Free Excel template · Excel for construction and trades
Free construction job costing template
For contractors who want to know mid-job, not at the end, whether a job is still making money. List each cost code with its original budget and any change order cost, enter what you have spent and your best estimate of what is left, and the template projects the final cost for every line, flags the lines heading over, and shows projected profit against the revised contract.
Preview and try it
This is the template's sheet, calculated by the same engine as the Cellwise app. Change any number to see the formulas react before you download.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Job cost report | |||||||||
| 2 | Job | Kitchen remodel, job 26-118 | ||||||||
| 3 | Contract price | 48500 | ||||||||
| 4 | Approved change orders (billed) | 3250 | ||||||||
| 5 | Revised contract | 51750 | ||||||||
| 6 | ||||||||||
| 7 | Code | Cost item | Original budget | Change order cost | Revised budget | Actual to date | Est. to complete | Projected final | Over / under | Status |
| 8 | 01 | Demo and disposal | 2400 | 0 | 2400 | 2650 | 0 | 2650 | -250 | Over |
| 9 | 02 | Framing and blocking | 3100 | 450 | 3550 | 3320 | 200 | 3520 | 30 | OK |
| 10 | 03 | Plumbing (sub) | 6800 | 1200 | 8000 | 5900 | 2000 | 7900 | 100 | OK |
| 11 | 04 | Electrical (sub) | 5200 | 800 | 6000 | 4100 | 1700 | 5800 | 200 | OK |
| 12 | 05 | Drywall and paint | 3400 | 0 | 3400 | 1200 | 2100 | 3300 | 100 | OK |
| 13 | 06 | Cabinets | 9800 | 0 | 9800 | 9800 | 0 | 9800 | 0 | OK |
| 14 | 07 | Countertops | 4600 | 0 | 4600 | 0 | 4950 | 4950 | -350 | Over |
| 15 | 08 | Tile and flooring | 3900 | 0 | 3900 | 600 | 3200 | 3800 | 100 | OK |
| 16 | 09 | Supervision and cleanup | 1800 | 0 | 1800 | 950 | 800 | 1750 | 50 | OK |
| 17 | Total | 41000 | 2450 | 43450 | 28520 | 14950 | 43470 | -20 | ||
| 18 | ||||||||||
| 19 | Projected cost | 43470 | ||||||||
| 20 | Projected profit | 8280 |
How the formulas work
Revised budget includes change orders
Approved change orders add scope, so the cost side of each one raises that line's budget. Plumbing went from $6,800 to $8,000 after a $1,200 change order. Track the price you billed the client for change orders in C4, so the revised contract in C5 grows too.
Projected final cost
What you have spent plus what you still expect to spend. Actual to date alone makes a half-finished job look great; adding the estimate to complete shows where it will land. Update column G every week from the foreman's count of what is left.
Over or under, per line
Revised budget minus projected final. Positive is money left over, negative is an overrun. Column J turns it into Over or OK, and C22 counts the lines over. In the sample, demo and countertops are both heading over.
Projected profit and margin
Revised contract minus projected total cost. The margin in C21 divides it by the revised contract. Compare it with the margin you bid: if it is sliding week after week, look at the lines in column I first.
Make it yours
- Use the same cost codes as your estimate so the budget column can be pasted straight in.
- Enter committed costs (signed sub contracts, ordered materials) in Est. to complete as soon as you know them, not when the invoice arrives.
- Percent complete in C23 is cost to date divided by projected cost, a common cost-to-cost method. It only works if the estimate to complete is kept up to date.
- Save a dated copy every week. Comparing projected profit week to week shows the trend earlier than any single report.
FAQ
How do I track job costs in Excel?
Give each cost code a row with budget, change orders, actual to date and estimate to complete. Projected final is actual plus estimate to complete, and budget minus projected final shows whether the line is over or under.
How should change orders be handled in job costing?
Record the cost of the change order against the line it affects, so the revised budget goes up, and record the price billed to the client against the contract. Then profit compares like with like.
What is estimate to complete?
Your best estimate of the cost still to come on each line. It is a judgement, not a formula: ask the people running the work what is left, and update it regularly.
Functions used
Related guides
- How to calculate percent change in Excel
- How to calculate percentage in Excel
- Excel IF statement with multiple conditions
- SUMIFS with multiple criteria in Excel
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