The quote said one day, the crew said a day and a half
At the end of a move, the crew leader rings in: long carry, more boxes than the survey, customer not packed. The job ran late, an extra porter was called in, and a second trip went to the new house.
The invoice goes out for the quoted price, perhaps with an extra charge that the customer will dispute. Whether that job made money, lost money or broke even is never worked out, because the hours are on a timesheet, the fuel on a card statement and the extra boxes on a stores list.
Why the real cost stays hidden
Removals firms are good at knowing what they quoted. The costs are recorded too, just in separate places that never meet the job.
- Crew hours are recorded for pay, not against the move number.
- Vehicle use and fuel sit with the fleet records.
- Packing materials are taken from stores without a job reference.
- Hired-in labour is invoiced weeks later by the agency.
- Extra charges agreed on the day live in a text message.
What not knowing costs
Without job costs, pricing is set on feel. Moves that always overrun keep being quoted the same way. Profitable move types are not pushed harder, because nobody knows they are profitable.
Surveyors also get no feedback. If a surveyor's jobs tend to overrun, that is useful, fair information, and it is currently invisible.
How we put the costs back against each move
- Each move gets a job number that flows onto the crew job sheet, the timesheet, the materials issued and the vehicle allocation.
- Crew start and finish times are captured on the job sheet app or taken from timesheets, against the job.
- Vehicles, mileage and, where available, fuel are pulled from your fleet or telematics records.
- Materials issued from stores are logged against the job, and any extra used on site is recorded by the crew.
- Agency and subcontract costs are matched when their invoices arrive.
- A job cost view compares each move with its quote, and a report groups moves by type, surveyor, distance and season so patterns show.
| Cost | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| Crew hours | Job sheet app or timesheet |
| Vehicles | Allocation plus mileage |
| Materials | Stores issue and crew record |
| Hired-in labour | Agency invoice matched to job |
| Extras agreed on the day | Recorded by the crew leader |
We can push the results into Xero or QuickBooks as tracking categories if you want job profit in the accounts as well.
What you can see afterwards
A list of last month's moves, each with quoted price, actual cost and the difference. Filters that show which kinds of move run over and by roughly how much. That feeds straight back into the pricing rules and the survey process.
Extra charges are recorded on the day with the crew leader's note, so the invoice is right and the dispute is shorter.
Do you know which moves pay?
- You cannot say whether last Tuesday's move made money.
- Timesheets and materials are not linked to job numbers.
- Overruns are discussed but never measured.
- Surveyors get no feedback on how their jobs went.
- Agency labour costs arrive weeks later and are never matched.