A job can look busy and still lose money. Job costing shows where each job stands while there's still time to fix it. Cash flow planning makes sure you can pay the bills while you wait to be paid.
Start with a budget you can track
- Turn your quote into the job budget, using the same headings: labour, materials, subbies, plant and other costs.
- Know the margin you need to cover your overheads, not just the job's costs.
- Add approved variations to the budget as they come in, so it stays honest. In Footing, approved variations add to the contract sum.
Record costs as they happen
Enter supplier bills, subbie claims and labour against the job as they come in, not at the end. Month-end is too late to save a job that went wrong in week two.
Count what you've committed too: purchase orders and subbie work orders you've agreed to but haven't been billed for yet. Leave them out and a job looks under budget when it isn't.
Footing keeps a live cost ledger for each job.
Watch burn against progress
“Burn” compares how much of the budget you've spent with how much of the job is done. If spending is ahead of progress, you're burning money faster than you're building.
Example: the cost budget is $200,000. You've spent $120,000, which is 60%, but the job is only 40% done. At this rate, finishing will cost about $300,000 ($120,000 ÷ 0.4). That's $100,000 over budget.
When spend runs ahead of progress, find out why now:
- Was the estimate wrong?
- Is there rework or waste?
- Is there extra work that should be a variation?
- Are costs being put on the wrong job?
Footing shows a burn figure for each job: % of budget spent next to % of job done.
Work in progress (WIP)
Once a month, check each open job. Compare the value of the work done (% complete times the contract sum) with what you've claimed so far.
- Under-claimed: you've done more than you've claimed. You're funding the client's job. Claim it.
- Over-claimed: you've claimed ahead of the work. The bank balance looks good, but the costs of finishing that work are still to come.
Talk this through with your accountant. They can help you set up a WIP report that suits your business.
The GST isn't yours: set it aside
- The GST you collect, less the GST credits on your purchases, goes to the ATO with your business activity statement (BAS). Put it aside as it comes in.
- A simple guide: if most of your sales and purchases include GST, set aside one-eleventh of your sales minus one-eleventh of your purchases.
- Many banks offer low or no-fee accounts you can use to hold GST money.
- Quarterly BAS is due on 28 October, 28 February, 28 April and 28 July. If you lodge online, you may get an extra 2 weeks, except for the December quarter.
- Know your GST basis. On a non-cash (accruals) basis, you owe GST once you've issued the tax invoice, even if you haven't been paid. On a cash basis, you report GST when you're paid, which lines up better with your cash. Businesses with turnover under $10 million can choose either.
- Reporting monthly instead of quarterly means smaller payments, which some businesses find easier.
Line up money in and money out
- Know when each progress claim will be paid, and when suppliers and subbies are due. Your claims should land before your big bills do.
- Claim on time, every time. Every day a claim is late is a day you're funding the job. See progress claims.
- Talk to suppliers about payment terms that match your claim cycle.
- Don't pay subbies late to cover a gap. It damages the relationship, and it can end in a Security of Payment dispute.
Sources
Checked September 2026. Rules change, and they differ between states. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.
Related guides
Still stuck? Email support@folkware.com.au and tell us what you were trying to do.