view, refreshed daily.
How we get there
Talk
You tell me which numbers you need and when. I ask how your jobs, cost codes and contracts are set up.
Review the data
I look at what's in your ERP database and how reliable it is, with read-only access.
Build
Usually starting with job cost or WIP, so you see value quickly, then expanding from there.
Support
Training for your PMs and office staff, and adjustments as your business changes.
Construction reporting: common questions
Which construction software do you work with?
Most construction and field-service ERPs keep their data in SQL Server. If yours does, I can report on it. I'm independent and not tied to any software vendor.
Will the WIP schedule match what our accountant expects?
Yes. I build it with the method your accountant uses, for example cost-to-cost percent complete, and reconcile it to your general ledger.
Do you need to change how our ERP is set up?
No. I work read-only on the data you already have. If I find setup issues that distort your numbers, I'll point them out so you can decide what to do.
We're also switching systems. Can you help with that?
Yes. Data migration is one of my core services, and it's easier when reporting is planned at the same time.
Do you only work with construction companies?
No. Construction, trades and field service are where I have the deepest experience, but I work with small and mid-sized businesses in other industries too.
See job profitability while you can still act on it
Book a free 30-minute call. Tell me which report you'd fix first and I'll tell you what it would take.