# Trade Business Reporting That Lands on Your Phone Before the First Job on Monday > Trade business reporting and job costing for tradies. A weekly summary on your phone of quotes, jobs, margins and invoices, pulled from your software. Canonical page (authoritative, may be newer than this text): https://www.ential.com/trade-business-reporting --- You shouldn't need to log into 3 systems on a Sunday night to know how the week went. Ential sets up trade business reporting from your job management and accounting software. It pulls quotes, jobs, invoices and costs into a short weekly summary with job costing on every finished job. You can text it a question at any time. Quotes sent, won and lost, plus jobs completed Job margins checked against the original estimate Text a question and get an answer from your own records Learn more See it on a real job Works with the tools you already run s simPRO S ServiceM8 J Jobber T Tradify A AroFlo X Xero M MYOB Q QuickBooks Illustrative example. Yours is built on your rates, your wording and your approval points. ## You Find Out How the Quarter Went When the BAS Is Due The numbers exist. They are spread across your job software, Xero and a spreadsheet the office updates when it can. By the time someone pulls them together, the jobs that went over are long finished. ### Job Costing Happens Too Late Labour and materials are only checked against the estimate at the end of the quarter, if they are checked at all. ### Nobody Knows Which Quotes Were Won You know you send plenty of quotes. You don't know how many you win, lose or never hear back on. ### Reports Need Someone to Build Them A clear picture means somebody exporting from 2 or 3 systems and stitching it together in a spreadsheet. ### Questions Wait Until You're at a Desk You think of a question on site. By the time you're back in the office, it has gone. ## How the Weekly Report Comes Together Step 1 ### Connect the Systems You Already Use We read jobs, quotes, timesheets and costs from your job management software, and invoices from Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks. Step 2 ### Agree What You Want to See We set the measures with you: quotes sent, won and lost, jobs completed, invoices outstanding, margin against estimate, crew utilisation and reviews requested. Step 3 ### Send the Summary to Your Phone A short weekly summary arrives by text or email at the time you choose, with links back to the jobs behind each figure. Step 4 ### Answer Questions by Text Text a question like “which jobs went over this month?” and get an answer drawn from your own records, with anything uncertain flagged. ## What You Know Every Week Without Asking ### You See Which Quotes Turned into Work Quotes sent, won, lost and still waiting, broken down by job type and by whoever quoted them. ### Overruns Surface While You Can Still Act Jobs running over estimate on labour or materials are flagged during the week, not at the end of the quarter. ### Every Job Shows Its Real Margin Actual labour and materials are compared with the original estimate for each completed job. ### Overdue Invoices Listed Every Week Outstanding and overdue invoices are listed with the customer and due date, straight from your accounting software. ### You Know Where Crew Hours Went Crew utilisation shows booked time, travel and unbilled hours by person, from the timesheets you already keep. ### Finished Jobs Without a Review Request Get Flagged Completed jobs are checked for a review request, so the summary shows any happy customer who was never asked. ## Set Up for Your Trade [Roofers](/industries/roofers) [Painters](/industries/painters) [Builders](/industries/builders) [Plumbers](/industries/plumbers) [Electricians](/industries/electricians) [Pool Care Businesses](/industries/pool-care) [Cleaning Services](/industries/cleaning-services) [Pest Control Businesses](/industries/pest-control) [Carpenters](/industries/carpenters) [Handyman Services](/industries/handyman-services) [Mechanics](/industries/mechanics) [Fencing Contractors](/industries/fencing) [Landscapers](/industries/landscaping) [Air Conditioning Businesses](/industries/air-conditioning) [Solar Panel Installers](/industries/solar-panel-installers) [Lawn and Garden Care](/industries/lawn-and-garden-care) [Pressure Cleaning Businesses](/industries/pressure-cleaning) [Window Cleaning Businesses](/industries/window-cleaning) [Carpet Cleaning Businesses](/industries/carpet-cleaning) [Asbestos Removal Businesses](/industries/asbestos-removal) [Renovation Businesses](/industries/renovations) [Tiling Businesses](/industries/tilers) [Concreting Businesses](/industries/concreters) [Skip Bin Businesses](/industries/skip-bins) [Earthmoving Contractors](/industries/earthmoving) [Locksmiths](/industries/locksmiths) [Glaziers](/industries/glaziers) ## Owner Reporting FAQs ### What is job costing for tradies? Job costing means comparing what a job actually cost in labour and materials with what you estimated. This workflow does it for every completed job, using timesheets and supplier costs from your existing systems, so overruns show while they still matter. ### Can I text a question about the business from site? Yes. Text something like “which jobs went over this month?” or “which invoices are overdue?” and you get an answer drawn from your own data. If the records are incomplete, the answer says so instead of guessing. ### Do I need a new tradie business dashboard? No. The summary comes to your phone by text or email, and it reads from the job management and accounting software you already run. A dashboard can be added later if you want a single screen to check. ### Who can see the financial numbers? Only the people you choose. The owner might get the full summary while a supervisor sees crew and job numbers only. Access follows the permissions you approve. ### Does it work with ServiceM8, simPRO, Jobber or Tradify? We connect to the tools you already run, including ServiceM8, simPRO, Jobber, Tradify, AroFlo, Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks. During the audit we confirm what each system lets us read for your account, before we build anything. ## More Jobs to Hand Over [AI ReceptionistEntial sets up an AI receptionist for trade businesses across Australia.](/ai-receptionist-for-tradies) [AI QuotingTalk the job through as you leave site and a draft quote comes back to your phone to check.](/ai-quoting-for-tradies) [Quote Follow-upA quote with no reply can still turn into a job.](/quote-follow-up-automation) [Job SchedulingRain on Thursday means outdoor jobs to move, customers to tell and a crew to reshuffle before 7 am.](/job-scheduling-automation) ## You Approve Anything a Customer Sees Tell us how the business runs today and we'll show you what to hand over first. These controls are agreed in writing before anything is switched on. Reports read your systems and never change a record in them Figures come straight from your own records, with gaps flagged rather than filled You choose who receives the summary and what each person can ask about Financial data stays inside the systems and access you approve Any action a report points to, such as chasing an invoice, waits for your approval First name Last name Email Mobile Business name What software do you use in the business? Pick all that apply. simPRO ServiceM8 Jobber Tradify AroFlo Xero MYOB QuickBooks Fergus Buildxact Google Calendar Spreadsheets or paper Something else Which AI tools have you used? Pick all that apply. ChatGPT Claude Gemini Microsoft Copilot Grok Perplexity None yet How are you using AI in the business today? Not yet Trying it for myself Using it for a few tasks Built into how we work What would you hand over first? 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