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Job Costing – Why and How? With Wes from SynkedUp

πŸ“… March 4, 2025 ⏱️ 24:17 🎀 Alex Cadieux, Wes

Chapters

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  • 0:00
    The Purpose of Job Costing
    Job costing is a foundational practice to improve accuracy in proposals and efficiency in future projects.
  • 1:50
    Why Most Don't Job Cost
    Many contractors acknowledge job costing's value but struggle to implement it consistently due to time constraints and a focus on urgent tasks.
  • 5:31
    Identifying Areas for Improvement
    Job costing helps identify specific areas for improvement, from equipment upgrades to essential team training, by analyzing discrepancies between estimated and actual project metrics.
  • 9:20
    Implementing Job Costing
    The practical implementation of job costing involves tracking every hour of payroll to specific jobs, segmenting time by work area, and ensuring all expenses are tied to the correct project.
  • 21:16
    Post-Job Reviews & Team Involvement
    Conducting quick post-job reviews with the entire team, including sales and production, is crucial for feedback, addressing issues, and gaining buy-in for continuous improvement and bonus incentives.
  • 26:49
    Tracking Material Costs
    Ensure every receipt has a purchase order (PO) or job name to accurately attribute all material costs to the right projects, providing crucial data for future forecasting.
  • 29:16
    Leadership Buy-in & Motivation
    Job costing requires leadership and team buy-in, fostered by demonstrating how it leads to increased profitability for everyone, and motivating with incentives like bonuses.

Speakers

A
Alex Cadieux
Host β€” techol block
W
Wes
SynkedUp

Key Takeaways

✦

Implement job costing to improve the accuracy of your proposals and increase project efficiency, leading to higher profitability.

✦

Track all labor hours meticulously, allocating every hour to a specific job or an unbillable category (overhead) to understand true project costs.

✦

Start by tracking time by job, then progress to tracking by work area (e.g., patio, outdoor kitchen), and eventually by specific tasks if further granularity is needed.

✦

Conduct regular, brief post-job review meetings with your entire team (sales, crew leaders, crew members) to discuss what went well, what didn't, and identify actionable improvements for future projects.

✦

Tie team bonuses or incentive plans to job costing performance (e.g., beating estimated hours) to encourage accountability and quality work, ensuring quality control measures are also in place.

✦

Require a Purchase Order (PO) or job name on every material receipt to accurately attribute costs to specific projects and avoid discrepancies.

✦

Foster team buy-in by explaining how job costing directly leads to increased company profitability and, subsequently, greater success and rewards for everyone.

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