Obra for Drywall contractors

Drywall job costing, from hang to final sand

Track each drywall job as its own project: board, mud, lifts, dump fees and separate hang and finish labor. Know which jobs made money and which crews are fast.

Drywall is a labor business with a material bill attached. The board is delivered, the crew hangs it in two days, and then the finishers spend a week on mud and sanding. Whether the job made money comes down to days: how many the hangers took, how many the finishers took, and how many you spent going back for other trades' holes.

Obra keeps each job as its own project, with hang and finish labor on separate lines, so you see where the days went while the job is still open.

Hang and finish, apart

Give the hangers and the finishers their own labor codes. After a few jobs you'll know which crew is fast, which one is slow, and what a level 4 finish really costs you per square foot. The cost code guide has a short list you can copy.

The extra pass

Level 5 after the paint sample, patches after the plumber, a return trip because the framing wasn't ready. Each one is a change order, written the day it comes up, with a price. The change order guide keeps the wording short enough to send from your phone.

Receipts from the yard

The supply yard, the lift rental, the dump. Your crew lead photographs each receipt and sends it by WhatsApp. Obra reads it, drafts the expense, and you confirm which job it belongs to. The receipt tracking guide shows the habit.

Which jobs paid

When the last check clears, the job's page shows the contract, total cost and margin. Compare your new-build jobs against your remodels and your commercial work. The profit margins by trade guide has the published benchmarks for specialty trades so you know whether yours is high or low.

What Obra isn't for a drywall contractor

Not takeoff software, not scheduling, not payroll. Obra is the money on each job, in English and Spanish, from receipts your crew already sends, exported clean to the accountant.

Sample budget

Hang, tape and finish, 2,100 sq ft new build, level 4, Oak Hollow

Line item Budget
Drywall board, 5/8 and 1/2 $3,400
Mud, tape, corner bead, screws $700
Lift and scaffold rental $350
Dump fees $200
Crew labor, hang $3,200
Crew labor, tape, finish and sand $3,800
Direct cost budget $11,650
Contract value $15,400
Gross margin budgeted $3,750

Illustrative figures in US dollars for a fictional project; use them to see the shape of the budget, not to price a job.

The cost codes this trade actually uses

  • 01 Drywall board
  • 02 Mud, tape and corner bead
  • 03 Fasteners and adhesives
  • 04 Insulation (when included)
  • 05 Lift and scaffold rentals
  • 06 Dump fees
  • 07 Crew labor, hang
  • 08 Crew labor, tape and finish
  • 09 Crew labor, texture and sanding
  • 10 Vehicle and fuel

The change orders that eat the margin

Level 5 after the paint sample
The bid said level 4. The designer picks a dark, flat paint and now every wall needs a skim coat. That's an extra pass on the whole house, priced as a change order before the first coat of mud.
The framing that wasn't ready
Your crew shows up and the studs are bowed, the blocking is missing, and the electrician is still pulling wire. A day of shimming and a return trip are costs the bid never had. Record them the day they happen.
Patches after the other trades
The finish is done and the plumber cuts three holes for a shower valve. Patching and refinishing is billable work if it's written up the day the holes appear, not a favor absorbed at closeout.

Questions people ask

I bid per board or per square foot. Does that matter to Obra?
No. Enter the total contract and a short budget. Obra tracks what the job cost against that number. Over a few jobs you'll know your real cost per board, which makes the next bid sharper.
Can I keep hang labor and finish labor separate?
Yes. Two cost codes, two labor lines. The job's page shows each one against its budget, so you can tell whether the hangers or the finishers are where the days go.
Is Obra for small repair calls?
No. Obra is for jobs with a contract and a budget: new builds, remodels, commercial fit-outs, whole-house finishes. A patch-repair route needs a scheduling and invoicing tool.
Can my hanger send the supply yard receipt from the truck?
Yes. A photo by WhatsApp, email or the app, in English or Spanish. They never see the job's numbers. You confirm it to the right job in a few seconds.
Free download

Not ready for an app? Start with our free Excel template.

A ready-made spreadsheet to track costs and income per project — with categories and the totals already set up.

The download starts right away. We'll also follow up by email with more job-costing help — no spam, unsubscribe anytime.