Money Flow

Walk the Job: Money Flow

This walkthrough follows only the money on one job, from approved proposal to job costing report: the deposit, progress billing, vendor bills and the numbers that tell you where you stand. It runs on a companion job to Willow House, built to follow only the money.

Billing and costing are one system. The same budget lines drive the proposal, the invoices, the bills and the report. If a line is wrong at the start, it is wrong everywhere.

Walk it with Melissa Moore
Certified JobTread Implementation Partner

Customer names, prices and dates on this job are samples.

What this job will teach you

How the approved proposal sets every number that follows
How to bill a deposit and progress invoices against budget lines
How to code vendor bills and catch an overrun before it is paid
How to read the job costing report and cash flow

Who this is for

Contractors who want to see how JobTread connects the proposal, invoices, vendor bills and reports on one job.

Each step tells you where to go in JobTread, what you are looking at, what to do, and who acts next. Screenshots enlarge when you tap them.

Start here

Open the job Dashboard and confirm the approved price and margin.

Then follow the money in order, from the deposit to the report. All figures are samples shown for contractor teaching.

1Step 1

The approved proposal sets the baseline

JobTread: Dashboard

Every invoice, bill and report measures against the approved proposal. Check the baseline first and every later number holds.

Job Dashboard showing approved price, collected and projected profit and margin — Contractor viewDashboard. Marker 1: approved price. Marker 2: collected. Marker 3: projected profit and margin.

Approved price$180,000

Cost to complete$110,600

Projected margin30%

Collected$0

Collected is $0 because nothing is billed yet.

What the contractor does next

Open the job Dashboard.
Confirm the approved price matches the signed proposal.
Confirm projected margin matches your target before you bill anything.

Before you move forward

Approved price is $180,000 and projected margin is 30%.

2Step 2

Bill the deposit against the budget

JobTread: Documents

A $54,000 invoice for 30% of the contract. It bills 0.3 of every budget line, so the invoice ties to the budget.

Deposit invoice GSC-042-1 with subject, line description and Send button — Contractor viewDocuments, Deposit GSC-042-1. Markers: 1 document, 2 subject, 3 line with description, 4 Send.

What the contractor does next

Click + Document, choose Customer Invoice, and pick the Deposit template.
Bill the deposit percentage against each budget line.
Write a subject that tells the customer what the invoice covers.
Review the total, then click Send.

Before you move forward

The deposit totals $54,000 and every line shows a 0.3 quantity.

Melissa’s implementation noteI bill deposits across every line, not as one lump sum. It keeps percent billed honest on each line later. Wording comes from the line item description, so fix it in the budget and the invoice follows.

About this jobThe invoices and one vendor bill on this job are drafts. Nothing was sent to a customer or collected.

3Step 3

Progress invoices bill the period only

JobTread: Documents

Each progress invoice bills only what happened in the period, and states prior billing so the customer can follow the math.

Progress invoice GSC-042-2 with prior billing in the line description — Contractor viewDocuments, Progress Invoice GSC-042-2. Markers: 1 subject, 2 line description with prior billing, 3 Send, 4 Record Payment.

Invoice	Covers	Amount	Cumulative	% billed
Deposit	30% of every line	$54,000	$54,000	30%
Progress 1	Demo and rough-in	$29,900	$83,900	47%
Progress 2	Drywall, substrate, cabinets, flooring	$27,900	$111,800	62%

What the contractor does next

Create a Progress Invoice from the Customer Invoice menu.
Enter only this period’s quantity on each line.
State prior billing in the line description.
Send once the work is verified on site.

Before you move forward

No budget line is billed past 100% across all invoices.

4Step 4

Code every vendor bill to a budget line

JobTread: Documents and Cost Inbox

Bills are how cost reaches the job. A bill that links to a budget line and carries a cost code lands in the right place on every report.

Documents list showing customer invoices and vendor bills with totals — Contractor viewDocuments. Markers: 1 customer invoices total, 2 vendor bills total, 3 paid bill, 4 draft bill.

Bill	Vendor	Cost code	Amount
GSC-042-4	Willow Site Services	Jobsite Setup 0100 ($2,800) and Site Prep / Demo 0305 ($4,200)	$7,000
GSC-042-5	Willow Finish Carpentry	Framing Labor	$8,400
GSC-042-6	Willow Electrical	Electrical	$8,200

What the contractor does next

Open the bill from the Cost Inbox, or create a Vendor Bill.
Match each line to a budget line, then confirm cost code and cost type.
Approve the bill, and record payment when it is paid.

Before you move forward

Every bill line links to a budget line and carries a cost code.

5Step 5

Catch the overrun while the bill is a draft

JobTread: Documents

The electrical subcontractor bill comes in over its budget line. It is still a draft, so the contractor decides before it is paid.

Draft electrical bill GSC-042-6 linked to its budget line with Approve for Payment — Contractor viewDocuments, Bill GSC-042-6. Markers: 1 vendor, 2 line linked to budget, 3 Approve for Payment, 4 total.

Budget cost$7,000

Bill$8,200

Variance$1,200 over (17%)

What the contractor does next

Open the draft bill and compare it to the budget line.
Decide: approve and absorb the cost, request a credit, or price the change for the customer.
Click Approve for Payment only after the decision is made.

Before you move forward

Every draft bill over its budget line has a documented decision.

Melissa’s implementation noteA draft bill is the cheapest place to find an overrun. After it is paid, it is just history.

6Step 6

Review the QuickBooks sync before it runs

JobTread: Settings, QuickBooks integration

JobTread invoices become QuickBooks invoices, and JobTread bills become QuickBooks bills. A short setup check keeps the books clean.

Integration settings: cost codes mapped, push customer invoices, push vendor bills, created after date — Contractor viewIntegration settings. Markers: 1 cost codes imported and mapped, 2 push Customer Invoices, 3 push Vendor Bills, 4 Created After date.

Check	Why it matters
Customer names match	A mismatch creates a duplicate customer in QuickBooks.
Each cost code maps to a QuickBooks product or service	Bills land in the right expense account and your reports stay clean.
Invoice lines map to income accounts	Revenue reports in QuickBooks match the budget structure.
Document settings are set	Each document carries its own QuickBooks account, class and tax code.
Sync one document first	Review it in QuickBooks before you sync the rest.

What the contractor does next

Open QuickBooks and the JobTread integration side by side.
Run the five checks above.
Sync the deposit invoice only, then review it in QuickBooks.
Sync the rest once that one reads correctly.

Before you move forward

The first synced document matches in both systems.

About this jobNo QuickBooks sync is shown on this job. This step shows the review you run before syncing.

7Step 7

Read the job costing report

JobTread: Reports

The report ties it together: what you planned, what you spent, and what is still to invoice.

Job costing report with budget, actuals, cash flow and to be invoiced — Contractor viewReports. Markers: 1 budget, 2 actuals, 3 cash flow, 4 to be invoiced.

Budget cost$126,000

Actual cost$15,400

Still to invoice$180,000

Cash flow-$15,400

Cash flow is negative because vendors are paid and nothing is collected. Send the deposit before the first vendor bill is paid.

What the contractor does next

Open Reports and read the Financial Summary.
Compare Budget and Projected. Any variance needs an explanation.
Check Cash Flow. A negative number means billing is behind spending.

Before you move forward

You can explain budget, actuals and cash flow in one sentence each.

Resources

The walkthrough guide teaches the contractor workflow. This walkthrough is contractor-only, because customers see invoices, not budgets or vendor bills.

Open the Walkthrough Guide

How this applies to your business

On every job, run these checks in this order. They work for any contractor, whatever you build.

Control	Where	The question
Baseline	Dashboard	Does approved price and margin match the signed proposal?
Deposit	Documents	Is the deposit billed per line and sent before work starts?
Progress	Documents	Does any line bill past 100% across all invoices?
Bill coding	Documents	Does every bill line carry a budget line and cost code?
Variance	Draft bills	Is every overrun decided before payment?
Sync	Integration	Did the first document match in QuickBooks?
Cash flow	Reports	Is billing ahead of spending?

Keep walking

More jobs to walk

See every Walk the Job lesson →

Hawthorne ResidenceThe Homeowner ExperienceListen to the walkthrough, follow the handout, then explore the portal.
Walk this job →Briarwood Kitchen + BathBuild the Job. Connect the Steps.Follow one cabinet decision from selection to schedule.
Walk this job →Willow House RemodelManage the Job as Work Happens.An occupied home, concealed damage and an electrician’s invoice that needs review.
Walk this job →

Let’s build a JobTread workflow your business can actually run.

Request a consultation

Melissa Moore, Certified JobTread Implementation Partner