The Costs tab tracks the financial expenditure of a specific job. It provides a real-time breakdown of all costs, both forecasted and incurred, allowing you to monitor internal resource costs, supplier invoices, and credit notes in one centralized location.
To help you accurately calculate profitability while work is ongoing, the system splits your expenditure into two distinct buckets: Forecasted costs and Actual costs.
Forecasted costs
Forecasted costs represent the estimated, planned expenses for the job before the work is fully completed or confirmed. These figures give you a projected view of what the job is expected to cost.
The system calculates these projections using the following categories:
Scheduled labor: The expected cost of labor based on the duration of upcoming diary appointments and the assigned technician's hourly cost rate.
Parts: Materials added to the job as Requested but not yet ordered or installed. Once ordered, these costs move into the Purchase orders section.
Purchase orders: The value of parts formally ordered from a supplier but not yet reconciled with a final supplier invoice. Once a supplier invoice is raised, these costs move into the Supplier invoices section as an actual cost.
Returns: Accounts for parts that have been ordered but need to be returned, resulting in a negative cost (a credit) to the job. From the returns view, you can either:
Raise credit note: Use this if you expect to receive a refund for a paid order. Once raised, the total moves to the Credit notes section of actual costs.
Mark as Not required: Use this if no refund is required for the order. This removes the return cost from the tab entirely. Any supplier invoices originally raised for the order will remain as an actual cost.
Note: You cannot edit the total cost of scheduled labor directly from this tab because it is dynamically tied to the schedule (diary). If you need to change the projected labor cost, you must edit the appointment duration or assigned technician on the Appointments tab.
Actual costs
Actual costs represent the confirmed, incurred expenses on the job. Once an action is finalized - like a technician completing a visit or a part being fitted - the system moves the value from a forecast to an actual cost.
The main categories of actual costs include:
Labor and travel: Time spent on site or traveling. This is typically recorded automatically when a technician completes an appointment on the mobile app, or it can be logged manually.
Installed parts: Specific materials that have been marked as installed at the property. The system uses the specific cost price of the item from your inventory or supplier list.
Supplier invoices: When a supplier invoice is reconciled against a purchase order for this job, the final billed cost is recorded here. This overrides the estimated purchase order value to ensure your profit margin is completely accurate.
Credit notes: Any credit notes received from suppliers specifically linked to this job are listed here. These actively reduce your total actual costs.
Common questions
Why is my purchase order listed under forecasted costs?
Why is my purchase order listed under forecasted costs?
A purchase order remains a Forecasted cost because it is only an expectation of spend. The cost becomes an Actual cost only after the parts are received and a final Supplier invoice is reconciled against it, as the final billed amount may differ slightly from the original order.
Why do my scheduled labor costs disappear after a visit?
Why do my scheduled labor costs disappear after a visit?
When a technician attends a scheduled appointment and logs their time, the system replaces the expected Scheduled labor (forecasted) with the confirmed Labor (actual) to ensure costs are not counted twice.
Read more about the job record and the job tabs.
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