Maintain Jobs

First, you should set up your default or common information, which lets you enter a number of custom fields that apply to all the jobs your company performs. Then you can set up phases and cost codes (if necessary), then individual jobs, including any estimated expenses and revenues for those jobs, as well as beginning balances.

Set up job default information

Set up your job phases(Sage 50 Premium Accounting and higher)

Set up your cost codes(Sage 50 Premium Accounting and higher)

Set up a job

Enter estimates of job revenue and expense

Enter job beginning balances

Before you can start tracking job costs, you should decide the right level of detail for your job costing process. While you can maintain information only on a job-by-job basis, you can track to greater detail using phases1 A phase is a part of a job. For example, landscapting might be a phase of constructing a new house. and cost codes2 A cost code is a part of a phase. For example, if landscaping is a phase of a construction job, a cost code might be "labor." That is, the labor that went into landscaping. A final level of detail is found in Cost Types3 Use Cost Types to specify whether a Phase (if you do not use Cost Codes) or a Cost Code is an expense related to labor, materials, equipment, or something else..

Learn more about phases and see examples

Learn more about cost codes and see examples

Using cost types and a Cost type example

Keeping track of such costs can help you track how much money you are making on each job by comparing the expenses incurred with the revenues you receive for the job. For more detailed information, click the link below.

Advantages of using job costing

In Sage 50, you do this when you actually enter the costs, rather than when you create the job, phase, or cost code. So when you set up Sage 50 for your jobs, you will separately set up all of your jobs, then all of the various phases (parts) of your jobs, then all of the specific types of costs (cost codes) for each aspect of the work you will perform.

Then, when you purchase, say, materials for a job, you will enter the job, phase, and cost code that the materials were used for in Purchases/Receive Inventory, on the line item for that purchase. Internally, Sage 50 will keep track of which job, phase, and cost code were used and report on the job appropriately.

You can apply jobs to transactions on the following windows:

• Purchases
• Purchase Orders
• Payments
• Sales/Invoicing
• General Journal
• Inventory Adjustments
• Sales Orders
• Quotes
• Receive Money (Receipts)

When you want to enter job information for an expense, use the Job field in the line item entry for the windows listed above. Select the job, phase, and cost code information as necessary.

In addition, there is a Jobs button that appears on the Payroll Entry and the Select Employees to Pay window; this lets you apply an employee's salary toward up to ten jobs.

Custom fields let you track information that Sage 50 normally doesn't track. You set up the fields and input the data based on specific information that your business requires. Custom fields for job costing are set up in Job Defaults.

Overview and examples

How to set up and use custom fields

Job statuses can help you manage your jobs. You can use the statuses provided for you or you can create your own in Job Defaults.

You assign statuses to your jobs in Maintain Jobs. You can view information about your jobs, including statuses, on the Job Management tab in the Jobs navigation area. You can also view the statuses of your jobs on the Job List View and Job List report.

Using job statuses to manage jobs

Setting up job statuses

If you need specific help with a field or a folder on the Maintain Jobs window, click on the area below. (Header fields are those fields above the folders on the window—ID, Description, Start Date, Projected End Date, Actual End Date, Use Phases, Inactive, and Job Status.)

Header Fields

General Tab

Estimated Exp./Rev. Tab

Notes Tab

You can attach files, such as Word or Excel documents, to a job record. How do I add an attachment?