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Why job costing matters
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Know your true project profitability

Without job costing, you're guessing which projects make money. QBO Projects tracks every dollar of labor, materials, and expenses against each job so you always know your real margin.

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Labor is your biggest cost — track it accurately

When QBO Payroll and QB Time are connected, labor costs including wages and payroll taxes are automatically allocated to the correct project based on timesheet entries — no manual entry needed.

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Bid smarter on future work

Historical job cost data from completed projects gives you real numbers to base future estimates on — so you stop underbidding jobs that erode your margins.

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Catch cost overruns before it's too late

Real-time project dashboards let you see when labor or materials are running over budget while the job is still active — not weeks later when reviewing the P&L.

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How QBO Projects + Payroll + QB Time work together
1
Enable Projects in QBO

Go to Settings → Account and Settings → Advanced → Projects and toggle it on. Each job or engagement becomes its own project with its own dashboard.

2
Employees log time to projects

Using QB Time or QBO timesheets, employees tag their hours to the correct project. This time flows directly into payroll runs and the project's labor cost summary.

3
Payroll runs allocate labor costs

When payroll is processed, wages and employer taxes are automatically split across projects based on timesheet entries — no spreadsheets or manual allocation needed.

4
Assign expenses & materials

Bills, expenses, and purchase orders can all be tagged to a specific project at the time of entry — giving you a complete picture of every cost associated with a job.

5
Review project profitability reports

The Projects dashboard shows real-time income, costs, and profit margin for each job. Run a Project Profitability report to compare actual costs vs. estimates at any time.

6
Invoice from the project

Unbilled time and expenses are surfaced directly in the project view, so nothing gets missed when it's time to bill the client. Progress invoicing is also supported.

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Plan requirement: The Projects feature is available in QBO Plus and QBO Advanced. It is not available in QBO Simple Start or QBO Essentials. For full labor costing with automatic payroll allocation, QBO Payroll must also be enabled. QB Time Premium or Elite tier is recommended for mobile teams tracking time in the field.
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ProAdvisor & QSP partner guides
Leverage the power of the QBO Project Center
Firm of the Future ¡ Intuit ¡ Jan 2025
Article
Labor costing tracking in QBO Projects
Firm of the Future ¡ Intuit ¡ May 2025
Article
Simplify payroll for construction clients — guide for accounting firms
Insightful Accountant ¡ Mar 2026
Article
QBO Projects for contractors — job costing made simple
Peak Advisers ¡ Sep 2025
Article
Tracking construction projects — labor & materials
Minding My Books ¡ Advanced ProAdvisor ¡ Sep 2025
Article
Job costing in QBO for contractors — step-by-step guide
Aladdin Bookkeeping ¡ Aug 2025
Article
Which QuickBooks is right for your construction business?
Hector Garcia CPA ¡ Advanced ProAdvisor
Article
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Official Intuit resources
Job costing in QuickBooks — official overview
QuickBooks ¡ Intuit
Guide
How to create & manage Projects in QBO
Fit Small Business ¡ QuickBooks ProAdvisor ¡ 2024
Guide
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Videos — Hector Garcia CPA
QBO Projects & job costing tutorials
Hector Garcia CPA ¡ YouTube ¡ Advanced ProAdvisor
Video
Allocating payroll costs to QBO Projects
Hector Garcia CPA ¡ YouTube ¡ Advanced ProAdvisor
Video
QBO for contractors & project-based businesses — full course
Hector Garcia CPA ¡ Paid course ¡ covers payroll job costing, progress invoicing, budget vs. actual
Course
QBO project profitability reports — ProAdvisor tutorials
YouTube ¡ multiple ProAdvisor channels
Video

* Video links open YouTube search results filtered to ProAdvisor content. Hector Garcia CPA's channel at youtube.com/@HectorGarciaCPA is the most comprehensive free source for QBO Projects tutorials.

Ready to see how QBO Payroll fits into your workflow?
Explore how QBO Payroll's integration with Projects and QB Time solves the labor costing challenge end to end.
How QBO Payroll helps →