What is Job Costing?

Job Costing is the measurement of efficiency and profitability of a job.

The cost of producing the job, as against what you sell it for.

Keeping track of the cost of the job, to measure worker performance, profit and efficiency.

The result of Job Costing should be... that you are paid correctly for the work done and money outlaid..

Job Costing in Auto-Quote, is a 2 minute job each morning, it traces profit and loss and tells you where to improve your business.

The measurement of costs, efficiency and profit.

The monitoring of costs on the job. Costing and analysing your business.

The costing of all time and materials used, to determine efficiency and profit or loss.

The procedure of monitoring workers times, and costing parts and materials to evaluate, the profitability of the job.

Job Costing is the monitoring of time and materials on the productive, invoiced work that physically goes out the door of any business.

Keeping track of all time, cost components, and materials used on the job.

Having a costing system in place to measure the performance of workers, materials used, and the profit margin.

Job Costing is the ability to estimate and negotiate the most money possible, for labour time and materials, it also has the ability to monitor and perform the work in the least possible time.

Job Costing is knowing what we make out of each component of a job.

Wouldn't it be great if we could just work away and at the end of the job give the customer an account for actual times taken, multiply it by a fair and reasonable labour rate, add for parts, sublets and materials, add for a profit factor, and then be paid!

What would be a fair and reasonable labour rate to use, what would be a profit factor to add, does anybody know!. How do I find out!.

Estimating is the start of the job cost cycle and so it is with Auto-Quote.

A lot of shops estimate blind and never realise their true potential or the ramifications of estimating efficiently and effectively, but working the Estimating and Job Costing sides of Auto-Quote together you can get and give all the relevant information required to operate and maintain any size shop to it's optimum capacity.

Why do we Need to Job cost?

Because if you can't measure it, you can't manage it! You need to measure efficiency and profitability.

Auto-Quote makes it easy to cost the following:-
Electricity, job discussion, job movement, toilet time, apprentices time, assistance time to maybe lift a heavy bonnet, door etc, supervisors time, road test time, clean up time, overtime! which job gets the overtime costed to it, Is it profitable to work overtime!

How to cost the estimators time, time spent convincing the customer and winning the job, filling out claim form time, book in the claim time, negotiation time with the assessor, follow up time to authorise the claim, parts order time, customer enquiry time, quality control and check time between panel shop, paint shop etc, more job movement time, paint mixing time, supplement time, rework time, down time for staff meetings, time spent training staff, invoice time, etc, etc,.

Costing Non Productive time,  lost time, overheads, etc, etc, etc,. Cost time taken for morning tea, lunch time, drive customer to the station time, parts pick up time, maintenance time, first aid and injury time, materials ordering time, parts delivery and checking time, interruption time, customer services time, buying the job costs, loan and courtesy car costs,.

Costing wear and tear, Cost wear and tear on equipment costs, spray booth, filter replacement, electricity, heating oil, hoses, rubbing buckets, machines,. Cost Rework, Comebacks, Losses, Stuff ups, and Errors? Costing Disasters, and  recording who caused them.
Taking action to make sure they don't happen again?

Cost and measure material usage per job, such as; Thinners used, cover to protect materials used, tape this, clean that, paint strip materials, steel wool, gun clean up time and materials, the percentage of a file blade or sanding disk used on each and every, job, etc, etc?

Maybe you think its not worth it to "waste and lose time", trying to find out but Auto-Quote makes it easier to get the information you require to give you the answers you need.  Basically, Job Costing comes down to estimating, averages, targets, & standards. Setting standards and targets that we know will produce a profit.

Auto-Quote's Job Costing can help you set these standards and targets to achieve your shops full potential.