Job Record
A central record linking all cost, revenue, and operational information for one customer order or project. Connects the accepted quote, purchase orders, works orders, delivery notes, and invoices under a single job reference number.
A job record is the central operational document that links all cost, revenue, and delivery information for a single customer order or project. It connects the accepted quote, purchase orders, works orders, delivery notes, and invoices under one reference number - giving the business a single source of truth for what was sold, what was ordered, what was spent, and what has been invoiced.
In project-based businesses, the job record is the primary tool for tracking margin from the moment a quote is accepted through to the final invoice. Without it, material costs end up unattributed, sub-contractor invoices land in overhead, and labour hours disappear into unallocated time. The job record does not prevent these problems automatically - it creates the structure that makes discipline possible.
What a Job Record Contains
A complete job record holds the information needed to manage the job and close it accurately:
- Job number and customer reference - a unique identifier that appears on every PO, delivery note, and invoice for this job
- Linked accepted quote - the scope and price baseline, locked at acceptance
- Labour estimate - hours by trade or phase, used to compare against actuals
- Purchase orders - one per supplier, each referencing the job number
- Works orders - production or installation instructions linked to this job
- Delivery notes - confirming goods received against each PO
- Invoices - deposit, stage payments, final, and retention where applicable
- Variation records - any scope additions with written approval and pricing
- Actual costs to date - used for mid-job cost review and final margin calculation
The job record is not a status tracker. It is the cost collection mechanism that makes accurate invoicing and honest margin measurement possible.
Why Job Records Are Created Before Work Begins
The job record must be created at the point of quote acceptance - before any supplier is contacted, before any materials are ordered, and before any crew is booked. Creating it after work starts means some costs have already been incurred with no reference to attribute them to.
For promotional merchandise distributors, the job record holds the decoration spec, supplier POs, and proof approval history together - so that a reorder six months later can be quoted and processed from confirmed information rather than guesswork. For electrical contractors, it links van stock drawn for the job, the sub-contractor PO, and the Electrical Installation Certificate that triggers the final invoice. In every case, the job record is the discipline that connects the original quote to the actual outcome.
The financial value is measurable. A business running 20 jobs a month at $5,000 average contract value, with 3 unattributed labour hours per job at $70 burdened rate, absorbs $4,200 per month in costs that never appear in any job margin - costs that inflate overhead and hide the real profitability of each job type.
Create It Before You Order Anything
The job record needs to exist before any purchase order goes out. If materials are ordered without a job number attached, that cost cannot be matched to the job it was bought for. Once the job closes, those costs disappear into overhead - which means the margin figure for this job is wrong, and the pricing decisions for the next similar job are based on incomplete data.
Zigaflow builds job records directly from accepted quotes, so the cost baseline, specification, and customer details are pre-populated at acceptance with no manual re-entry.
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