Getting Started
Job costing fundamentals in Jobpac
How Jobpac structures project budgets, costs and work in progress to give you clear financial control over every job.
Overview
Jobpac is designed to provide clear financial control over construction projects. Job costing is at the centre of this, giving you a structured way to budget, record and review costs on every job.
Jobs and job numbers
In Jobpac, a project is referred to as a job. Each job is identified by a unique job number within a WorkID.
- A job number can be up to six characters long.
- It is recommended to use four or five digits where possible.
- Using shorter job numbers leaves room to include the job number inside other references such as subcontract agreement numbers or purchase order numbers that have a fixed length.
A clear, consistent job numbering approach makes it easier to recognise related documents and keep project information aligned.
Cost structure in Jobpac
Jobpac uses a structured approach to job costing based on the project's work breakdown structure. The three key building blocks are:
| Cost code | Identifies a specific part of the work — for example, demolition, foundations or finishes. The what of the work being done. Can be alphanumeric. Each major activity or element of the job is assigned its own cost code. |
| Cost type | Classifies the nature of the cost — for example, labour, materials or plant. The kind of resource being used. Each company defines a standard set of cost types. Every project uses a subset of these. |
| Cost centre | The combination of a cost code and a cost type. The primary level at which Jobpac tracks budgets, commitments, costs and forecasts. For example: the subcontract cost for demolition is a separate cost centre from the material cost for demolition. |
Budgets at cost centre level
Budgets in Jobpac are managed at the cost centre level, ensuring the project budget is aligned with the work breakdown structure and how costs are captured.
| Original budget | The budget agreed at the start of the project for each cost centre. |
| Budget changes | Adjustments made after the original budget is set, such as transfers between cost centres or changes from variations. |
| Current budget | The latest approved budget — original budget plus or minus all budget changes. |
Once the work breakdown structure and budgets are complete, the budget is usually finalised. After that, changes are controlled and audited so you can track how and why the budget has moved over time.
Key cost concepts in Jobpac
Jobpac differentiates between several types of cost so you can see not only what has been spent, but what has been committed and what has been incurred but not yet invoiced.
| Committed cost | The value committed to suppliers and subcontractors, even if not yet invoiced. Comes from purchase orders raised and subcontract agreements let against a cost centre. |
| Committed budget | The portion of the cost centre budget set aside for a specific purchase order or subcontract. Defaults to the committed cost but can be adjusted. |
| Actual cost | The value of costs approved and posted to the company ledgers — approved invoices, payroll costs, journal entries and internal plant charges. |
| Incurred cost | The value of goods or services received on the project but not yet reflected as actual cost — for example, materials delivered with a docket but no invoice, or subcontract work certified but not yet posted. |
| Accrued cost | The value of goods or services received but not yet captured as incurred or actual costs. Entered manually based on project knowledge for reporting purposes. |
| Cost of work in progress (CWIP) | The total of actual + incurred + accrued costs. Gives a realistic view of how much work has been done on the project to date, regardless of invoicing or payment status. |
Training and eLearning
Continue your learning with these modules that build directly on the concepts covered in this article.
eLearning
Project Setup
eLearning
Forecasting, PMW, Reporting and Enquiries
Putting it together
Job costing in Jobpac combines:
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