Project Management in
Business Central
Budgets, timesheets, costs and progress billing on every job — so you know whether a project made money while it is still running.
Know the margin before the job ends
Spreadsheet job costing always arrives too late. In Business Central, every timesheet line, purchase and material issue posts to the job the day it happens, and budget vs actual updates immediately.
Progress billing, retention and work-in-progress recognition are handled in the ledger, so your accountant and your project manager finally look at the same numbers.
- Budget vs actual by task, updated daily
- Timesheets and purchases posted straight to the job
- WIP, retention and progress invoices in the ledger
Job costing your accountant trusts
For contractors, fit-out firms, engineering, IT and consulting teams that bill by project.
Job setup & tasks
Break a job into phases and tasks, each with its own budget for labour, materials and subcontractors.
Timesheets
Staff enter hours against a job and task weekly; approved lines post cost and billable value automatically.
Budget vs actual
See committed, incurred and remaining budget at any moment — catch overruns while you can still act.
Progress billing
Invoice by milestone, percentage of completion or time and materials, with retention handled correctly.
WIP & revenue recognition
Automatic WIP calculation and posting so unbilled work appears properly on the balance sheet.
Resource planning
Plan people and equipment across jobs, see who is over-committed, and quote realistic delivery dates.
Subcontractors & purchases
Purchase orders and subcontractor invoices link to the job, so committed cost is visible before it is paid.
Job scheduling
Planned start and end dates per task, with a clear view of what is late and what is coming next.
Project profitability
Margin by job, customer, project manager and job type — learn which work is worth quoting for again.
Fewer surprises at handover
Copilot and Bizspoke agents watch the numbers between your monthly reviews.
Overrun alerts
Flags jobs trending past budget before the milestone is reached.
Timesheet chasing
Reminds staff of missing hours so costs aren't posted late.
Quote from history
Suggests budgets based on similar completed jobs.
Copilot queries
Ask which jobs have unbilled work older than 60 days.
Questions SMEs ask us
Straight answers about job costing in Business Central.
Is this suitable for construction and fit-out contractors?
Yes — phased budgets, subcontractor commitments, progress claims and retention are all supported. For heavy construction with complex variation-order workflows we may add a specialised extension, and we will tell you up front if that is the case.
Can staff fill in timesheets from their phone?
Yes. Timesheets work in the mobile browser or app, with weekly entry and manager approval. Approved lines post cost to the job immediately, so your work-in-progress figure is current rather than a month behind.
How does it handle work-in-progress at month end?
Business Central calculates and posts WIP using the method you choose — cost value, sales value or percentage of completion — so unbilled work shows correctly on the balance sheet and your auditor has a clear trail.
Can we still use our own project plan in Excel or Project?
You can — many clients plan in their existing tool and use Business Central for budgets, costs and billing. Where it helps, we import the task structure so planned and actual figures line up without double entry.
Want to see this module running on your own data?
Talk to our consultants — we'll walk you through a live demo.
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