Project
£25/mo · included with ProJob costing with a baseline you can measure against
Estimark’s Job Costing module freezes a budget as a versioned baseline, breaks cost down against a company cost code tree, records actual cost entries in six categories, and holds a dated cost-to-complete forecast that reconciles against both. A budget that moves whenever the estimate moves cannot show variance, which is why the baseline is taken deliberately and re-baselining creates a new version. It is included from the Pro plan (£249/month) up.
What the Job Costing module does
- Holds a company cost breakdown structure as a tree — cost codes with a parent, a code, a name and a category.
- Freezes a job budget as a versioned baseline with a status of draft, active or superseded, and records who baselined it and when.
- Splits the budget into lines against cost codes and categories.
- Records actual cost entries against a job, a category, a cost code and a date, with a reference and an optional link to the purchase order that generated them.
- Uses six cost categories: labour, material, plant, subcontractor, preliminaries and other.
- Holds a cost-to-complete and forecast final cost per cost code at a period end, with the author recorded.
- Treats forecast final cost as a dated commercial judgement rather than a derived figure, because that is what it is.
Job Costing — how it works
What is a CVR and how does Estimark support one?
A cost value reconciliation compares the value earned on a job against the cost incurred, at a stated date, to give a true margin rather than a cash-flow illusion. Estimark supports it by holding the three inputs separately and honestly: a frozen baseline budget, actual cost entries by cost code and category, and a dated cost-to-complete judgement entered by a commercial manager at a period end.
- Baseline: taken deliberately, versioned, and superseded rather than overwritten when re-baselined.
- Actual: cost entries by date, category and cost code, including those generated from purchase orders.
- Forecast: a cost-to-complete and forecast final cost per cost code at a period end, attributed to whoever made the call.
Why is the budget frozen instead of derived from the estimate?
Because a budget that re-derives from the estimate on every request moves whenever the estimate moves, and variance against the original then becomes unknowable. Estimark takes a snapshot on purpose. Re-baselining creates a new version and marks the previous one superseded, so the history of what you thought the job would cost survives.
What is a cost breakdown structure and why does it matter?
A tree of cost codes rather than a flat list of categories. Costs used to attach to a job under a five-value category, which meant an M&E contractor could not report by system and nobody could see cost against a package. Making the codes a parent-child tree is all a CBS or WBS is, and it is the difference between "materials" and "materials, second fix, plot 14".
Job Costing — at a glance
- Plan
- Included with Pro
- Add-on price
- £25 / month
- Cost categories
- 6
- Budget
- Frozen, versioned baseline
Job Costing
£25per month
Job Costing is a bundled module. Plans are a ladder, so it is included on Pro and on Enterprise. On a lower plan you can activate it on its own for £25 a month.
Included from Pro — £249 a month
- Included on Pro and above at no extra cost.
- £25 per month as an individual module on a lower plan.
- Included in full during the 14-day free trial.
- No implementation fee and no minimum term.
Questions
Job Costing — frequently asked
Which plan includes job costing?
Job Costing is included from Pro (£249 a month) upward and with Enterprise, or £25 a month individually on Solo or Core.
Does Estimark calculate the forecast final cost for me?
No, and deliberately. Forecast final cost is a commercial judgement, not a derived number. Estimark holds the judgement, dates it, attributes it and reconciles it against the baseline and the actuals — which is the point of a CVR.
Where do actual costs come from?
From timesheet hours at their hourly rate, from purchase orders and supplier invoices, from van stock consumption booked to the job, and from cost entries recorded directly. Each lands with a date, a category and a cost code.
Can I re-baseline a budget mid-job?
Yes. Re-baselining creates a new budget version and marks the previous one superseded, so variance against the original baseline remains answerable.
Related
Payment Applications
The value side: interim applications, certification and retention.
Purchase Orders
Committed cost from open orders.
Timesheets
Labour hours at a rate, booked to the job.
For builders & contractors
Pro at £249/month — job costing, payment applications, CIS and site safety.
Job costing & CVR
Actual, committed and forecast cost per job, with a cost value reconciliation pack.
Payment applications & retention
Interim applications, retention, payment and pay-less notices under the Construction Act.
Pricing & plans
Solo £29, Core £99, Pro £249, Enterprise £999 a month. Bolt-ons priced separately.
Try it on a real job.
Fourteen days, full access, every plan. No implementation fee.