Job Cost is a set of features that allow you to track the costs of a construction project or a renovation. This article shows the life-cycle of a typical job and explains some key terms and concepts.
Job Life Cycle
1. Create a job record.
2. Add a budget. Each line item is the amount you plan on spending for a cost category, for example, painting or flooring.
3. Create contracts. Each contract assigns one part of the job to a specific vendor.
As you create contracts, Breeze pulls in amounts from the budget.
4. As the work progresses, create payables to the vendors.
5. If you need to change the amount of a contract, you can create a change order.
6. When a contract is finished, change its status to Completed and pay retention to the vendor.
7. When all the contracts are complete, close the job. Breeze creates a journal entry (JE) to move the job costs from the Work in Progress (WIP) account to a general ledger account of your choice.
While the job was in progress, all the payables hit the WIP account.
Key Terms
Job: A job represents a construction or renovation project. It is linked to contracts to specific vendors.
Cost Category: Cost categories are similar to expense accounts, but they are not part of the GL. You can view the default cost categories by going to Admin > Cost Categories, and you can add new ones as needed for your business.
Budget Item: The amount you plan to spend in a specific cost category.
Retention: Retention percentage is the amount of each invoice that is held back until the contract is complete.
Contract: A contract assigns one part of the job to a specific vendor. Contracts can include one or more budget items, or you can split a budget item between multiple contracts. Contracts specify the Retention percentage, and from the Contract screen, you can enter payables to the vendor.
Payable: When you receive an invoice from a vendor, you record it in Breeze as a payable.
Change Order: When a contract's status changes from Scheduled to In Progress, you can no longer edit it directly, but you can create a change order to modify an amount.