Review costs posted to a completed construction job before month-end

When a cost posts to a completed job, do not automatically reopen the job report or move it to a current project. Put it on a closed-job exception list, confirm the source documents and ask the responsible project owner which job the work supported.

Build the exception list

For each late cost, record the job ID, vendor, invoice or transaction reference, posting date, document date, cost code, amount, approver and status. Use three statuses: supported late cost, possible miscoding, or possible duplicate.

Committed costs can remain relevant to project reporting even before payment occurs.¹ A later invoice may therefore be legitimate, but the record needs a documented project relationship.

Review one cost before changing the job

Illustrative example. Job C-104 was operationally complete on August 28. On September 6, a $1,720 electrical invoice posts to the job. The exception list links the invoice, work-completion confirmation and approved scope. The project manager confirms the work was performed before closeout but invoiced later. The item remains a supported late cost, with its explanation retained for the job review.

If instead the invoice references Job C-107, the bookkeeper holds the original entry and routes it for correction. If a matching invoice and payment already exist, the issue becomes a duplicate investigation rather than a job-cost decision.

Separate evidence from approval

QuickBooks distinguishes bills, expenses, checks and purchase-order workflows depending on the facts being recorded.² The bookkeeping review should preserve those transaction references; it does not authorize payment, decide a change order, or settle a vendor dispute.

Use the invoice approval map for decision ownership and compare the item with the committed-cost bridge. A small named exception list makes the later cost visible without obscuring the closed job’s original report.

Month-end handoff

Before close, sort late costs by job, source-document status and next owner. Rerun the completed-job report after approved corrections. The output is a clear question for the project team: support the cost, correct the job, or investigate a duplicate. It is not a blanket instruction to alter completed-job revenue or cost totals.