Most of my cost is my own machines. How do I see that per job?

Log fuel, wear parts and repairs to the job they happened on, with their own cost codes. After a season you'll know what your excavator really costs per day and whether your hourly rate covers it.

Some jobs are time and materials. Does Obra handle that?

Enter the estimate as the budget and log costs as they happen. The job's page shows what you've spent, which is what a time-and-materials invoice needs. The cost-plus guide covers the routine.

Does Obra do equipment tracking or GPS?

No. Keep your telematics. Obra is the money on each job: fuel, rock, hauling, rentals and labor against the budget, extras as change orders, and the margin when the last load is dumped.

Can my operator send fuel receipts from the site?

Yes. A photo by WhatsApp, email or the app, in English or Spanish. They never see the job's finances. You confirm it to the right job in a few seconds.

Obra for Excavation contractors

Excavation and site work job costing, from the locate to the last load

Track each site job as its own project: fuel, base rock, hauling, rentals, wear parts and operator hours. Know what each dig made you after the machines are paid.

Start free See the sample budget

Site work is fuel, rock and machine hours. The material comes by the ton and the truckload, the labor is an operator and a laborer for a week, and the biggest cost, the machines themselves, shows up as fuel, wear parts and a repair bill that lands on no job in particular. The margin is decided by what's underground and by how many loads the pad really needed.

Obra keeps each site as its own job, with fuel and wear parts on the job they were burned on, the rock by the ton against the budget, and the underground surprises recorded as change orders, so you know what each dig made you.

Fuel and iron on the job

Give fuel, wear parts and repairs their own cost codes and log them to the job they happened on. After a season you'll know what a day of your excavator really costs, which is the number your hourly rate has to cover. The overhead guide shows how to split what's per-job from what's per-year.

Rock by the ton, loads by the truck

Set up the budget the way you buy: base rock and fill by the ton, hauling by the load, rentals by the day, labor by the day. When the invoices come in, they go against the right line and the job's page shows the gap. The cost code guide has a short list you can copy.

Ledge, the line, the loads

The three change orders below show up on most sites. Price each one the day it comes up, get the client's okay, then record it so the contract moves with the work. The change order guide keeps the wording short.

Time and materials

Some jobs can't be bid fixed. Enter the estimate as the budget, log costs as they happen, and bill from what the job's page shows you've spent. The cost-plus invoicing guide covers the routine that keeps the client from arguing the invoice.

What Obra isn't for an excavation contractor

Not telematics, not dispatch, not a takeoff tool. Obra is the money on each job, in English and Spanish, from receipts your crew already sends, exported clean to the accountant.

Sample budget

Site prep, driveway base and septic trench, 1.5 acres, Maple Street

Line item	Budget
Fuel	$1,400
Base rock and fill, by the ton	$5,200
Hauling and dump fees	$1,800
Equipment rentals, compactor and dozer	$1,600
Utility locates and permit	$250
Erosion control	$500
Operator and laborer, five days	$6,400
Direct cost budget	$17,150
Contract value	$24,600
Gross margin budgeted	$7,450

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 Fuel
02 Base rock, fill and sand
03 Hauling and dump fees
04 Equipment rentals
05 Equipment repairs and wear parts
06 Permits and utility locates
07 Erosion control
08 Operator labor
09 Laborer labor
10 Subcontractors (surveyor, trucking)
11 Vehicle and transport

The change orders that eat the margin

Rock where the plans said dirt: The excavator hits ledge two feet into the septic trench. A hammer attachment, a slower day and extra hauling are a change order, approved before the second day, not a surprise on the final invoice.
The unmarked line: The locate missed an old irrigation main and the bucket found it. Repairing it and the lost half day are billable if the client agrees before you fix it and you record it that afternoon.
The extra loads after the survey: The cut and fill balanced on paper. On site the pad needs forty more loads of fill to reach grade. Price the loads and the compaction, get the okay, then order the trucks.

Questions people ask

Most of my cost is my own machines. How do I see that per job?: Log fuel, wear parts and repairs to the job they happened on, with their own cost codes. After a season you'll know what your excavator really costs per day and whether your hourly rate covers it.
Some jobs are time and materials. Does Obra handle that?: Enter the estimate as the budget and log costs as they happen. The job's page shows what you've spent, which is what a time-and-materials invoice needs. The cost-plus guide covers the routine.
Does Obra do equipment tracking or GPS?: No. Keep your telematics. Obra is the money on each job: fuel, rock, hauling, rentals and labor against the budget, extras as change orders, and the margin when the last load is dumped.
Can my operator send fuel receipts from the site?: Yes. A photo by WhatsApp, email or the app, in English or Spanish. They never see the job's finances. 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.