605: The Power Of Accurate Job Costing In Your Construction Business

This Podcast Is Episode 605, And It's About The Power Of Accurate Job Costing In Your Construction Business Have you ever wondered how successful construction companies accurately price custom projects? The secret is in a method called Job Costing. For small business owners like you, understanding this process could be the key to increasing your profitability and ensuring that every job is priced right.    Welcome to a world where every material, labor, and overhead cost is meticulously tracked to unveil the actual cost of doing business. Let's explore Job Costing, how it works, and how you can leverage it to enhance profitability.   Understanding Job Costing   Job Costing is a way to assign costs to specific jobs or projects. Unlike methods that evenly spread costs, this approach focuses on the details—tracking materials, labor, and overhead for each job. This makes it especially useful for businesses handling custom projects, particularly construction services like remodeling or home building.  

Key Concepts

The key elements of job order costing are direct materials, direct work, and overhead. Direct materials are raw materials used in a project, while direct work involves workers' wages directly tied to the project. Overhead encompasses indirect costs like rent and utilities. Understanding these terms helps you track and allocate expenses accurately.

How Job Costing Works

The process begins by defining the job and assigning it a unique identifier. This helps track all related costs. Next, businesses document materials used, calculate labor costs and apply overhead based on a predetermined rate. Finally, all these costs are summed to determine the total job cost.

Imagine a custom furniture maker tasked with creating a bespoke dining table. The direct materials are wood and varnish, while direct work (staffing) includes the carpenter's hours. Overhead might consist of electricity used during production. The business can accurately price the table by calculating each element, ensuring profitability.

Benefits

Accuracy

Job Costing is all about precision. It helps you avoid guessing and gives you confidence that your prices cover your expenses and help you stay profitable. This accuracy lets you set competitive prices and maintain a healthy bottom line.

Bespoke design

Job Costing is a game-changer for businesses that handle bespoke orders. It allows for detailed cost breakdowns, ensuring each price reflects the actual cost of the custom work. This tailored approach keeps businesses competitive and fair.

Decision making

Understanding the actual cost of each job means making more intelligent decisions. It helps budget, forecast expenses, and identify the most profitable projects. This insight leads to better project selection and pricing strategies. With job order costing, businesses can confidently make informed decisions that positively impact their bottom line.

Challenges and Solutions

Common challenges

Implementing Job Costing involves challenges such as accurate tracking, complex record-keeping, and time consumption. Overhead allocation poses another difficulty, requiring careful consideration to ensure fairness.

You can use strong tracking systems and conduct regular checks to address these challenges. Teaching employees how to manage job order costs well and using software to automate tasks are also helpful.

Real-world examples

Consider a construction company like yours that uses Job Costs to build custom homes. By tracking each material and each labor, they ensure prices reflect actual costs, enhancing profitability.

Lessons learned

These examples show the importance of detailed cost tracking. Accurate records enable businesses to set appropriate prices and understand profitability. By reviewing these insights, companies can make informed decisions that boost their bottom line.

Implementing Job Costing in Your Construction Business

To start using job order costing:

Define your jobs clearly and use unique identifiers for tracking. Document all materials and person-hours involved, calculating total costs accurately. Begin with small projects to refine your process.

Better practices

This includes regular audits to ensure accuracy, using technology to streamline processes, and training staff thoroughly.

Much better: Hire or Outsource a Construction Bookkeeper/Accountant.

A material receipt can be coded to any of a dozen or more accounts or item codes depending on whether it is a direct cost, indirect cost, Work-In-Progress, retention, warranty, overhead, administrative, or other expense. Putting costs in the wrong place can be disastrous, like baking a cake and putting in a cup of salt instead of sugar because they both look the same.

Construction accountants think holistically because Job Costing Reports differ from Profit and Loss reports. Job costing reports hardly match any financial reports because economic reports are accumulated vertically, while Job Costing Reports are accumulated horizontally.

Conclusion

Understanding costs is paramount in business. Job Costing is a systematic way to price custom projects in your Construction Business, ensuring profitability and competitiveness. While challenges exist, they are surmountable with the right strategies and tools. Job Costing could be the key to unlocking hidden profits in your business.

Should you need guidance, feel free to reach out. We'll be happy to assist you.

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

Recent changes to the Beneficial Ownership Information reporting requirements may affect your organization. Please thoroughly review these updates to comply with the latest regulations. Also, please pay attention to any deadlines and necessary documentation to maintain compliance.

Starting January 1, 2024, many U.S. businesses must report information about their beneficial owners, i.e., those who own or control the company. Businesses must report Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a U.S. Department of the Treasury bureau. The reporting, a requirement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), aims to combat financial crime and corruption and must be completed by January 1, 2025.

Key points about the update:

Who needs to report:

Any company formed or registered in the United States, including:

Corporations Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) Limited Partnerships Certain trusts

What information needs to be reported:

This includes the legal name, date of birth, and address of each beneficial owner, as well as identifying information like a passport or driver's license number. 

Filing deadline for existing businesses:

Companies formed before January 1, 2024, must file their beneficial ownership information by January 1, 2025. 

Filing deadline for new businesses:

Companies formed in 2024 must file within 90 days of formation. 

Where to file:

Beneficial ownership information must be submitted electronically through FinCEN's BOI E-Filing website. 

Potential consequences of non-compliance: Businesses that fail to comply with the beneficial ownership reporting requirements may face significant civil penalties and possible criminal charges. 

Please go directly to the FinCEN website for more information and answers to Frequently Asked Questions.

Keeping your records current is crucial for adhering to these new requirements. If you have any questions or need further clarification, please contact a legal expert specializing in compliance. We do not offer this service, but please feel free to contact me anytime when you need help with your construction bookkeeping, accounting, and business in general.

Disclaimer: This notice is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific guidance, please consult with an attorney familiar with the CTA and its regulations.

About The Author:

Sharie DeHart, QPA, is the co-founder of Business Consulting And Accounting in Lynnwood, Washington. She is the leading expert in managing outsourced construction bookkeeping and accounting services companies and cash management accounting for small construction companies across the USA. She encourages Contractors and Construction Company Owners to stay current on their tax obligations and offers insights on managing the remaining cash flow to operate and grow their construction company sales and profits so they can put more money in the bank. Call 1-800-361-1770 or sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com