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Job cost begins with the estimate
A job cost report is only as good as the budget behind it. In Business Central the estimate becomes the project's planning lines: one project task per cost code, with budgeted labor, material, subcontract and equipment on each. Import it from your estimating spreadsheet or software rather than retyping it.
From then on, every purchase invoice, time sheet and inventory issue posts to a project task. The project page shows budget, actual and remaining cost per cost code, and the project manager can see which trade is running over before the month closes.
However, one gap is worth knowing. The standard project page does not show committed cost from open purchase orders and subcontracts beside budget and actual. A custom report or a construction add-on fills it, and most contractors want it.
Month-end WIP methods Business Central offers
Office, field crew and equipment yard
Project managers and accounting
Budgets, change orders as added planning lines, progress billing and month-end WIP review.
- ✓Budget against actual by cost code
- ✓Approval workflows on vendor bills
- ✓Project profitability reports
Superintendents and crews
Time sheets and material requests entered against the right project task, from a phone or tablet.
- ✓Business Central mobile app
- ✓Time sheets by project task
- ✓Photos attached to records
Equipment and vehicles
Owned equipment is a fixed asset for depreciation and a resource for charging hourly rates to jobs.
- ✓Depreciation books
- ✓Equipment rates per hour or day
- ✓Maintenance costs by unit
Gaps to plan for before you commit
- ✓AIA G702 and G703 pay applications with schedule of values: not standard, available from construction add-ons.
- ✓Retainage receivable and payable held back on each invoice: not standard; add-on or custom extension.
- ✓Certified payroll and prevailing wage reporting: belongs in a construction-aware payroll system, since Business Central has no native US payroll.
- ✓Lien waivers and subcontractor insurance certificate expiry tracking: add-on, or a Power Automate reminder built on vendor records.
- ✓Union fringe and dues reporting: payroll system territory.
- ✓Committed cost on the job cost report: custom report or add-on, as noted above.
Leaving QuickBooks or an older construction package mid-stream
- 1
Decide which jobs move
Jobs finishing soon often close in the old system. Long-running jobs move with budget, cost to date and billed to date.
- 2
Carry open balances
Open receivables and payables come across with their retainage amounts marked, so nothing held back goes missing.
- 3
Bring 1099 year-to-date
We also load subcontractor payments from earlier in the year, so year-end 1099 totals are complete.
- 4
Match WIP on day one
Then we reconcile the first WIP schedule in Business Central to the last one from the old system before anyone relies on it.
Contractor questions
Is Business Central a replacement for Procore or similar project management tools?
No. Field project management tools handle RFIs, submittals, drawings and daily logs, which Business Central does not. Business Central is the accounting and job cost system behind them. Many contractors connect the two so commitments and change orders flow into the ledger.
Which WIP method should we use?
That is a question for your CPA and your bonding company as much as for us. Percentage of completion is common for fixed-price contracts, while completed contract may be allowed for smaller firms under tax rules. Business Central can run the method you choose per project, and we set it up to match your financial statement policy.
Can we bill on a schedule of values without an add-on?
You can approximate it with project planning lines and a custom invoice layout. For contractors who submit monthly pay applications to owners and architects, an add-on built for the G702 and G703 format is usually worth it. We compare the options during scoping.
How do change orders work?
An approved change order adds or changes planning lines on the project, and a separate project task or dimension keeps change order value visible. That shows original budget, approved changes and revised budget clearly. You can track pending change orders outside the budget until the customer signs them.
Do field crews need a full Business Central license?
Not always. Staff who only enter time sheets or view data may qualify for the Team Member license, which costs less than a full user. License rules change, so we confirm the right type for each role with your licensing partner.
Talk to us about your project.
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