Job costing that ties to your general ledger
Every bill, expense, and payroll line is coded to a job and cost code, so the job-cost report compares original budget, approved change orders, revised budget, committed cost, actual cost, and estimate at completion - all reconciled to the GL.
Illustrative product view
What job costing means for a contractor
Job costing answers one question the GL can’t: is each job making money right now? It does that by attaching every cost to a job and a cost code - a work-breakdown-structure line like 03-3000 Concrete - so you can compare what you budgeted to what you have actually spent and committed, code by code, while the job is still running.
- Cost types: labor, material, equipment, subcontractor, and other, so the mix is visible per code.
- Committed cost from open purchase orders and subcontracts, not just invoiced spend.
- Actual cost-to-date pulled from the job-cost sub-ledger that mirrors the GL.
- Projected over/under = revised budget minus estimate at completion, code by code.
The job-cost report, column by column
| Column | Definition | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Original budget | The estimate at contract signing | The baseline you are measured against |
| Approved COs | Sum of approved change-order budget deltas | Keeps the budget honest as scope changes |
| Revised budget | Original + approved COs | The real target for the code |
| Committed | Open PO/subcontract not yet invoiced | Future cost already locked in |
| Cost-to-date | Actual posted to the code so far | What you have truly spent |
| EAC | Cost-to-date + cost-to-complete | Where the code will land |
| Projected over/(under) | Revised budget − EAC | Early warning on margin fade |
How a cost reaches the job
From bill to job-cost line
- 1
Enter the bill or expense
A subcontractor invoice or field purchase is entered and posted to the GL as usual.
- 2
Tag the job and cost code
Each line is tagged to a job and a cost code with a cost type; AI suggests the mapping from history.
- 3
Mirror to the sub-ledger
Fintra writes a job-cost row linked to the journal entry - it never double-posts to the GL.
- 4
Roll into the report
The job-cost report updates cost-to-date and projected over/under for that code instantly.
Governed, auditable numbers
AI drafts cost-code mappings; a person approves. Because the job-cost sub-ledger is linked to the journal entry that posted the cost, every job number reconciles back to the GL, and reviewers can drill from a job-cost line to the exact transaction.
Frequently asked questions
What is a cost code in job costing?
A cost code is a work-breakdown-structure line - like 03-3000 Concrete or 05-1200 Structural steel - that costs and budgets are tracked against within a job. Fintra supports reusable cost-code templates so every job uses the same structure, and each code carries a cost type (labor, material, equipment, subcontractor, or other).
How is committed cost different from actual cost?
Actual cost is what you have already been billed and posted. Committed cost is money locked in by open purchase orders and subcontracts that has not been invoiced yet - computed as the commitment amount minus invoiced-to-date. Watching both keeps a code from silently blowing its budget.
Does job costing reconcile to the general ledger?
Yes. The job-cost sub-ledger mirrors posted bills, expenses, and payroll and links each row to its journal entry, so it never double-counts. Total job cost ties to the GL, and you can drill from any job-cost line back to the source transaction.
Can I see profit while the job is still running?
Yes. The job-profitability report shows contract value, estimate at completion, estimated gross profit, estimated margin percent, percent complete, and earned gross profit - so you know where a job will land instead of waiting until it closes.
Stay in the loop
One practical finance briefing a week - new guides, checklists, and benchmarks.
See margin per job, live
Start free, no card required. Tag your first costs to a job and watch the job-cost report build itself.
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