COST TRACKING

Labor Productivity & Crew Cost Tracker

9 min read · Template referenced below

Knowing total labor cost after the job is done doesn't help you fix a problem mid-project. Tracking productivity per task while work is happening does.

Set up the core columns.
Task, Crew Size, Hours Worked, Units Completed (e.g. linear feet, square feet), Budgeted Hours, Hourly Rate.

Calculate total labor cost.
=CrewSize*HoursWorked*HourlyRate gives the actual labor cost for that task.

Calculate productivity rate.
=UnitsCompleted/HoursWorked shows units produced per labor hour — the number that actually tells you if a crew is on pace, not just busy.

Flag hour overruns.
=HoursWorked-BudgetedHours — a positive number means the task is running over its labor budget; conditional formatting (red for positive, green for negative or zero) makes this visible at a glance.

Roll up total crew cost for the week.
=SUM(LaborCostColumn) at the bottom of the sheet gives a running weekly or per-phase labor total without needing a separate payroll summary.

Track productivity rate over multiple weeks for the same task type (e.g. "drywall hang, sq ft/hour") — this builds your own historical benchmark for future estimating, which is usually more accurate than published industry averages for your specific crews.

This turns labor tracking from a payroll afterthought into a live signal for whether a phase of work needs more crew, a schedule adjustment, or a hard conversation before it becomes a budget problem.

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