Job costing for concrete contractors

Concrete margins are made or lost on a few things: how many yards the pour really took, how long the crew was on the slab, and whether that extra pump day got billed. JobMargin tracks each of them against the job while it’s running, not at closeout.

What concrete contractors track in JobMargin

• Ready-mix against budget. Snap each batch ticket or supplier invoice and it posts to the job’s Ready-Mix Concrete budget. Over a few jobs you learn your real waste factor. (Our guide to calculating concrete yards covers the math.)
• Crew hours by pour. Crews clock in to the job on their phones, so finishing crews who bounce between sites put their hours on the right job.
• Phased work and retainage. Invoice by phase, track retainage held on each invoice, and see what’s still owed.
• Extra work. Added curb, a thicker section, another pump day: log it as a change order and it goes straight into the contract value.

Set up for concrete from the first day

When you pick Concrete & Flatwork as your trade, JobMargin loads these cost categories for budgets, receipts, and job costs. You can rename or add your own at any time.

• Ready-Mix Concrete
• Labor
• Rebar & Mesh
• Forms & Lumber
• Pump & Placement
• Equipment Rental
• Fuel
• Disposal
• Subcontractor
• Other

Bid line items use the units concrete actually bid in: cubic yards (CY), square feet (SF), linear feet (LF), each (EA), and lump sum (LS).

Example: what a concrete job looks like mid-way

Three building pads, curb and gutter, and dumpster pads. About 55% of the scope has been poured.

Ready-mix is right on track at 56% of budget. Labor isn’t: 68% of the labor budget is gone with the job about 55% poured. Seeing that with nearly half the job left is the difference between fixing it and finding out at closeout.

Guides and tools for concrete contractors