Written By
Jon Mailer
CEO & Founder – PROTRADE United
Author of ‘Not Just a Tradie’
Written By
Jon Mailer
CEO & Founder – PROTRADE United
Author of ‘Not Just a Tradie’
You work hard. Long days, stacked schedules, and a constant stream of tasks. But working hard doesn’t automatically lead to profit.
Here’s the truth: if you’re not reviewing your jobs regularly; what was quoted, what was delivered, and what it cost, you’re leaving your profit margin to chance.
It’s like a football coach never reviewing game footage. Imagine that. No replays, no analysis, no idea why you won or lost. Just rolling into the next game and hoping for a better result.
PROTRADE United Managing Director, Jason Loft with PROTRADE United Client, Elite Painting and Decorating Services
PROTRADE United Managing Director, Jason Loft with PROTRADE United Client, Elite Painting and Decorating Services
Business is a game of margins; your scoreboard is profit.
Every winning football coach knows the key to improvement is review. They look at the game from every angle:
• What plays worked?
• Where did we lose ground?
• Did we stick to the game plan?
• Which players underperformed or shined?
In your business, back costing is the equivalent of that post-game review.
What is Job (or Back) Costing?
Job costing is the process of looking back over a job/project – comparing what you estimated a job would cost (labour, materials, subcontractors, etc.) With what it actually cost. It helps you:
• Spot pricing errors
• Identify cost overruns
• Track team efficiency
• Understand job profitability
And most importantly, it helps you protect and improve your profit margins over time.
CASE STUDY: Working Hard… But Losing Mojo
Jason runs a residential electrical business with three vans on the road, doing everything from switchboard upgrades to lighting installs and EV chargers. His team was booked solid with a good pipeline, solid reputation, and strong referrals.
But every month, the profit just wasn’t there. The jobs looked busy, the invoices were going out, but the bottom line was weak. That’s when Jason started job costing.
He took one week and looked at five recent jobs, comparing what he quoted versus what the job actually cost.
Written By
Jon Mailer
CEO & Founder – PROTRADE United
Author of ‘Not Just a Tradie’
Australia and New Zealand’s #1 Business Coaching and Advisory Organisation, dedicated to the Trades and Construction Industry. With over 20 years of practical experience, we have a proven track record of helping more than 3900 business owners gain greater clarity, consistency and choice.
Australia and New Zealand’s #1 Business Coaching and Advisory Organisation, dedicated to the Trades and Construction Industry. With over 20 years of practical experience, we have a proven track record of helping more than 3900 business owners gain greater clarity, consistency and choice.
Here’s what he uncovered:
• Labour blowouts: Each job ran 2 – 4 hours over, mainly due to travel, unplanned variations, or time spent chasing parts.
• Missed materials: He noticed small items; conduit, GPOs, sundries weren’t being added to invoices consistently.
• Inefficient scheduling: Jobs weren’t being grouped by location, causing hours lost in traffic.
• Quote gaps: He was underquoting time on complex installations, like smart home devices and EV chargers.
Jason implemented three changes immediately:
1. Built a checklist template into his quoting system to capture commonly missed items.
2. Introduced a daily job summary where each tech entered hours and materials used in real time.
3. Restructured his schedule to group jobs by region and allowed buffer time for pickups or variations.
The result?
Within 6 weeks, his gross profit margin improved by 12%, and he added an extra $6,000 per month to his net profit – without taking on a single extra job.
Want to Win More Often? Start Reviewing More Often.
Here’s a quick 3-step playbook:
1. Break down the actual job costs. Labour, materials, subs, everything.
2. Compare against the quote. Where are the gaps? What caused them?
3. Adjust future pricing or processes. Use the insight to refine how you quote, plan, and execute.
Make this a habit. Just like a coach who reviews every game not to point fingers, but to sharpen performance you’ll find the small leaks in your business and stop them before they sink your margin.
Remember…Turnover is vanity – profit is sanity. What matters is not how much you make, but how much you keep. Get across your numbers. Track job performance. Review every project.
Back costing isn’t paperwork — it’s protection!
If you would like assistance in implementing this profit saving process, contact the team at PROTRADE United on 1300 76 77 74
Here’s what he uncovered:
• Labour blowouts: Each job ran 2 – 4 hours over, mainly due to travel, unplanned variations, or time spent chasing parts.
• Missed materials: He noticed small items; conduit, GPOs, sundries weren’t being added to invoices consistently.
• Inefficient scheduling: Jobs weren’t being grouped by location, causing hours lost in traffic.
• Quote gaps: He was underquoting time on complex installations, like smart home devices and EV chargers.
Jason implemented three changes immediately:
1. Built a checklist template into his quoting system to capture commonly missed items.
2. Introduced a daily job summary where each tech entered hours and materials used in real time.
3. Restructured his schedule to group jobs by region and allowed buffer time for pickups or variations.
The result?
Within 6 weeks, his gross profit margin improved by 12%, and he added an extra $6,000 per month to his net profit – without taking on a single extra job.
Want to Win More Often? Start Reviewing More Often.
Here’s a quick 3-step playbook:
1. Break down the actual job costs. Labour, materials, subs, everything.
2. Compare against the quote. Where are the gaps? What caused them?
3. Adjust future pricing or processes. Use the insight to refine how you quote, plan, and execute.
Make this a habit. Just like a coach who reviews every game not to point fingers, but to sharpen performance you’ll find the small leaks in your business and stop them before they sink your margin.
Remember…Turnover is vanity – profit is sanity. What matters is not how much you make, but how much you keep. Get across your numbers. Track job performance. Review every project.
Back costing isn’t paperwork — it’s protection!
If you would like assistance in implementing this profit saving process, contact the team at PROTRADE United on 1300 76 77 74
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