Tracking what a job actually costs

When a client accepts your quote, Sammy keeps what your quote said the job would cost you as the job's budget. As you buy materials, pay subbies and put in hours on site, add them to the job. Sammy shows you what you've spent against what you quoted, line by line, so you can see early if a job is running over.

What the top of the job shows#

Open the job from Projects. The Money out card shows the job's budget cost in large figures, with a bar under it.

• Budget cost is what your quote said the job would cost you: your materials, labour, subbies and other costs, before your markup. It's not the price the client pays.
• Spent is everything you've added to the job so far, with the percentage of the budget you've used. Left in budget is what's still to go.
• Once you're over, the extra shows in red as Over, with the amount.
• Under that, each type of cost (materials, labour, subbies, other) shows what you've spent against what you quoted for it, like $2,140 of $7,690. A type that's over shows in red. A cost your quote didn't plan for says not in the quote.

Tap Costs at the bottom of the card to jump to the job's costs.

All of these figures leave GST out, the same as the costs in your quote. If the client accepts a variation, its costs are added to the budget too. See Raising a variation when the job changes.

The Costs section#

Further down the job is Costs. It lists the sections from your quote, with three figures on each:

Tap a section to see its lines and the costs on each one. Sections that came from a variation start with the variation number, like V01 · Extra power points.

A line that's under budget isn't shown in green. Usually it just means that part of the job isn't finished yet.

Add a cost#

1. On the job, go to Costs, tap + Add and choose Add cost. You can also tap Actions (on a computer it's in the bottom-right corner), then Add cost.
2. Under What was it?, type a short description, like "Tiles" or "Skip bin".
3. In Amount, type the figure from the docket. Sammy assumes it includes GST (that's what most dockets show). If it doesn't, tap ex GST. If there's no GST on it at all, tap GST-free. Sammy shows the amount without GST underneath, so you can check it.
4. Choose the Type: Materials, Subbie or Other. Your own crew's time isn't a cost you add here: use Log hours (below), so the hours count against your quote. Labour hire, or a casual who sends you an invoice, goes under Subbie.
5. Check the Date, and add the Supplier if you like.
6. To put the cost against part of your quote, tap Line and choose a line or a whole section. You can search the quote's lines. You can also leave it off.
7. Add a Note if there's anything worth remembering.
8. Tap Save cost.

The cost appears on its line, and the section and total update straight away. A message with Undo shows for a few seconds in case you tapped by mistake.

If the cost looks like one you've already added (the same amount from the same supplier within a week), Sammy says so. That's just a heads-up: if they're two separate dockets, keep both.

To add a cost straight onto one line, open its section in the Costs table, tap the line and choose Add cost. Tap a section's name to open or close it.

Log hours on site#

1. On the job, go to Costs, tap + Add and choose Log hours (it's also under Actions). To log hours against one line, tap the line in the Costs table and choose Log hours.
2. Check the Date.
3. Under Hours, tap 4, 8 or 10, or type the hours.
4. Under Who, add who was on site, like "Dave and Mick". Sammy suggests names you've used before, and your team members.
5. Pick a Line or phase if you like, and add a note under What got done.
6. Tap Save hours.

The hours land under labour, with the hours and what they cost you.

The hourly rate Sammy uses#

The Rate row shows the hourly cost Sammy will use and where it came from, like $68/hr · from your quote's labour lines. Sammy works it out in this order:

1. A rate you've set on this job.
2. The labour lines in your quote.
3. Your default labour cost in Simpro or Ascora, if you're connected.

If there's nothing to work it out from, Sammy asks: "Sammy needs an hourly cost to work this out." Type your Hourly cost and it's saved on the job for next time.

To use a different rate, tap Change next to the rate. Older entries keep the rate they were saved with.

This is what the hours cost you (wages and on-costs), not what you charge the client. Log time in hours: for a full day, tap 8.

Upload a receipt#

1. On the job, go to Costs, tap + Add and choose Upload receipt (it's also under Actions).
2. On your phone, choose Take photo, Choose from library or Choose files. On a computer, pick the file. Sammy takes a photo (JPG or PNG) or a PDF, up to 20 MB.
3. Sammy reads the receipt. This takes about ten seconds.
4. Sammy shows Check the receipt with what he read: the supplier, the Date, the Total (including GST), the GST on the receipt, What was it?, the Type, and the Line he thinks it belongs to. Fix anything that's wrong, or pick a different line.
5. Tap Save cost.

Sammy copies the figures printed on the receipt. If you leave the GST blank, Sammy works it out as one eleventh of the total.

If the receipt mentions a different job number, Sammy warns you so you can check it's for this job.

If Sammy can't read the receipt (a blurry photo, say), the Add cost form opens with the file attached. Fill in the details yourself and save.

To put a receipt straight onto one line, tap the line in the Costs table and choose Upload receipt. Sammy keeps it on that line, whatever he reads off it.

A cost with a receipt says Receipt under it. To look at it later, tap the cost and choose Open receipt.

What "Unallocated" means#

A cost you didn't put against a line or section shows at the bottom of the table as Unallocated, one row for each type, tagged like the lines (MATERIALS, LABOUR, SUBBIE or OTHER). It still counts in the job's total spent. It just isn't counted against any one line. To move it onto a line, edit the cost and pick the line.

Fix or remove a cost#

Tap a cost to:

• Edit it. The form opens with the amount as you entered it.
• Open receipt, if it has one.
• Remove it. You get an Undo for a few seconds.

When a job goes over budget#

Sammy lets you know when a job reaches 90% of its budget cost and again if it goes over. That's for the whole job and for each type of cost (like labour or materials). You also hear when a section of the job goes over. Each one comes once, in the app, by email and on your phone. Tap it to go straight to the job's costs.

To change how you get these, go to Settings, then Notifications, and look under Jobs.

Working in a team#

On a team account, anyone in the team who can open the job can see its costs and add to them. A cost someone else added says Added by and their name. Over-budget alerts go to the person who owns the job.

A job without a quote#

If you logged a won job without a quote, there's no budget to compare against. Sammy just lists the costs you add, and each one shows its type.

Good to know#

• The budget is the quote the client accepted. If you change the estimate afterwards, the job's budget doesn't move.
• Costs stay in Sammy. They're never shown to your client.

Related articles#

• Running a job: contract, plan and status
• Raising a variation when the job changes
• Payment schedules and progress claims
• Managing your notifications