What Is Job Costing?

Job Costing tracks all costs and revenue tied to a project so you always know:

• What you spent

• Where you spent it

• How the job is performing

• Whether you’re making money

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Vista organizes job cost data using three simple building blocks:

‍1. Jobs (The Project)

The overall project you’re working on. Examples:

• Construction job

• Manufacturing run

• Service contract

Each job has its own budget, schedule, and reporting.

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2. Phases (The Work Breakdown)

Phases divide the job into major work sections. Examples:

• Site prep

• Concrete

• Electrical

• Installation

Phases help you track progress and compare costs at a detailed level.

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3. Cost Types (The Kind of Cost)

Cost types tell Vista what you spent money on. Examples:

• Labor

• Materials

• Equipment

• Subcontractors

This structure lets you see not just the total cost — but what caused it.

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Workflow (Beginner Version)

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🟦 1. Create Job

• Enter basic job info

• Assign customer, department, PM

• Vista auto creates a matching contract

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🟩 2. Add Phases

• Break job into work segments

• Link each phase to a contract item

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🟨 3. Add Cost Types

• Labor, Materials, Equipment, Subs

• Defines what kinds of costs can post

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🟧 4. Build Contract

• Add contract items (Schedule of Values)

• Set retainage, billing type, pricing

• Link contract items to job phases

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🟪 5. Enter Budget

• Estimated costs by phase + cost type

• Baseline for WIP, forecasting, and reporting

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How Costs & Revenue Flow + What Accounting Does

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🔵 6. Costs Start Posting

Costs flow automatically from other modules:

• Payroll → Labor

• AP → Materials & subcontractor invoices

• PO/Subcontracts → Committed costs

• Equipment → Usage costs

• Inventory → Materials

All costs land on Job + Phase + Cost Type.

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🔴 7. Revenue Starts Posting

Revenue flows into Job Cost from:

• Job Billing → Earned revenue

• Accounts Receivable → Posted invoices

• Revenue Adjustments → Corrections/accruals

Revenue posts to Contract + Contract Item, which ties back to the job.

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This allows Vista to calculate:

• Earned revenue

• Over/under billing

• Profitability

• WIP values

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🟫 8. Review Job Performance

Use Job Cost tools to monitor the job:

• JC Cost Summary

• Committed Cost Inquiry

• Forecasting

• WIP Reporting

• Contract Status

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‍What Accounting, Controllers, and CFOs do with the numbers:

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🟩🟫 9. Financial Review & Executive Analysis

WIP & Revenue Recognition

• Percent complete

• Earned revenue

• Over/under billing

• Revenue adjustments for financials

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Profitability & Margin Review

• Budget vs. actual vs. projected

• Identify overruns

• Validate job performance

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Forecast Oversight

• Review PM projections

• Confirm projected final cost & profit

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Cash Flow & Billing

• AR aging

• Billing accuracy

• Retainage & change order billing

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Compliance & Audit

• Coding accuracy

• Labor/material/equipment policy checks

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Executive Reporting

• Dashboards

• Trend analysis

• Risk & opportunity insights

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Why Job Costing Matters

Vista helps you answer the most important questions:

• Are we on budget

• Which phases are over or under

• Are labor hours trending too high

• Are materials costing more than expected

• Is this job profitable

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Job Costing is the heartbeat of project based work. Vista gives you the clarity to protect margins, avoid surprises, and make smarter decisions.  As always, if you need assistance with any Vista processes, please visit our website ConstrucTech Consulting and Book a Call with one of our consultants.