Field Software Margin: Verify Missing Costs

A displayed margin needs a cost coverage map

For one completed job, list estimated labor, approved actual time, employer payroll cost, purchased materials, inventory consumed, subcontractor bills and payment evidence. Each item has its own source and timing. Missing cost cannot be made complete by dividing the known cost across more jobs. A work-order label may repeat across several visits or properties, so the row count is not automatically customer count.

In LMN-style estimating, actual hours above budget can coexist with labor dollars below budget if the rates or staffing mix differ. State the rate assumption before interpreting the variance. For pricing, nonproductive time and employer burden must be recovered on the chosen basis. Do not add the same burden once inside the labor catalog and again through overhead. This is a costing-design question, not proof of a software defect.

Financial evidence in practice

Which costs can be missing from a field-software margin?

Start with the cost population behind the displayed margin. A screen can include estimated labor while omitting employer burden, shop time, purchased materials or booked subcontractors. Prove what is included before calling the number profitable.

Run the check

Read the metric definition and job/status filters.
Separate estimates, actual hours, entered expenses and posted costs.
Tie labor cost to the appropriate paid or productive-hour denominator.
Withhold a full profit conclusion when a required cost population is missing.

Fictional example: Paid, operational and productive labor hours

Fictional $4,800 payroll over 160 paid hours is $30 per paid hour; over 120 operational hours it is $40. With $1,200 allocated overhead and 80 productive hours, the estimating basis is $75 per productive hour. These rates answer different questions. A separate fictional operational budget of 100 hours and $6,000 payroll gives 20% more actual operational hours and 20% lower payroll, with a lower payroll rate on the same operational-hour basis.

Invented teaching inputs; downloadable files store these dollar amounts in USD cents.

Inspect the expected output

{
  "fictional": true,
  "unit": "USD cents",
  "id": "loaded-labor",
  "operationalHoursVariancePct": 20,
  "payrollVariancePct": -20,
  "budgetCostCentsPerOperationalHour": 6000,
  "paidCostCentsPerHour": 3000,
  "operationalCostCentsPerHour": 4000,
  "productiveCostCentsPerHour": 7500,
  "pricingAssumption": "All declared overhead allocated to productive hours; not a payroll wage or observed quote rate",
  "limitation": "This is teaching arithmetic from supplied invented inputs, not source authenticity, financial assurance or authority to post."
}

Input JSON CSV summary Expected output Runnable code

Reproduce this calculation

Download the code and input into one folder, then run:

node reproduce.mjs loaded-labor.input.json

The code checks declared units and identities and refuses unsupported inputs. No browser or customer account is used. Source authenticity and accounting approval require separate evidence.

Primary product references: LMN estimating rate definitions

Reviewed 2026-10-06. Level financial-control guidance, with visibly fictional teaching examples. The example shows a control boundary, not a measured customer outcome or industry benchmark.

Read this content revision history

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More reproducible financial checks

Monthly margin classification and inventory bridge

Fictional $10,000 revenue less $3,000 labor and $2,000 materials gives $5,000 gross profit. Moving labor below gross profit raises displayed gross profit to $8,000 while company profit is unchanged. In a separate scenario, a $1,000 expense for unsold inventory sits outside the $2,000 sold-materials amount. It reduces purchase-period book profit from $5,000 to $4,000; capitalization restores $5,000, with other operating expenses held at zero.

Fictional input Expected output Runnable code

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Sources and method

Field Guide; LMN estimating definitions. Product documentation checked October 6, 2026 where linked. This guide shows how to check whether the numbers are ready to use. The examples use made-up numbers, clearly labeled and available to download. They do not include private customer documents or measured customer results. Before using the method, check that your account has the required access and that your reports count the same things.

A displayed margin needs a cost coverage map

Which costs can be missing from a field-software margin?

Run the check

Fictional example: Paid, operational and productive labor hours

Monthly margin classification and inventory bridge

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Continue with the next decision

Sources and method

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