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General Contractor Job Costing Template
A job costing template built for contractors, home builders, and remodelers
This job costing template has been created by Housecall Pro with everything you need to reduce the time it takes to create and manage cost categories, cost codes, and a cost library for your construction business … and it’s completely free!
Easily build a master cost library with fill-in-the-blank input sections that can be used for project estimates, budgets, and improved accounting. Simple to share or export for syncing your costs with your team or other tools.
This template has everything you need and is provided free of charge, and can be used without restrictions in Excel or Google Sheets.
Here’s everything included with this template
- Step-by-step instructions that will guide you through the entire template
- Cost category creation tab with 18 pre-filled CSI MasterFormat categories in place
- Cost code creation tab with over 100 sample costs to build from
- Itemized cost library with 90+ sample items and pre-built detail columns
- Built-in formulas and drop-downs that save you time when creating costs
- Dynamic inventory page that collects and stores all of your entries
Create a master cost library in just minutes
1. Create categories
Define your own list cost categories by name and number or use the ones already in place.
2. Create codes
Create a list of cost codes and assign each a cost category from the down-down list.
3. Create library
Add individual costs, assign a code and define the quantity, unit costs, markup, and more.
What is a job costing in construction?
Job costing is a process or method of accounting designed to help contractors track and analyze job costs before, during, and after each construction project. The process is designed to provide greater clarity and improve the financial health of construction projects and companies.
Job costing is comprised of three basic components: Cost Categories, Cost Codes, and a Cost Library. Each of these components play an important role in achieving success with this process.
What are construction cost codes?
As mentioned above, cost codes in construction are just one of the components within the job costing process.
A cost code is essentially a standardized format for defining a specific cost. The code is defined by both a name and a numeric classification, with its numbers aligning with the cost category it is assigned to.
As an example, 03-001 – General Labor might be used to classify the cost of the crews time to pour a slab of concrete. 03 represents the Concrete cost category, and 001 represents the cost for general labor within this category.
What is included in a cost code item?
The final component of job costing is a cost library, which is basically your menu of individual costs, each assigned to the cost codes you’ve created – these are your cost code items. Each item consists of the following:
Name
Clarification on this individual cost. For example, Construction Permit – Per $1000
Cost Code
The specific category and cost this item is assigned to.
Cost Type
What type of cost is this item? Flat fee, materials, labor, etc.
Quantity
Defining the standard quantity of how this item is priced. If it’s labor for example, you may assign a specific quantity of hours.
Unit
What is the way the quantity of this item is measured? Per hour, square feet, each, etc.
Unit cost
Definition of the cost per unit of measurement for this item. For example $20 per hour.
Markup
What percentage of markup does this item include, if any.
Tax
If tax is appropriate, what is the percentage should be charged for this item.
How do you calculate job costing for a general contractor?
Construction job costing is calculated by multiplying the quantity of work by its unit price to arrive at a base cost, then applying a markup to determine the final price charged to the owner.
Quantity × Unit Price = Base Cost, then + Markup = Price
What is the difference between job costing and a construction budget?
A construction budget is a plan — it sets the expected spend for a project before work begins. Job costing is the process of tracking what you actually spent against that plan, in real time, as the project progresses. The budget tells you where you intend to spend money. Job costing tells you where the money actually went and whether you are on track to make a profit. Used together, they give a complete picture of project financial health from estimate through closeout.
What is the difference between a cost code and a cost category?
A cost category and a cost code work together but serve different purposes in job costing. Here is how they differ:
- A cost category is a broad grouping of related construction work — for example, Concrete, Electrical, or Plumbing
- A cost code is a specific, numbered classification within that category that identifies a particular type of cost
- Think of cost categories as the chapters and cost codes as the individual entries within each chapter
This template includes 18 pre-built categories and over 100 sample cost codes so you have a solid, industry-standard foundation to start from without building your cost structure from scratch.
General contractor job costing — frequently asked questions
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When should a general contractor use job costing?
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General contractor job costing should be used on every project where you need to know whether a job is profitable — which is every project. Specifically, use construction job costing in these situations:
- Bid preparation: Build accurate estimates based on real historical cost data from past jobs.
- Active construction: Monitor spend weekly against budget to catch overruns before they compound.
- Project closeout: Capture final job profit and loss to benchmark future bids and improve margins.
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Can I use this job costing template for multiple project at once?
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Yes — the recommended approach for managing multiple construction projects with this general contractor job costing template is to keep one workbook per project.
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Can I use this construction job costing template in excel?
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Yes. This general contractor job costing template is built for Microsoft Excel.
Hear from contractors already using our template
Some reviews mention Buildbook, a company acquired by Housecall Pro.
