An Introduction to the Jobs Module in Business Central

If your organisation is considering moving to a cloud-based ERP solution like Dynamics 365 Business Central, or if you’re already using it, you may not yet be familiar with its powerful Jobs module. This module is ideal for teams that require light project management functionality as part of their day-to-day tasks, providing valuable insights into project progress, helping track resources and streamlining the management of employee time and expenses across projects.

What Can the Jobs Module in Dynamics 365 Business Central Do?

The Jobs module includes essential features that simplify project accounting, resource management, performance tracking and more. Below we explore some of the key elements of this module.

Job Planning & Budgeting

Manage both time and material and fixed-price jobs. Set up and monitor project budgets, track tasks and resources, and compare actual costs versus budgeted expenses. Users can also copy budgets from one job to another and set up job-specific price lists for efficient project financials..

Resource Management

Assign resources including staff, equipment or inventory items to specific tasks and track their usage throughout the project. Get an overview of resource capacity with easy access to information on availability and planned job costings ensuring you never over-allocate or underutilise resources.

Time Tracking

Track progress in real-time, including how much time employees have spent on jobs. With a seamless timesheet integration, employees can easily log hours on specific tasks which can be automatically included in job cost calculations.

Cost Management

Easily capture and analyse all costs related to a job or project, from labour and materials to subcontractor expenses and overhead, giving you a true financial snapshot of each project.

Invoicing & Billing

Assign jobs to customers and invoice based on completion or milestones as defined by project agreements. Whether the billing is at job completion or various project stage gates, this flexible invoicing keeps cash flow aligned with project delivery.

Reporting & Analysis

Create customizable Power BI dashboards for detailed reports on job profitability, performance, and resource usage, offering a real-time view of each job’s financial health.

How the Jobs Module is Structured in Dynamics 365 Business Central

In Business Central, the Jobs module is s organised into three key structural levels to facilitate comprehensive job or project management:

Job Card

Each job begins with a job card. Users can define the high-level project or job to be completed. For example, it could be the overall title such as the building name for a construction company or the IT Project if it was an internal digitisation project. The job card also includes some core information about the job such as customer details, job status, budgets, billing methods and estimated start and end dates. This acts as the central hub for managing all aspects of the job or project.

Job Tasks

A level below the job card is the job tasks, which break down the project into individual activities or phases. These are the deliverables required to complete the job card. Job tasks allow for flexible organisation based on the project type—whether sequential, hierarchical, or milestone-based—helping track progress across each stage of the job.

Job Planning Lines

At the next level below job tasks are job planning lines. This is where users specify the resources, items, costs and services required for each task. They enable precise planning by tracking estimated versus actual resource usage, including the staff or equipment assigned to each task, inventory materials allocated to the job and expenses associated with each task such as subcontractor. This detailed planning allows for accurate budgeting and progress tracking at a task level.

Time and Materials vs. Fixed-Price Jobs

The Jobs module supports two main types of project structures:

• Time and Materials: In this approach, the job card displays the total costs associated with a billable amount expected to be invoiced to the customer. This is ideal for projects where costs vary based on actual time and materials used.

• Fixed-Price: For fixed-price jobs, budget lines are established for each task, with a final billable amount set to reflect the phase or project’s completion. This approach works well when the customer pays a set amount upon reaching specific project milestones.

The Jobs module in Dynamics 365 Business Central offers a flexible, integrated approach to project management, empowering organisations to manage projects effectively while controlling costs. This functionality extends across other Business Central and Dynamics 365 modules, creating seamless information flows across finance, supply chain, and project management. This interconnected approach provides users with a comprehensive 360-degree view of job performance, profitability, and financial impact—making it a valuable asset for any project-driven business.

If you would like to learn more about Business Central, get in touch to speak to one of our experts today.

Conor Flanagan, ERP Team Lead Nov 21, 2024