How to Set up Payroll for Job Costing in QuickBooks for Contractors?

QuickBooks is the most popular accounting software for construction companies. It has in-built tool which is very helpful in creating custom report. It is very important to assign expenses and revenue to specific job in QuickBooks. So, that customer can easily track your financial performance.

This process also helps you to make budgetary adjustment in real time.

Setting up Job Costing in QuickBooks

The job costing is only available in pro and advanced subscription. Follow the following steps in order to setting up job costing:

Enable Job Costing in Accounting Setting

Firstly, you have to enable job costing in accounts setting.

• On the home screen in QuickBooks online plus or advance version you can easily create a list of your current projects from the starting date.
• Click on the gear icon on the screen upper right corner.
• Then select account and setting from the drop down list.

Turn on Customize Transaction Number

• Now you have to turn on the customize transaction number option. In this the sales tab gives you the opportunity in order to select customized transaction number. You need this transaction number in order to track and review invoices in progress.

Tracking Expenses by Customer

• With the help of this tab you can track the expenses done by the customer. You can also make expenses bill for those customers who have to pay something to the company. This option can be choose in bill and expenses menu.

Turn on Automatic Invoices

• When any estimates you create it automatically transformed to the customer invoices along with all the process. In order to enable the automatic invoice unbilled activity, you have to select advance option under automation settings. All the contractor will not able to enable this setting.

In last save all the changes and exit from the page.

Creating of Customers and Projects

Firstly you have to create a customer to assign the project to in order if you didn’t done this before.

• Create a Customer
  • Select get paid and pay option in order to add new customer.
  • In this section you will see the option of creating new customer.
  • When you select the drop down arrow then you can import customer list from the Google spread sheet or excel sheet.
• Add Job
  • Now you can create the job in order to track expenses and profit.
  • Select projects under the business overview menu.
  • The projects option will open the list of projects, so you can select from there and it also shows basic information about income and expenses.
  • Now select new project in order to create a new job.
  • As sub customer some of the contractors are already tracking the project.
• Now you can view list of customer in this and the job of each individual that there work is in progress or already completed.

Creating Product and Services

• You can set up product and services in the application of QuickBooks i.e setting up a list of product and services.
• This option allows you to customize job expense category.
• You can find this option in the drop down menu of gear icon.
• You can also select get paid and pay option on the left of the screen.

Creating of Estimate for the Job

• On the QuickBooks screen there is a Quick create option is visible to you.
• Quick create option is visible on the upper left side of the page and its icon is + sign or +new.
• As you click on the + sign then you will see many option in drop down menu i.e Invoices, checks, expenses and estimates etc.
• Now click on the estimates option from the list.
• Assign estimate to the job
• From the customer list, select the correct job on your estimated screen.
• You can create multiple estimates for each job.
• Multiple estimates will be helpful in making contractor job easy as they can create single estimates for the entire job.
• Add product and services to estimate
• You can enter materials and labor cost on each line of estimate by adding a date of service, product or service type, rates, description, quantities, rates and dollar amount which can be label as taxable.
• For the rendered product or service, there is a detail box that work performed or materials are purchased from the outside vendor.
• Once you enter all the data then click on Ok in order to save the estimates.
• This option will pop out during the invoicing process at that time you have to choose it.
• You can also send email to the customer if you want any approval from them.
• Now all the pertinent expense and Subsequent income all will flow to each and every customer.
• In this option you can also view cost and revenue you earn by the job or project.

Creating Invoice during the Job

• QuickBooks have the feature of creating invoice from the scratch.
• QuickBooks automatically convert estimates in single invoice or progress invoice.
• In this we can create the parent estimate for each project , it will save your lot of time.

Turn Estimates into Invoice

• Select blank invoice from the + new drop down menu.
• Now click on customer tab.
• Select project from the drop down menu of customer.
• QuickBooks allows you to add estimates which you have already created to this invoice.
• Now click on Add button in order to add the invoice.

Choose the Amount for Invoice

• The pop up window will be appearing and the screen asks you that what is the percentage of estimate you want to add to the invoice.
• For the each line you can select custom amount.
• If you are not using straight line percentage across the board then you can select custom amount here.
• QuickBooks have the feature of editing the bill amount in each and every line item.

Creating Job Costing Report

• In last or in the end of work QuickBooks have the feature of reporting it.
• Report is helpful in showing the job progress in the terms of profitability.
• Under the business overview click on the profit and loss report from the report menu.
• In order to add the custom filters you have to click on the customize tab.
• Now scroll down the customer field in order to view job cost y the customer for each and every job.
• You can track income and expenses by this report by taking the snapshot of the particular job.

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