Your Business Isn’t Unprofitable, Your Jobs Are

Introduction - Business Isn’t Unprofitable

One of the most common statements we hear from construction and engineering business owners is, “The business just isn’t making money.” Margins feel tight, cash flow is under pressure, and year-end results are disappointing.

At Jones Financial Accounts (JFA), we rarely find that the business itself is unprofitable. More often, the problem sits at job level. Profitable jobs are masking loss-making ones, and the overall picture hides where money is actually being made, and where it is being lost.

For engineering and construction businesses, understanding job-level performance is one of the fastest ways to regain control of profit without chasing more revenue.

Company Profit vs Job Profit

Company-level profit and loss reports tell you whether the business made money overall. What they do not tell you is how that result was achieved. When leadership relies solely on company-level figures, loss-making jobs are often hidden by stronger ones.

This creates a dangerous illusion. The business appears viable, but poor-performing work continues unchecked. Over time, margins decline and directors struggle to explain why more work is not leading to more profit.

Breaking profit down by job changes everything. When each job has its own profit profile, patterns emerge. Certain job types, clients, or pricing structures consistently underperform. Once identified, these issues can be addressed directly rather than guessed at.

Non-Productive Time Exposure

One of the biggest killers of job profitability is non-productive time. Travel, rework, waiting for materials, unclear scope, and poor planning all eat into billable hours without being clearly visible.

Most businesses absorb this time into general labour costs, assuming it will “even out.” In reality, it concentrates on certain jobs and teams, quietly destroying margins.

Exposing non-productive time requires accurate timesheets and honest reporting. When time is tracked properly, leadership can see where inefficiencies exist and take action. This might mean better planning, clearer scopes, or pricing adjustments to reflect reality rather than optimism.

Job-Level P&L Insights

A job-level P&L shows income, direct costs, and contribution for each project. This level of insight turns finance into a practical management tool rather than a retrospective report.

With job-level visibility, directors can intervene early. If a job starts drifting off plan, action can be taken before it becomes unprofitable. This could mean renegotiating scope, controlling costs, or stopping work that no longer makes commercial sense.

This approach also improves future pricing. Lessons from completed jobs feed directly into estimates and tenders, reducing the risk of repeating the same mistakes.

For a deeper understanding of performance reporting, see:👉 https://www.jonesfa.co.uk/blog/how-to-read-a-profit-and-loss-report-in-10-minutes

Using Job Data to Drive Action

Job data only creates value when it leads to action. Many businesses collect data but do not use it consistently. Reports are produced, reviewed briefly, and then ignored until the next month.

Effective use of job data requires regular review and clear accountability. Weekly or fortnightly job reviews allow leadership to focus on exceptions rather than averages. The question shifts from “Did we make money?” to “Which jobs are underperforming and why?”

Over time, this discipline transforms the business. Pricing improves, delivery becomes more controlled, and profit stabilises, without increasing workload or headcount.

Practical tools to support job-level analysis are available here:👉 https://www.jonesfa.co.uk/resources

Practical Steps to Regain Job-Level Control

Start by separating company performance from job performance.

Introduce job-level reporting and review it regularly.

Track non-productive time honestly and consistently.

Most importantly, use the information to make decisions.

Stop repeating unprofitable work, refine pricing, and focus on jobs that genuinely contribute to profit. When leadership uses job data actively, the business stops guessing and starts controlling outcomes.

Key Takeaways

• Company profit can hide loss-making jobs

• Non-productive time quietly destroys margins

• Job-level P&L reveals where profit is really made

• Using job data drives better pricing and delivery

If your business feels unprofitable, the problem may not be the company, it may be the jobs you keep repeating.

Wrapping up today's insights, tomorrow we simplify another accounting challenge.