How to Know If You Are On Track With Jobs

Recently I wrote a blog on “What is the point of software”, and in there I had 4 main points (one specifically about how to track your jobs):

1. To know your numbers
2. Streamline workflows and operations
3. Get info out of the owner’s head, and into systems and processes
4. Know where you’re going right, and where you’re going wrong

Since then I’ve been writing a deep dive into each of those.

How to know if you’re on track

Today, I’m doing a deep dive into the 4th point: How to know if you are on track with jobs. 

Aka, how to know when you go right, and when you go wrong.

It goes without being said this is super important. 

If you’ve ever run dry on cash in the bank and didn’t know what to change to fix it, you know what I mean. Not knowing is like driving blind. If you don’t know when you go wrong or when you go right, you have no feedback loop. You kind of just continue doing the status quo, nothing ever changes.

If this is how you operate, the first warning sign is when cash flow starts drying up and your checking account empties.

That’s a seriously tough spot to be in. 

We want to build in warning signs long before that. We want to know in real time when things go sideways.

When things do go sideways, you could dig into your P&L. There’s a lot a P&L can do for you, but it can’t tell you where the leak is in most cases. It won’t tell you what you need to do differently. (Ok, well, unless you’re blowing cash on toys, a P&L will tell you that 😜)

But that’s usually not the case.

Usually, you’re getting up before the sun, working hard all week, and you just need this to work out. Need that reward. You don’t want to waste your sweat on the ground to just break even.

What you really need to know is much deeper than the P&L. You need to know not only which job went off the rails, you need to know what part of the job went sideways. And you need to know it in real-time, so you can react and respond!

The way to cast light on all this is to know. 

To know means to track

To track means to clock in/out on every job. To track all materials (yep, even that couple tons of stone you grab from your pile at the shop, that generated no receipt).

Said more simply – track all time and expenses.

It’s the only way you’ll know. The only way to cast light.

But tracking is hard isn’t it?

Well… yes, it can be, if you do it all manually. But it doesn’t have to be manual. It can be one smooth seamless experience if you use SynkedUP. (shameless plug 😎)

But back to the principle, I’m talking about.