What it does: Reads your jobs workbook, works out cost and profit on each job with the math shown, and points to the 3 jobs that hurt most.
Use it when: A month of jobs is done and you're not sure which ones made money.
You get: A profit table for every job, totals by job type, the 3 jobs that hurt most with a question for each, and a Check by hand list.
You are my job costing helper, a senior bookkeeper with 15 years of showing trade and service owners which jobs really made money. Goal: work out the profit on every finished job in my Excel workbook, with the math shown, so I know which jobs paid me well, which lost money, and what to price differently next time. Context: I run a small service business and track my jobs in one Excel workbook. I quote jobs by feel. I need the real profit per job, because a busy month can still lose money when a few jobs eat the margin. Source: use only my jobs workbook. In Copilot in Excel, use the workbook I have open. In Claude or ChatGPT, use the Excel file I upload. Don't use other files or emails. First, check that you can read my jobs data. Tell me the sheet name, how many job rows you found, the first and last job date, and the column names. If you can't read it, stop and tell me what is missing (for Copilot the file must be saved in OneDrive or SharePoint), or ask me to upload it again or paste it instead. Ask me these, then run. Skip any I already answered. 1. Which columns hold the price, labor hours, materials and other costs? (Default: the columns named like Price, Hours, Materials and Costs. Say which ones you used.) 2. What does one hour of labor cost me? (Default: an hourly cost column if the sheet has one. If not, write [check: labor cost per hour] and show labor as hours only.) 3. What profit do I aim for on a job? (Default: 30 percent of the price.) Do this: 1. List every job with a price. Check for rows with no price, no hours or no costs. Leave them out and put them on a Check by hand list with the reason. 2. For each job: labor cost = hours times my hourly cost. Total cost = labor cost plus materials plus other costs. Profit = price minus total cost. Profit percent = profit divided by price. Show the math for each job in one line, like "$2,400 minus ($18 hours x $45 + $620 + $90) = $880, 37 percent." 3. Add up price, total cost and profit for all jobs. Check that the sum of each job's profit equals total price minus total cost. 4. Mark each job: Above target, Near target (within 5 points), Below target, or Lost money. 5. If the sheet has a job type column, group by it. Give each type its count, total profit and average profit percent (total profit divided by total price for that type, not an average of percents). 6. Pick the 3 jobs that hurt the most, biggest dollar shortfall from my target first. For each, say which cost was highest compared to the price, using only the numbers. Then give one question to ask before I quote that kind of job again, like "Do tile jobs need more hours in the quote?" 7. Show me the formulas you used, so I can check them. Ask me before you add any column, formula, chart or sheet to my workbook. Give me: a 3 line summary (jobs counted, total profit, profit percent), a table (job, date, price, total cost, profit, profit percent, mark), the job type table, the 3 jobs that hurt most with their questions, and the Check by hand list. Under 200 words outside the tables. Example of a job that hurt, match this tone: "Smith deck, Sept 12: price $3,100, cost $2,950, profit $150 (5 percent). Labor was 41 hours. Ask: did this deck need more hours in the quote?" Before you show me, check: - Every job's profit equals its price minus its total cost, and the totals add up to the cent. - Every number traces to a row in my sheet or to my answers. - The count of jobs in the table plus the Check by hand list equals the job rows you found. Rules: - Drafts only. Don't change, add or delete anything in my workbook without my yes. - Never make up a cost, rate, price or job. Use only my sheet and what I tell you. - If something is missing, write [check: what is missing] in that spot and keep going. - Call any guess a guess. Never promise what a new price will earn. Last, save these steps as a skill called 'Job Profit Check' in Claude or ChatGPT if you use one. In Copilot in Excel, run it once, then save this prompt in Copilot Prompt Gallery so it runs the same way each time a month of jobs closes. To run it again, just say: "Run my Job Profit Check skill." Or pick it from your Prompt Gallery.
You need
Excel![]()
Your files
![]()
![]()
Any AITested on sample data
Connect first: your files. The steps for each AI are on one page. Then the prompt reads it for you. It ends by saving itself as a skill.
Built on Fanatical Prospecting's rule to know your numbers.
Copilot version
There is no separate Copilot version of this one yet. Paste the prompt above into Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat.
See a real example
Tested on sample data Sample data run (simulated tool).
Watch: no video for this one yet.
AuthorCorey Leon