Control cost carry-over from estimates to invoices to keep job costing accurate
This enhancement gives you control over whether a line item's cost carries from an estimate to the invoice when the estimate is sold, so inventory items already captured on a purchase order are not counted twice in job costing.
Available inCore
Feature type
Enhancement
Industry
All business types
Roles
AdministratorsAccountants and BookkeepersManagers
Region
All regions
What's changing
Before this enhancement, ServiceTitan carried the cost of every estimate line item to the invoice when the estimate was sold. For inventory items procured through a Requisition or purchase order (PO), that cost was captured twice: once at procurement and again through the estimate. This inflated job costs and distorted budget versus actuals (BvA). Now you can set an Exclude Estimated Cost from Invoice flag on individual Pricebook items, so the item's price still carries to the invoice while its cost does not.
Workflow comparison — before & after
← Before
✓ After
1.You add an inventory material to an estimate.
1.You turn on Exclude Estimated Cost from Invoice for the Pricebook material, equipment, or other direct cost item.
2.A Requisition or purchase order (PO) captures that material's cost when it is procured.
2.You add that item to an estimate and sell it.
3.You sell the estimate and ServiceTitan carries the material's cost to the invoice.
3.ServiceTitan carries the item's price to the invoice and sets its cost to zero.
4.The same cost now appears twice in job costing.
4.Job costing reflects the cost from the Requisition or purchase order (PO) only.
⚠ Job costs are inflated and budget versus actuals (BvA) is distorted for procured items. Try the current workflow in your account.
✓ Job costs and budget versus actuals (BvA) stay accurate for procured items. Test the changes in the NEXT environment.
Resources
How it works for your industry
Residential Service and Replacement
- A shop stocks common repair parts and procures them through purchase orders (PO); excluding estimated cost keeps replacement job margins accurate.
- An estimate for a water heater swap includes an inventory unit already on a PO, so only the PO cost counts toward the job.
- A manager reviewing daily job profitability sees costs that match procurement records.
Commercial Service and Replacement
- A large rooftop unit (RTU) replacement pulls equipment from inventory captured on a purchase order (PO), so cost is counted once.
- Recurring maintenance agreements that draw stocked parts show accurate cost on each billed invoice.
- Controllers reviewing budget versus actuals (BvA) across many sites see figures that reconcile with inventory.
Residential Construction
- A builder procures fixtures for a home through purchase orders (PO) and excludes their estimated cost so project costing is not doubled.
- A multi-phase job that sells estimates in stages keeps cost aligned to actual procurement in each phase.
- Job-cost reports used for owner draws reflect true material spend.
Commercial Construction
- A general contractor stages materials for a project via Requisitions and sees cost counted only at procurement.
- Change orders sold as estimates carry price to the invoice without re-counting material cost.
- Finance teams tracking gross margin per project rely on figures that match the general ledger (GL).
Roofing and Exteriors
- A roofing crew's shingles and underlayment procured on a purchase order (PO) are excluded from estimate cost carry-over so job margin is accurate.
- An exteriors job selling from a stocked estimate reflects material cost from procurement only.
- Owners comparing estimated to actual margin on exteriors work see consistent numbers.
How to prepare
01Identify the Pricebook items whose cost is already captured through Requisitions or purchase orders (PO), such as inventory-tracked materials and equipment.
02Turn on Exclude Estimated Cost from Invoice for those Materials, Equipment, and Other Direct Costs items.
03Confirm your Pricebook import and export files account for the new Exclude Estimated Cost from Invoice column before your next bulk edit.
04Train Accounting and office staff on how the flag affects invoice cost and job costing.
05Bookmark any Knowledge Base articles or Academy videos for team training.