Job costing for fire protection contractors

Sprinkler jobs are long, and the costs arrive in waves: fab and pipe early, heads and trim late, lifts the whole way through. JobMargin keeps each wave on its own line and shows fitter hours against progress, so a job that’s drifting shows up while there’s still pipe to hang.

What fire protection contractors track in JobMargin

• Pipe, heads, and fab separately. Shop fabrication, pipe and fittings, and heads and devices each get a budget, so early fab spend doesn’t look like a problem when it isn’t.
• Lift rental as its own cost. Lifts stay on site for the whole job. Tracking them separately shows when a slow schedule is costing you rent.
• Fitter hours on the right job. Crews clock in on their phones, and night or weekend hours go in by pay type.
• Permits and inspections. Permit and inspection fees post to the job, so a failed inspection’s cost is visible.

Set up for fire protection from the first day

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

• Pipe & Fittings
• Labor
• Heads & Devices
• Fabrication
• Permits & Inspection
• Equipment Rental
• Fuel
• Subcontractor
• Other

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

Example: what a fire protection job looks like mid-way

ESFR heads, mains, and branch lines. Mains and branch lines are about 65% hung; the heads, trim, and final inspection are still ahead.

Pipe at 70% and labor at 62% are tracking with the 65% of pipe hung. The lift rental is the surprise: 86% of the equipment budget is gone, and the heads and trim still need lifts. Extending the rental for the rest of the job will push that line over, so price it now or share lifts with another trade on site.

Guides and tools for fire protection contractors