If you're tracking job costs in a spreadsheet, there's a good chance your accounting software already has this capability built in. You just never set it up.

Your Accounting Software Probably Already Does This

Most accounting platforms — especially Xero and MYOB — have job costing features built in. You set up each job, and every bill, subcontractor invoice, and expense gets tagged to it automatically as it comes through.

No spreadsheet. No manual reconciliation at month's end. You just run a report and see exactly what each job has cost — materials, subbies, overheads — right inside the system you're already paying for.

What's the Catch?

Someone has to set it up, and most businesses never do. If you're on Xero and you're not using tracking categories, you're already paying for job costing. You're just not using it.

It typically takes a couple of hours to configure properly. That's a couple of hours that can save you days of manual spreadsheet work every month.