Completed Projects
Profitability Report

When looking at the financial reports for a company, it is easy to get caught up in big-picture enterprise numbers analysis. When this happens, there is the very real risk of missing an important piece of information.

This was brought home to me when I had a client comment, as we were reviewing his financial reports,  “I know we are going through these financial numbers every month to see if the business is improving, but is there any way to see the financial results on a JOB basis? I want to know if the JOB was profitable.

He is absolutely right. If the jobs are not profitable, there is no way the company is going to be profitable.

Further, if you can’t figure out why a job was not profitable, you don’t have any way to fix the problem for future jobs.

A few topics to keep in mind --

Profitability starts with picking the right market segment.

Until you know who your market is and what they are willing to pay for, your potential for profit is limited.

Know the difference between “Mark-Up” and “Margin”.

When is 10% profit not really 10% profit?  When you use MARK-UP instead of MARGIN.

Make sure your estimate includes everything, every time.

If you miss, or mis-price, something in an estimate, one of two things is going to suffer.

Your WALLET or Your REPUTATION.

Manage subs to manage jobsite quality and profitability.

Ensure the work onsite is done the way you want it done with the Scope of Work > Work Order > Inspection Report process.

Discipline your process to allocate costs to the specific project.

Use your accounting platform to allocate ALL direct costs to the specific project. And do your best to allocate indirect costs as well.

Did you make a profit on your projects this period?