Service Growth Lab · Done-for-you professional services
Your jobs are getting done. Are they making what you expected?
We install a practical, customized way to compare estimated job costs with actual results, flag costly discrepancies and give your team a repeatable weekly review process. Built for established job-based service businesses.
Know the discrepancy. Understand the cause. Make the next decision clearer.
An estimate says what a job should cost. Actual team labor hours, direct supplies, travel, equipment use and changes can tell a different story. We help you install an operating process that makes those differences visible and assigns someone to investigate them, instead of relying on memory or disconnected spreadsheets.
Illustrative example (fictional data): A $1,500 job estimated $825 in direct costs but recorded $1,035. That is an unfavorable $210 direct-cost variance—not $210 of proven recoverable profit. The system helps management investigate what changed and decide whether its estimating assumptions or job-closeout workflow need attention.
Choose the level of control that fits your operation
All installations include a defined scope, hands-on configuration, calculation testing, practical training, documented handoff and limited correction support. Prices are one-time, not subscriptions.
Margin Clarity
See where individual jobs missed expectations. For an operation needing a dependable starting process.
- Review up to 40 completed jobs
- Configure 1 service-category estimating model
- 1 estimate-to-actual dashboard
- Missing-input and exception flags
- Job Margin Findings Report
- Weekly review procedure and 1 live training
- 21-day target after data readiness
- 30 days of correction support (up to 2 hours)
Margin Control
Make job-cost review a consistent management process. For established multi-crew operators.
- Review up to 75 completed jobs
- Configure 2 service-category estimating models
- Enhanced estimate-to-actual dashboard
- Quote guardrails and exception action register
- Weekly management scorecard and findings report
- Documented workflow and 2 live training sessions
- 21-day target after data readiness
- 30 days of correction support (up to 3 hours)
Margin Command
Give leaders defined responsibilities for monitoring job margins. For larger operations with multiple service lines.
- Review up to 120 completed jobs
- Configure 3 service-category estimating models
- Executive dashboard and cross-category summaries
- Expanded exception escalation and action register
- Margin Management Playbook and executive reporting
- 3 live training sessions for up to 5 users
- 30-day target after data readiness
- 45 days of correction support (up to 6 hours)
Each tier covers one company and one location using agreed existing software capabilities or Google Sheets. No new paid software is required for the agreed base scope. Custom integrations, bookkeeping, accounting reconciliation, extensive data cleanup, additional locations and ongoing management are excluded unless separately scoped.
Seven deliverables. Not just another template pack.
1. Job Margin Baseline Report
Historical estimate-versus-actual findings, largest exceptions and missing records requiring review.
2. Custom Quote Guardrails
Customer-approved direct-cost assumptions, margin thresholds and estimate warnings.
3. Job Closeout Capture
A repeatable way for staff to record actual labor and other direct job costs.
4. Margin Control Dashboard
Estimated contribution, actual contribution, cost variances, missing data and exceptions.
5. Exception Action Register
Assign investigations, log causes when established and track management decisions.
6. Management Review Playbook
Clear weekly steps, responsibilities and controls the client team can run independently.
7. Installation Acceptance Report
Evidence of calculation checks, workflow testing, delivered assets and training.
How the installation works
- Free Fit Check: Describe your business, job volume, current estimating process and records—no sensitive job data uploads required.
- Feasibility and scope: We verify the problem, records, existing tools, decision-maker and appropriate package. A deeper $495 paid feasibility review may be offered where justified and may be credited toward an approved installation.
- Written agreement: Receive a tier-specific scope, data/access requirements, acceptance criteria, milestones and payment terms before paying for implementation.
- Remote installation: Historical review, model and dashboard configuration, workflow documentation and calculations testing.
- Training and acceptance: We walk your team through the process, record test outcomes and hand over the agreed materials.
Good fit—or not?
Best fit: An established business with recurring customer jobs and measurable direct costs with usable estimated and actual direct-cost records, a designated decision-maker and a recurring need to review job economics.
Not a good fit: Too few usable records, an already-effective estimate-to-actual process, no willingness to capture direct costs, or requirements for accounting work, complex custom software or unlimited support.
We use an initial fit check before proposing a paid engagement. A customer whose core records cannot support the agreed installation and whose customization has not started is eligible for a full refund under the written readiness condition.
Frequently asked questions
Does this replace Jobber or my CRM?
No. We first check what your existing tools already do. Where practical, we use them or Google Sheets.
Will you guarantee higher profit?
No. We commit to agreed working deliverables and documented tests, not financial outcomes. Job contribution is not net profit.
Do I have to buy before you assess fit?
No. Begin with the free Fit Check. The project is scoped before an implementation payment is requested.
What if our records are incomplete?
We assess whether limited cleanup makes sense. Missing core data may make the engagement unsuitable.
Start with fit—not a sales pitch
See whether your company actually needs this installation.
Tell us about your job-costing process. We'll assess whether the service is appropriate and which tier, if any, addresses the problem.
Request your free Fit CheckNo automatic purchase. No customer records requested in the initial form. A clearly labeled synthetic demo is available by request; no actual customer results are claimed.