Busy all year, not much to show
You fitted a lot of boilers this year. The diary was full, the vans were out, customers were happy. The accounts show a modest profit. The owner suspects some jobs lost money, probably the combi conversions where the gas run turned into a day and a half, or the ones where the flue needed a kit nobody quoted. But there's no way to tell which.
Pricing is set once a year, loosely based on what competitors seem to charge and what the merchant's boiler prices have done. Nobody has the data to do better.
Why job profit is invisible
The quote is in one system. Engineer time is on timesheets or not recorded at all. Parts come on merchant invoices, some linked to the job, some not. Extras are agreed on site and may or may not be billed. Pulling this together for one job takes an afternoon, so it's never done.
| Cost | Where it sits |
|---|---|
| Quoted price | Quote or job software |
| Engineer and mate days | Timesheets or memory |
| Boiler and parts | Merchant invoices |
| Extras and variations | Sometimes on the invoice |
| Return visits | Separate job, not linked |
Return visits are a hidden piece. A snag visit to sort a noisy pump or adjust controls is often booked as a separate job, so its cost never shows against the original install. Some job types generate far more return visits than others, and without linking them you cannot see which.
What not knowing costs
Job types that lose money keep being quoted the same way. Good job types aren't pushed. Engineers who consistently overrun aren't noticed, and those who work efficiently aren't recognised. Pricing becomes guesswork, adjusted when the bank balance looks low.
Engineers also get blamed unfairly. Without real data, an install team that often takes longer may simply be getting the harder jobs, and the owner cannot tell the difference between a slow team and a badly priced job type.
It also leaves you exposed when boiler prices move. If you do not know your real margin on each type of install, you cannot tell whether a price increase from the merchant needs to be passed on or can be absorbed.
The install costing we build
- Job type: each install is tagged by type, such as like-for-like combi, system to combi conversion, or full system, from the quote.
- Labour: engineer and mate time is recorded per job from their phones, start and finish, including return visits linked to the original job.
- Parts: merchant invoice lines are matched to the job, including the boiler and flue kit.
- Variations: extras agreed and billed are included on both sides.
- Job report: each job shows quoted versus actual labour, parts and margin, with reasons noted for big differences.
- Trends: the owner sees margin by job type, engineer team and month, so pricing changes are based on evidence.
Engineer time recording is kept simple on purpose: start, finish, and a tap for a merchant run. Anything more complicated would not get used on a cold morning.
Pricing from real jobs
The owner can see which installs make money and which don't. Quotes are adjusted where the evidence says so. Engineers see how their jobs compare. And conversations about pricing move from gut feel to facts.
It also helps with quoting unusual jobs. When an estimator prices a conversion in an older property, they can look up similar past jobs and see how long they really took, instead of relying on a general allowance.
Engineers can also see the numbers for their own jobs if you choose, which often leads to useful suggestions about what slows them down.
Is this you?
- You don't know the margin on individual installs.
- Some job types feel like they lose money but you can't prove it.
- Labour time per job isn't recorded.
- Merchant costs aren't matched to jobs.
- Prices change only when cash is tight.