Track project costs by cost group

Use cost groups to organize project expenses by type, such as labor, materials, and subcontractors, so you can see where your project money goes. Available for QuickBooks Online Advanced with the QuickBooks Construction Add-on, and Intuit Enterprise Suite.

What are cost groups?

Cost groups help you categorize products and services into types of expenses. Instead of tracking hundreds of line items individually, you can group them into categories like Labor, Materials, Equipment, Subcontractor, and Miscellaneous. This helps you spot overspending quickly, create more accurate bids, and understand project profitability.

Cost groups work alongside project phases to give you complete visibility:

• Cost groups: what type of expense (Labor, Materials, Equipment).
• Project phases: when the work happens (Foundation, Framing, Finishing).

Who can manage cost groups

• Master Admin, Company Admin, and Accountant roles.
• Custom roles with full access to Inventory.

Project Managers can view cost groups but can't create or edit them.

Set up cost groups

Five default cost groups are included based on construction industry standards. You can use these or create your own.

Default cost groups:

• Labor: Direct payroll or internal work costs.
• Material: Raw supplies and goods used for the project.
• Equipment: Machinery or tool rentals.
• Subcontractor: Fees paid to external specialty trades.
• Miscellaneous: Other project-related expenses.

Create or edit cost groups

1. Go to All apps , then Sales & Get Paid, then Products & services (Take me there).
2. Select More, then select Manage cost groups.
3. To add a new cost group, select Create new cost group, enter a unique name, then select Save.
4. To edit a cost group, select Edit next to the cost group, update the name, then select Save.

Tip: Use names your team already knows. If you call them "Subs" instead of "Subcontractors," use that term.

Delete cost groups

1. Go to All apps , then Sales & Get Paid, then Products & services (Take me there).
2. Select More, then select Manage cost groups.
3. Select Delete next to the cost group, then select Yes.

Note: When you delete a cost group, products or services assigned to it become unassigned.

Assign cost groups to products and services

Cost groups only appear in reports and budgets when they're connected to your products and services.

Assign individually

1. Go to All apps , then Sales & Get Paid, then Products & services (Take me there).
2. Select an item to open it.
3. In the Cost group dropdown, select the cost group.
4. Select Save and close.

Assign in bulk

1. Go to All apps , then Sales & Get Paid, then Products & services (Take me there).
2. Select the checkboxes next to multiple items.
3. Select Assign cost group.
4. Choose the cost group, then select Apply.

Note: Bulk actions are only available in the modernized Products and Services view.

Import with a spreadsheet

1. Go to All apps , then Sales & Get Paid, then Products & services (Take me there).
2. Select More, then select Import products and services.
3. Download the template or use your own spreadsheet.
4. Add a Cost group column and enter cost group names (must match exactly).
5. Upload your file and complete the import.

Tip: If you enter a cost group name that doesn't exist, we’ll create it during import.

If you've been using Categories to track labor, materials, etc., Intuit Assist can help you map those to cost groups. Look for a prompt in Products and Services.

Use cost groups in budgets and reports

View budgets by cost group

1. Open your project budget.
2. Select the Group by dropdown.
3. Select Cost groups.

Your budget reorganizes to show totals for each cost group. When you add products or services to a budget, their cost groups flow through automatically.

Note: If you change a cost group in a budget, it updates at the product or service level, not just for that project.

Filter products by cost group

1. Go to All apps , then Sales & Get Paid, then Products & services (Take me there).
2. Select Filter.
3. Choose the cost group, then Apply.

View reports by cost group

Cost groups work in these reports:

• Estimate vs. Actuals
• Project Profitability
• Committed Costs

To group a report by cost groups:

1. Open one of the supported reports.
2. Select the Group by dropdown.
3. Select Cost groups.

You can combine cost groups with project phases to see more detail, such as labor costs only for the framing phase.

View the cost breakdown widget

On your project dashboard, the Cost breakdown widget shows spending by cost group. Select View report for more details.

Cost groups on transactions

When you create expenses, bills, or purchase orders:

• Products or services automatically include their assigned cost group.
• If you add an expense at the category level (not tied to a specific product), you can manually select a cost group.

Cost groups are for internal tracking only, they don't appear on customer-facing estimates, invoices, or proposals.