Job Costing for Service Businesses
Stop guessing whether jobs are profitable. We implement Odoo Project + Timesheets + Analytic Accounting so every hour, expense and material lands against the right job — and you see margin in real time, not at year-end.
What gets fixed
Service businesses lose margin in three places: time that never gets billed, scope creep that nobody flagged, and overhead that gets allocated by gut feel. Odoo job costing closes all three when it’s set up properly.
- Time tracking that people actually use — mobile timesheets, billable/non-billable split, validated weekly before invoicing
- Cost-to-job visibility — labour, materials, subcontractors and expenses roll up by project, by phase, by stage
- WIP and revenue recognition — see what’s billable vs. invoiced vs. in dispute, without spreadsheet gymnastics
- Live margin dashboards — gross margin per job, per project manager, per service line, refreshed nightly
- Quote vs. actuals — original estimate, current commitment, forecast at completion, all on one screen
Best fit
Trades, professional services firms, agencies, IT/engineering consultancies, installers and field service businesses billing $1M–$30M with 5–80 staff. If you quote work, deliver it over weeks or months, and want to know which jobs are actually making money — this is for you.
How a typical engagement runs
Scoping call
Map your job lifecycle, billing model and current pain. Fixed quote out within a week.
Configure
Project structures, analytic accounts, time approval rules, invoice templates and Xero sync.
Migrate & test
Open jobs and historical timesheets imported. UAT with a real project before go-live.
Train & go live
Role-based training for techs, PMs and admins. Hypercare for the first month.
Common questions
Do we have to switch off Xero?
No. Odoo runs the operational side; Xero stays as your ledger. We connect them so invoices and bills flow without re-keying.
How long until we see margin per job?
For a 10–30 user implementation, typically 6–10 weeks from kick-off to first live margin dashboard.
Can field staff log time on phones?
Yes — Odoo’s mobile timesheet works offline and syncs when reconnected. We configure it for one-tap start/stop on assigned tasks.
What does it cost?
Implementations start at $12,000 and scale with complexity. Odoo licensing is per user, per month. See the pricing page for ranges.
Ready to see real job margin?
Book a 15-minute call with Hanno to scope your fit and timeline.