QuickBooks Tip: Discover the useful Source Name in QuickBooks Reports

by Muriel Murray on September 14, 2014

in Job Costing with QuickBooks, QuickBooks for Contractors, QuickBooks Reports

QuickBooks has many hidden goodies that are useful for contractors. I want to teach you all of them.

This time I'm going to try something new: I'm adding QuickBooks screenshots to this post. Let me know in the comments if you find these articles more useful with illustrations.

I'm also working on a free downloadable report on the Top Ten QuickBooks Tips and Tricks for Contractors, and this is one of them.

Many QuickBooks users are confused when they open a report on Job Costs, only to find the Name field is the name of the Customer:Job. As a contractor, you might be more interested in a list of Job Costs for a particular job with Vendor information included.

Here's how I've created a report I use all the time with exactly that information: Job Costs (all except Payroll) listed and totaled by phase/division and with Vendor Name, date, amount, etc.

You start with one of QB's standard reports: Reports > Jobs, Time & Mileage > Job Profitability Detail

Job Profitability Detail report
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Sample QuickBooks Item Lists

by Muriel Murray August 26, 2014 Job Costing with QuickBooks

Looking for examples of QuickBooks Item Lists appropriate for different types of contractors, a reader writes: Could we have some samples of Item lists for various Contractors pertaining to steel building construction, general building construction, construction design, manufacturing architectural custom moldings. Thank you. This is a perfect opportunity for me to plug my course on […]

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Markup on small Time & Materials jobs in QuickBooks

by Muriel Murray August 21, 2014 Job Costing with QuickBooks

Wondering how to handle markup in QuickBooks on small jobs, a reader writes: I am a contractor that does jobs anywhere from 1k to 500k. Small jobs are often billed at a set labor rate with materials which are marked up 15%. I cannot find any easy way to track materials and add a simple % […]

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I’m back, and my QuickBooks job-costing training videos are done!

by Muriel Murray August 15, 2014 Job Costing with QuickBooks

I’ve finally created my awesome training video about how contractors should use Items in QuickBooks. It will teach you a lot about Items, how to make QuickBooks work for YOUR business, and Job Costing. All these things are related, and for contractors they are at the core of what makes QuickBooks so helpful, but also […]

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Where have I been?

by Muriel Murray August 15, 2013 QuickBooks for Contractors

You may have noticed that I haven’t posted in several months. I have not disappeared off the face of the earth, I promise. I’m working on an awesome training video about how contractors should use Items in QuickBooks. It will teach you a lot about Items, how to make QuickBooks work for YOUR business, and […]

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How do I print my company name and address on the QuickBooks Statement?

by Muriel Murray April 16, 2013 QuickBooks Accounting 101

My company name and address prints on the Invoice but not on the Statement. In QuickBooks, the formats for Statements and Invoices (as well as Credit Memos, Sales Receipts, Estimates, and Sales/Work Orders) are managed under Templates (Lists > Templates).  The templates can also be re-formatted by clicking Customize when you are editing an individual Invoice or […]

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(Why) Should I use account numbers in my QuickBooks company file?

by Muriel Murray April 11, 2013 QuickBooks Accounting 101

QuickBooks, unlike some other accounting software, does not require you to assign numbers to your chart of accounts, and doesn’t add them by default. I have no opinion whether your contracting business should use account numbers in QuickBooks. Your CPA may care, however, so check with her/him. If you decide for whatever reason to assign […]

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QuickBooks Items: Is there a benefit to using Non-inventory Part Items in a construction business?

by Muriel Murray March 26, 2013 Job Costing with QuickBooks

A reader asked this question about using QuickBooks Items in his contracting business, and went on to say: “It is counter-intuitive for me to call materials I purchase then resell a “service.” Would I benefit listing the materials purchased as Non-inventory Parts? Would this categorization help me with use tax tracking?”   I’ll talk about […]

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QuickBooks Items: What does “double-sided” Item mean?

by Muriel Murray March 21, 2013 Job Costing with QuickBooks

You won’t find a reference in QuickBooks Help to “double-sided” or “two-sided” Items, but the terminology is common among QB experts and experienced QB users, especially in construction. In brief, it means that an Item is designed for use in Cost of Goods Sold transactions as well as Income transactions; that is, the Item is […]

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