How does Budget vs Actual figure out whether a job actually made money?
It compares what you estimated a job would cost, materials, labor, and overhead, against what it actually cost once the job closed out. The gap between those two numbers is the part your invoice never shows you. On a replacement job, that’s the difference between what you quoted the unit and materials at and what the second truck roll, the extra labor hour, or the warranty callback actually added on top.
Isn’t this the same thing my QuickBooks reports already show me?
No. QuickBooks shows you a P&L by month, totals in and totals out. It wasn’t built to break one invoice into what the materials, the second truck roll, and the extra labor actually cost on that specific job. Budget vs Actual does that breakdown by job type, every month, which is the layer QuickBooks was never designed to show.
What if my crew doesn’t log materials and time closely enough for this to work?
Your CSM sets up Budget vs Actual around how your shop actually runs, so the categories match what your team is already capturing on the work order and job completion. Your CSM works with you during setup to figure out the things together. Your designated CSM helps to make it easy to do before you try to make it perfect.
I run a plumbing or electrical company, not HVAC. Does this same problem apply to me?
Yes. The math here is about a job type hiding inside an average. The same thing can happens in plumbing and electrical job costing also. Flat rates, hourly plumbing, or project-based electrical—My Workbelt handles it all. You get the same clear, job-by-job breakdown whether you’re swapping a water heater or upgrading a panel.
If I find a job type that’s losing money, do I have to raise prices to fix it?
No, and that’s not the only fix. My Workbelt shows you which job type is losing money. Software can give you data, but it can’t make hard decisions for you. That’s why our monthly Growth Review isn’t just a emailed report. You’ll sit down with the same CSM every month to look at the numbers and actually decide whether to raise prices, switch vendors, or cut costs.
How often should I check job costing on my jobs?
Monthly, at minimum, and that’s the cadence My Workbelt builds around: a monthly Growth Review where you and your CSM go through margin by job type together. Checking once a year at tax time is too late to do anything about a job type that’s been losing money since spring.
