Glossary
Job / Project
A specific job or project delivered to a client, with traceable costs and revenue.
What is a job (commessa)?
A job (or project) is work performed for a specific client. In a manufacturing company, it's a production batch with defined specifications, quantities, and timelines. In a service company, it's a project with an agreed scope and budget.
Why is job-level management important?
Managing by job means tracking costs and revenue for every individual piece of work:
- Raw materials consumed
- Labor hours used
- Allocated indirect costs
- Price invoiced to the client
This makes it possible to calculate the margin on each job and answer the most important question: am I making or losing money on this work?
The problem with untracked jobs
Without a job tracking system, the company only knows the overall result at year-end. It doesn't know which clients are profitable, which products generate margin, and which destroy it — as in the case of the client that was losing money.
How to calculate the cost of a job?
The product cost calculation guide describes the complete method. In summary: add up direct costs (materials + hours) and allocate a share of indirect costs proportional to resource consumption. The result is the full cost of the job.