What a job costing spreadsheet is for
A job costing spreadsheet tells you what each job actually cost you, and what it left you with, rather than lumping everything into one end-of-year total. For a tradesperson that is the difference between knowing which work pays and guessing. Log the materials, subbie labour, and running costs against a job name, put in what you quoted, and you can see the profit and margin on that job in seconds.
What this template includes
Four tabs, built to be used from your phone or a laptop:
- Dashboard: the headline view. Total quoted, total costs, total gross profit, and your overall margin across every job, plus a spend-by-category breakdown with percentages, job-health counts, your standout jobs, and total VAT to reclaim. It is read-only and fills in on its own.
- Job Log: one row per receipt or cost. Date, job name, supplier, a category you pick from a dropdown, the amount, and an optional VAT or tax column.
- Job Summary: one row per job, with a TOTAL row at the bottom. You type the job name and what you quoted; it adds up materials, subcontractor labour, and other costs, then works out gross profit, margin, and a colour-coded status (On track, Review, Investigate).
- Instructions: a short plain-English guide, plus the UK VAT note and the US tax note.
How to use it
- Every time you buy something for a job, add a row to the Job Log. Use the exact same job name each time, spelling matters because the summary matches on it.
- On the Job Summary tab, type each job name and the amount you quoted or invoiced. Everything else fills in on its own.
- Read the margin and status. If a job says Investigate, your materials or your quote need a second look.
- Delete the four sample rows once you have added your own work.
Common mistakes when tracking job costs in a spreadsheet
- Entering from memory. Filling it in at the weekend from a glovebox of receipts means guessed amounts and receipts assigned to the wrong job.
- Forgetting van stock. The cable, fittings, and consumables you took off the van never hit a receipt for that job, so the job looks more profitable than it was.
- Inconsistent job names. "14 Oak St" and "Oak Street" are two different jobs to a spreadsheet, and your totals split in half.
When a spreadsheet is not enough
A spreadsheet works if you fill it in at the point of purchase. Most tradespeople intend to and end up doing a weekly catch-up from memory. By then, which receipt went to which job is unclear. That is not a discipline problem, it is a timing problem: the spreadsheet asks you to do the work at the exact moment you are least likely to do it.
VanReceipts flips the workflow. Point your camera at the receipt in the car park. The app reads it on your phone, finds the right job from your GPS and calendar, and updates the profit figure automatically. The same result as this spreadsheet, without the manual work.
Keep reading
Want per-job profit without the spreadsheet? VanReceipts tracks every receipt and shows a live profit figure for each active job. Get VanReceipts free.
Status thresholds (On track, Review, Investigate) are typical ranges for a trades job, not universal accounting benchmarks.