Know what every job really made you.
Job costing is built into WIPKeep's core, not a plugin, not a higher tier.
The short answer
Job costing tracks every cost against the job that caused it, so you can tell what each job made rather than only what the business made. In WIPKeep, costs you tag to a job are held on the balance sheet as work in progress while the job is open, then released against that job's revenue in a single close that also applies any customer deposit. Job costing is included in Project Pro at $69.99 a month, not sold as a separate add-on.
Why a whole-business profit number cannot answer the question
A contractor running five jobs does not have one business. Two jobs at plus $14,000 and minus $9,000 look exactly the same, in the annual total, as two jobs at plus $3,000 and plus $2,000. One of those pairs means you should bid more of that work. The other means you should stop. The total cannot tell you which.
Job costing separates them, and it needs three things to work: a job to tag costs to, somewhere to hold those costs while the job is open, and a close where the costs and the revenue finally meet. Most small-business accounting tools give you the first and skip the second, which is where the accuracy leaks out. For the full mechanics, see what job costing is, with a worked example.
The part that gets skipped: holding costs as work in progress
Say you land a $24,000 kitchen in November and spend $13,200 on cabinets, countertops and subs before December 31. If those costs hit your expenses as you spend them, your year closes showing $13,200 of cost against no related revenue, and the following January shows the full $24,000 of revenue against almost no cost. Neither picture is true.
Holding the cost as work in progress keeps it on the balance sheet until the job finishes, so cost and revenue land in the same period and the margin you read is the margin you earned. That is the mechanism behind work in progress on a contractor's books, and it is what the name WIPKeep refers to.
Closing a job is a screen, not a sentence
Day-to-day entries are typed in plain English. Closing a project is not: it is a form, because a close needs specifics that should never be inferred. You pick the project, enter the sale price, say whether the customer was invoiced or has already paid, choose the customer, and add any closing costs and who they went to. Then you press Close Project, and the whole close runs as one reviewed step.
The part that matters before you press it: one click on a project shows the costs currently sitting in WIP. You can see what a job has absorbed while it is still open, which is when the information is actually worth something.
What WIPKeep does not do
Worth stating plainly, because it decides whether this is the right tool for you. WIPKeep uses completed-contract recognition: a job's revenue and costs are recognized when the job closes. It does not calculate percentage of completion, and it does not produce the bonding-grade WIP schedule with over-billings and under-billings that a surety or a commercial lender asks for. It has no retainage feature and no AIA G702 progress billing. If those are requirements, you need heavier construction software, and it is better to know that before a trial than after one.
Know what a job really made you.
Real project profit, without a spreadsheet on the side.
Tag costs to a job as you go: lumber, subs, permits, labor. When the job's done, close it in one screen: WIPKeep clears work-in-progress to costs, recognizes the revenue, applies any customer deposits, and shows you the real profit. Change your mind? Reopen it just as cleanly.
Doing warranty or post-sale support after the job? Track those costs against it, too, so you always know a project's true bottom line.
Built for the trades, and anyone who works job by job
- Contractors
- Handyman
- Plumbers
- Electricians
- HVAC
- Painters
- Roofers
- Landscapers
- Remodelers
- Cleaning crews
- Movers & haulers
- Freelancers & consultants
- …and yours
→ Try it: tap “Close the job” and watch the profit land.
Smith Kitchen
In progressCosts tagged as you go
One screen, and WIPKeep posts the closing entries for you.
From first cost to final profit
Every job moves through the same four steps, and the books keep themselves square at each one.
- 1
Tag costs as you go
Lumber, subs, permits, labor: assign every cost to the job it belongs to as work happens.
- 2
Track work-in-progress
Costs build up as work-in-progress on the job, not buried in your expenses before the job is done.
- 3
Close in one step
WIP clears to costs, revenue is recognized, and any customer deposits apply, books that balance.
- 4
See the real profit
Check the job's costs any time while it runs. Once it closes, the real profit lands in the job's report. Closed it too soon? Reopen it cleanly, with nothing left dangling.
Warranty & post-sale work
Track warranty or post-sale support costs against the original job, so a project's true bottom line stays true, long after close.
Customer deposits
Money taken before a job's done is parked as unearned revenue and recognized at close, never counted as profit too early.
Built for the trades, and any business that works job by job
- Contractors
- Handyman
- Plumbers
- Electricians
- Carpenters
- HVAC
- Painters
- Roofers
- Landscapers
- Remodelers
- Cleaning crews
- Movers & haulers
- Freelancers & consultants
Learn the mechanics, software aside
These guides explain the accounting itself. They are useful whether or not you ever open WIPKeep.
Spend your evenings on the job,
not the books.
Real books you approve, with job costing built in and safety nets that catch trouble before it lands.
You approve every entry: nothing posts without you.
Start free: 25 AI prompts, no card. Paid plans start a 15-day trial that does require a card, cancel online anytime.