Cost, budget & profitability

How to know if a facade project is actually profitable

Facade profit is a trajectory of actual hours, material, finishing, freight, and install — not a standard-cost variance on a catalog part. Spectr keeps those actuals on the project so you can see the job while you can still change the shop sequence.

See this on your jobs Cost against the job

Key facts

You have never made that panel before. Standard cost is a guess dressed as accounting.
Last-trade overtime and rush freight often kill a job that “looked fine” in fabrication.
Spectr’s planning is project- and phase-driven, not forecast-driven finished goods.
Controllers and PMs should see the same story, fed from the shop and field.

How shops handle this

Name the budget on the project
Not a tab named after the GC’s job number in three workbooks.
Attach labour as it happens
Machine time, crate hours, and field tasks.
Include finish and freight
Anodize and a second truck are not “misc.”
Look weekly, not at punch list
ETO profit is a trend you manage.

Common questions

We only fabricate; a GC installs.

You still have shop hours, material, and freight. Those are enough to lie if they sit off-system.

Is this the same as WIP in a generic ERP?

Same cousin. Facade shops need product-level actuals, not a work-order leftover.

Experience how Spectr could fit in your shop

From the jobs you're quoting now to the installs you're managing next month — we'll walk through your actual work, not a canned tour.

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