Job costing for plumbing contractors

A plumbing job runs in stages (underground, top-out, trim), often weeks apart, with other trades in between. Costs spread out over months are easy to lose track of. JobFigure keeps every receipt and crew hour on the job, so the margin is current when you come back for the next stage.

What plumbing contractors track in JobFigure

• Stages as scope lines. Bid underground, top-out, and trim as separate lines, and they carry over to the job’s scope.
• Fixtures separately from rough materials. Owner fixture selections change. Keeping fixtures in their own category makes those changes easy to spot and bill.
• Crew hours across a long schedule. Hours post to the job whenever the crew is on it, even months apart.
• Permits and inspections tracked as costs, not forgotten.

Set up for plumbing from the first day

When you pick Plumbing as your trade, JobFigure loads these cost categories for budgets, receipts, and job costs. You can rename or add your own at any time.

• Materials
• Labour
• Fixtures
• Equipment
• Permits
• Fuel
• Subcontractor
• Other

Bid line items use the units plumbing actually bid in: metres (m), each (EA), and lump sum (LS).

Example: what a plumbing job looks like mid-way

Underground and top-out are complete; trim is waiting on fixtures.

Rough materials and labour are in line, with 62% of labour used and trim still ahead. The open question is fixtures: nothing bought yet. If the owner upgrades selections, write the variation before you order, not after.

Invoices the Australian way

Set your company to Australia and every progress invoice is a GST tax invoice with your ABN and retention. Tick one box to make it a payment claim under your state’s security of payment Act, and at year end the TPAR report totals what you paid each contractor. Prices are in Australian dollars. More in our guide: Payment claims under Australia’s security of payment laws.

Guides and tools for plumbing contractors