Job Costing
Know which locations keep the margin you priced into the contract, and whether labor or supplies cost you the rest.
Many cleaning companies learn whether an account makes money only when someone reconciles payroll and contracts in a spreadsheet. On the Expert plan, Clean Smarts job costing shows each location's margin for the period you pick. Margin is the revenue you budgeted from contracts and work orders, minus what labor and supplies actually cost.
Know which locations make money
Each location gets one row with its revenue, labor, supplies and margin for the period. The percentage view compares a small site with a large one by the share of revenue each one keeps.
Labor cost from the hours your cleaners clocked
Actual labor is the time your cleaners clocked at the location, at each worker's pay rate, with overtime at time and a half and double overtime at double time. A site that runs into overtime shows the higher cost in its margin.
See whether labor or supplies went over
When a location goes over its cost budget, the Cost Breakdown tab shows whether the extra went to labor or to supplies. You know whether to look at the schedule or at the supply orders for that site.
Numbers for the locations each manager runs
Managers see the locations they have access to, narrowed to one site or a location group when they want. Access to costs and revenue is set per user, so you decide who sees labor cost and who sees revenue.
A cleaning contract is priced on expected labor hours and a supply allowance, and the margin depends on each site staying close to both. When a crew runs long, the gap often shows up only when someone reconciles payroll in a spreadsheet. Clean Smarts job costing shows what each location keeps of its contract, so you see which ones are losing margin and why.
Know which locations keep the margin you priced
Without numbers for each location, it is hard to tell which accounts make money and which ones cost more to clean than they should. On the Expert plan, job costing gives each location one row with its revenue, actual labor, actual supplies and margin for the period you choose. You go into a contract renewal knowing whether that account earns what you priced it for.
- Contribution Margin
- Cost Breakdown
- Charts & Analysis
| Location | Revenue | Labor | Supplies | Profit Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summit Office Tower | $18,400.00 | $11,520.00 | $350.00 | $6,530.00 |
| Harborview Corporate Center | $14,200.00 | $10,700.00 | $320.00 | $3,180.00 |
| Riverbend Medical Plaza | $22,600.00 | $14,700.00 | $510.00 | $7,390.00 |
| Lakeshore Distribution Center | $6,800.00 | $4,250.00 | $130.00 | $2,420.00 |
Scroll sideways to see every column.
Budgets come from the schedule, supply budgets and contracts you already keep
Few owners want to change how they bid and schedule just to see which accounts make money. Clean Smarts builds each location’s budget from its scheduled shifts and work orders, its supply budget and its monthly contract. Your schedule and contracts stay the way you already run them, and job costing works whether or not you send invoices from Clean Smarts.
Find out whether labor or supplies put a location over budget
When a site’s margin slips, the next question is whether the crew is running long or the site is using more supplies than planned. The Cost Breakdown tab puts actual labor, from hours clocked in time tracking, and the supplies recorded as used next to their budgets. If you check last week’s breakdown every Monday, you can adjust the schedule before another week goes into payroll.
- Contribution Margin
- Cost Breakdown
- Charts & Analysis
| Location | Budgeted Labor | Actual Labor | Labor Variance | Budgeted Supplies | Actual Supplies | Supplies Variance | Total Cost Variance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summit Office Tower | $2,640.00 | $2,585.00 | -$55.00 | $180.00 | $165.00 | -$15.00 | -$70.00 |
| Harborview Corporate Center | $2,080.00 | $2,412.00 | +$332.00 | $140.00 | $152.00 | +$12.00 | +$344.00 |
| Riverbend Medical Plaza | $3,480.00 | $3,455.00 | -$25.00 | $260.00 | $238.00 | -$22.00 | -$47.00 |
Scroll sideways to see every column.
Catch a monthly invoice that was never sent
A monthly invoice that never got created is easy to miss, because the crew still cleaned the building and nothing looks wrong on the schedule. If you invoice from Clean Smarts with QuickBooks Online as your accounting system, the Revenue tab compares each location’s budgeted revenue with what was invoiced. A location with no February invoice stands out while the month is still open.
- Contribution Margin
- Cost Breakdown
- Revenue
- Charts & Analysis
| Location | Budgeted Revenue | Invoiced Revenue | Variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summit Office Tower | $18,400.00 | $18,400.00 | $0.00 |
| Harborview Corporate Center | $14,200.00 | $14,200.00 | $0.00 |
| Riverbend Medical Plaza | $22,600.00 | $22,600.00 | $0.00 |
| Lakeshore Distribution Center | $6,800.00 | $0.00 | -$6,800.00 |
Scroll sideways to see every column.
Give each manager the numbers for the locations they run
As you add locations, it gets harder for one owner to review every site’s numbers, and not every manager needs to see revenue. Each manager sees the locations they have access to and narrows the report to one location or a location group. Access to costs and revenue is set per user, so you decide who sees your revenue.
With margins built from your contracts, schedule and clocked time, you know which locations are profitable before the next renewal and what to check in the rest.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to send invoices from Clean Smarts to use job costing?
No. Margin is built from the revenue you budgeted in your contracts and work orders, so job costing works whether you bill from Clean Smarts or from your accounting system.
How is budgeted labor calculated?
Clean Smarts takes the scheduled hours of each shift and work order at the location during the period, multiplies them by the number of staff the shift is budgeted for, and applies the labor rate set on that shift or work order. If you change the schedule, the next report uses the new hours.
How is actual labor calculated?
Actual labor adds up the hours your cleaners clocked at the location during the period, each at that worker's pay rate. Overtime hours are costed at time and a half and double overtime hours at double time.
Does job costing count only approved hours?
No. Job costing uses clocked time whether or not the timesheet has been approved. If you want to compare scheduled hours with approved hours only, the Budget to Actual report under Time has that option.
Where do supply costs come from?
Actual supply cost is the cost of supplies recorded as used at the location during the period. The supply budget is the 30-day budget set on the location, converted to a daily amount and counted for each day in the report.
Where does revenue come from?
Revenue is the location's monthly contract amount for each billing date in the period, plus the billable amount of work orders that start in the period. If you invoice from Clean Smarts with QuickBooks Online as your accounting system, the Revenue tab also shows the invoiced amount, leaving out voided invoices.
Can I see the profit on a single work order?
Job costing reports margin per location. Work orders at a location are included in that location's row together with its recurring shifts, contract and supplies, rather than listed on their own.
Which plan includes job costing?
Job costing is part of the Expert plan. Each user sees cost columns, revenue columns or both, depending on the access you give them, and users with both also see margin and the charts.
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