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Best Practices: Time Tracking & Job Costing

Track time and costs in Copilot to measure true job profitability and maximize profits.

Updated over a month ago

Introduction

Profitability in a home service business depends on knowing your numbers. By tracking time and job costs in Copilot, you gain visibility into labor expenses, materials, and overall margins. This ensures you’re pricing correctly and running each job as profitably as possible.


Why This Matters

  • True Profitability — Revenue alone doesn’t show whether a job made money. You need labor and material costs tracked.

  • Better Pricing Decisions — Understanding job margins helps you adjust rates for future work.

  • Sustainable Growth — Consistently profitable jobs fund scaling your team and operations.

Important: Without accurate time tracking and costing, your reported profits may be misleading and could hide losses.


How to Track Time & Job Costs in Copilot

  1. Use Time Clock Features

    • Have employees clock in/out directly in Copilot.

    • Tie hours worked to specific jobs or visits.

  2. Apply Rate Matrices

    • Set up rate matrices to assign labor and material costs.

    • Ensure each job automatically reflects true costs.

  3. Review Job Costing Reports

    • Compare revenue vs. labor and materials.

    • Identify which job types are most (and least) profitable.


Best Practice in Action

Example:

  • A mowing job brings in $250 revenue.

  • Employee labor costs $80 (tracked via time clock).

  • Fuel and materials cost $20 (via job costing).

  • Profit = $150, or 60% margin.

With this insight, you know the job type is profitable and worth scaling.

By using Copilot’s time tracking and job costing tools consistently, you’ll understand your true profitability—and be able to make smarter decisions about pricing, staffing, and growth.

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