A Builder Gain/Loss records changes to your job costs after the contract is signed, so your job budget and profit reporting stay accurate. You create them from Jobs > Job Financials > Budget, using whichever method suits the situation.
What is a Builder Gain/Loss?
A Builder Gain/Loss is any change to a cost item after the contract is signed that isn't a customer change order. Gains increase your profit and losses reduce it.
ℹ️ Recording a Builder Gain/Loss doesn't change what your client is charged. It only affects your own margin on the job.
Why keep your gains and losses up to date
Recording gains and losses as you go lets you see your profit while the job is still running, not after it's finished. By the end of a job it's too late to fix anything. If something has gone wrong (or really well), you want to know early so you can take corrective action or keep doing what's working.
Each time you record a gain or loss, your Current Forecast Profit updates. That figure also flows into your Cash Flow Forecast and Work in Progress (WIP) report, so keeping gains and losses current makes all three more accurate.
When to create a Builder Gain/Loss
Create a Builder Gain/Loss:
Once a bill is paid against a budget item or cost code
When a purchase order comes in above or below budget
When something unexpected happens on site, such as theft, damage, or rework
When you're ready to close off the financials for a cost code
Reading your job budget
Job budgets are organized into cost groups, then cost codes, then items. Cost groups are optional and add an extra layer for organizing how you estimate and manage your budgets.
JACK flags any cost group that's over budget with a negative figure (for example, -$299). Expand it to see which cost codes are ahead of or behind budget.
Method 1: Gain/Loss against an entire cost code
This is the quickest way to record a gain or loss. Use it once all bills for a cost code have been received and paid.
Go to Jobs > Job Financials > Budget.
Find the cost code you want to close and click Complete.
JACK moves any remaining budget (or overspend) into the Gain/Loss column, zeros out every budget item in that code, and updates your Current Forecast Profit straight away.
💡 Example: If a Roofing code has $5,182.94 left over once all bills are paid, completing the code records a $5,182.94 gain.
Method 2: Create from the Paid or PO Total amount
Use this to close a budget item based on what's actually been paid or on what's been committed through a purchase order.
Go to Jobs > Job Financials > Budget.
Find the budget item and check the circle beside the Paid or PO Total amount.
JACK records the difference between the projected cost and the paid or PO amount as a gain or loss.
Method 3: Create for individual items
Use this to quickly record a gain or loss against multiple or a single budget item.
Go to Jobs > Job Financials > Budget.
On the budget item, click the dropdown in the Gain/Loss column.
Method 4: Create from one or more budget items
Use this when you need to enter specific figures, or record a gain or loss that isn't tied to a bill or PO, such as theft, damage, or rework. You can select one budget item or several at once.
Go to Jobs > Job Financials > Budget.
Tick the checkbox beside the budget item(s), then click Gain/Loss.
Enter a Description (for example, "Tiles stolen from site").
Select a Reason (for example, "Theft from site"), then click Create.
On the Builder Gain/Loss screen, enter the Qty and Price Ea for each item. The UOM carries over from the original budget item.
Click Save.
The gain or loss now shows against the budget item in your job budget.
Customize your gain/loss reasons
Go to Settings > Data Setup > Budget Gain/Loss Reasons to add or edit your reasons.
Using reasons consistently makes your data much more useful. You can run a Builder Gain/Loss report per job, across all jobs, per cost code, or per supplier to see where your business is gaining or losing money, for example the total cost of supplier price increases this year.
Understanding gain and loss totals
JACK calculates the total for you based on the Qty and Price Ea you enter:
Positive total: A loss. The cost has gone over budget, which reduces the expected profit on the job.
Negative total: A gain, shown as (Gain) Total. The cost has come in under budget. To enter a gain, use a negative Qty with a positive price (or the other way around).