Job cost sheet definition

What is a Job Cost Sheet?

A job cost sheet is a compilation of the actual costs of a job. The report is compiled by the accounting department and distributed to the management team, to see if a job was correctly bid. The sheet is usually completed after a job has been closed, though it can be compiled on a concurrent basis. The actual costs of a job typically include the following items:

A job cost sheet can be quite complex to create, since it may involve different labor rates for dozens of people, as well as a labor allocation for the payroll taxes and benefits incurred by those people, and overtime, plus potentially hundreds of components that should include the cost of shipping and handling. Depending upon the format of the job cost sheet, it may also include subtotals of costs for direct materials, direct labor, and allocated overhead. The sheet also computes the final profit or loss on the job by subtracting all of the compiled costs from a total of all billings to the customer.

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How a Job Cost Sheet is Used

The job cost sheet is most commonly developed using an electronic spreadsheet, based on a standard template that includes a number of standard items, so that the cost accountant is reminded to include them. Software packages are available that perform this task, and which automatically populate some fields in the compilation.

Terms Similar to Job Cost Sheet

A job cost sheet is also known as a cost sheet.

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