SYSPRO Job Costing Worksheet: Estimated vs Actual per Job
Job costing in SYSPRO tells you what each manufactured job really cost against what the bill of materials and routing said it should. This worksheet lets you key the numbers for a batch of jobs, see the variance in Rand and percent, and export a clean sheet for the month-end review.
| Job | Stock code | Estimated material | Actual material | Estimated labour hours | Actual labour hours | Labour rate per hour | Estimated cost | Actual cost | Variance | Variance % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
R 31,520 | R 34,410 | R 2,890 | 9.2% | ||||||||
R 16,640 | R 15,770 | -R 870 | -5.2% | ||||||||
R 11,120 | R 13,315 | R 2,195 | 19.7% | ||||||||
R 51,000 | R 50,340 | -R 660 | -1.3% | ||||||||
R 7,050 | R 8,170 | R 1,120 | 15.9% |
Copy the estimated and actual figures from your SYSPRO WIP job reports. Use a blended labour rate that already includes your overhead recovery if you want fully absorbed cost.
Automate job cost variance from SYSPRO
Optional: we can review your job costing setup and show how a read-only report could replace the monthly spreadsheet.
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How to use the worksheet
Add one row per job. Enter estimated material and actual material issued to the job, then estimated and actual labour hours and the labour rate per hour. The sheet computes estimated cost, actual cost, variance and variance percent for every row, and totals the lot. Pull the inputs from your SYSPRO job cost reports, or from a query on the WIP tables if you have database access. Sort by variance to find the jobs that need a closer look first.
- Use one blended labour rate per work centre, or a rate per row
- Positive variance means actual cost exceeded estimate
- Add a row per job, not per operation, for a quick review
The method behind the numbers
Estimated cost is estimated material plus estimated hours times rate. Actual cost is actual material plus actual hours times rate. Variance is actual minus estimate, and variance percent divides that by the estimate. In SYSPRO the estimate comes from the bill of materials and routing at the time the job was created, so a stale BOM or routing is the most common reason variances look large. Standard costing differences and overhead absorption are not modelled here, so treat the result as a direct cost view.
Reading the result
A small positive variance across many jobs usually points to an outdated standard, such as scrap factors or routing times that no longer match the floor. A few large variances usually point to specific events: a rework, a price change on a purchased component, or material issued to the wrong job. Compare material variance and labour variance separately before drawing conclusions, because they have different owners in most plants.
Common mistakes
Mixing jobs that are still open with jobs that are complete gives misleading variances, because open jobs have not yet absorbed all their cost. Review completed jobs only, or flag open ones. Another frequent mistake is comparing against a current-cost estimate when the job was created at an older cost. Finally, remember that scrap and by-product receipts can reduce or shift cost, so check how your company treats them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this replace the SYSPRO job cost reports?
No. It is a review and communication aid. Your SYSPRO reports remain the source of record. The worksheet helps you compare jobs side by side, apply a consistent labour rate, and export a tidy summary for management without rebuilding a spreadsheet each month.
Can I include overhead in the labour rate?
Yes. Enter a fully absorbed rate per hour that already includes your overhead recovery, and the estimated and actual costs will include it. Use the same rate for estimate and actual so the variance reflects hours and material rather than rate differences.
Why is my variance percent zero?
The percentage divides by estimated cost. If estimated material and labour are both zero for a row, the sheet shows zero instead of an undefined number. Enter an estimate for the row and the percentage will appear.
Does it work for other ERPs?
Yes. Nothing in the calculation is specific to SYSPRO. Any ERP that gives you estimated and actual material and labour per job can feed it, which makes it handy when you compare plants on different systems.
If you want this variance view produced automatically from your SYSPRO data every week, Netray can build a read-only reporting layer over your SQL Server database.
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