Adding a Service Item to your Inventory

How to Create a Service Item

Service items represent the labour or professional work your business provides. Once created, they can be reused across quotes, jobs, invoices and quote templates.

Examples of service items include:

Window cleaning
Rope access labour
Anchor inspections
Electrical work
Painting
Consulting
Maintenance services

Creating a well-organised service inventory will make quoting faster and help keep pricing consistent across your business.

Step 1 – Open the Services Inventory

Select Inventory from the top navigation menu.
Click Services.

Select Add.

Step 2 – Choose a Category

Each service belongs to a Category and Subcategory.

Depending on your industry, JGID includes several categories and subcategories by default.

For example:

Window Cleaning
Height Safety
Rope Access
Electrical
Maintenance

If you need additional categories or subcategories, they can be created through the Master Matrix.

Step 3 – Enter the Service Details

Give your service a clear and descriptive name.

For example:

Window Cleaning – Rope Access Labour

Using descriptive names makes it easier to find the correct service when preparing quotes.

Step 4 – Choose the Pricing Method

You can choose how the service is normally priced.

Available options include:

Lump Sum – A fixed price for the entire service.
Do and Charge – Charges are based on the actual work completed.

Select the option that best reflects how this service is typically billed.

Tip: You can still adjust the pricing later when creating a quote if required.

Step 5 – Enter Your Cost and Sale Price

Every service includes two important pricing values.

Cost

The Cost should represent your estimated cost to deliver the service.

This is often based on your:

Highest-paid employee
Labour cost including superannuation, workers' compensation and other employment costs
Typical subcontractor rate, if subcontractors are commonly used

Using realistic costs helps JGID calculate estimated profitability.

Sale Price

The Sale Price is the amount you normally charge your customer for the service.

This price can be adjusted later on individual quotes if required.

Step 6 – Select the Unit

Choose the unit that best represents how the service is sold.

Available units include:

Lump Sum
Man Hour
Man Day
Man Week
Per Hour
Per Day
Per Week
Per Unit
Other

Recommended: Man Hour

For labour-based services, Man Hour is generally recommended.

Using Man Hours makes it much easier to compare:

Estimated hours
Actual hours
Estimated costs
Actual costs

This provides more meaningful reporting on job performance and profitability.

Important: Time Can Only Be Recorded Against Service Items

In JGID, worksheets and timesheets can only be entered against Service items.

If you want your team to record labour hours on a job, the quote or job must contain at least one Service item.

This allows JGID to:

Record worksheet and timesheet entries.
Track estimated versus actual labour hours.
Compare estimated versus actual labour costs.
Report on job profitability and productivity.

Example: If you're quoting to supply and install anchor points, the quote should include both a Material item (the anchor) and a Service item (the installation labour). Technicians will then record their time against the Service item.

If a quote only contains Materials, Consumables or other non-service items, there will be no Service item available for technicians to record their time against.

Step 7 – Assign Accounting Codes (Optional)

If your JGID account is connected to Xero, you can assign:

Account Code – Select the appropriate income account from your Xero Chart of Accounts.
Tax Code – Choose the applicable tax treatment (for example, GST or GST Free).

These settings help ensure invoices are coded correctly when exported to Xero.

Step 8 – Add Images or Files (Optional)

You can attach files to your service item, such as:

Product images
Reference documents
Instructions
Specifications

These files can help your team identify or understand the service.

Step 9 – Save the Service

Click Save to create your new service item.

Your service is now available for use in:

Quotes
Jobs
Invoices
Quote Templates
Composed Items

Duplicate Similar Services

If you're creating several similar services, you don't need to start from scratch each time.

Simply duplicate an existing service and make the small changes required.

This can save significant time when building your inventory.

Best Practice

To keep your service inventory organised:

Use clear, descriptive names.
Group similar services into categories.
Use Man Hour for labour services where possible.
Enter realistic cost prices to improve profitability reporting.
Duplicate similar services instead of recreating them.

A well-structured service inventory makes quoting faster and improves reporting across your business.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between Cost and Sale Price?

Cost is your estimated expense to provide the service.

Sale Price is the amount charged to your customer.

Which unit should I use?

For most labour services, Man Hour is recommended because it provides the best comparison between estimated and actual job performance.

Other units may be more suitable for fixed-price or specialised services.

Can I change the price when creating a quote?

Yes.

The default Sale Price is simply a starting point. You can adjust pricing on individual quotes whenever required.

Why can't my technicians enter a worksheet or timesheet?

Worksheets and timesheets can only be recorded against Service items.

If your quote or job doesn't contain at least one Service item, there will be nowhere for technicians to record their labour.

Can I attach images or documents?

Yes.

Service items can include attachments such as images, specifications or reference documents to assist your team.

Can I duplicate an existing service?

Yes.

Duplicating a service is often the quickest way to create similar services while maintaining consistent pricing and settings.

Summary

To create a service item:

Go to Inventory → Services.
Click New Service.
Select a category and subcategory.
Enter the service name.
Choose a pricing method.
Enter the Cost and Sale Price.
Select the appropriate unit.
(Optional) Assign Xero account and tax codes.
(Optional) Add images or files.
Click Save.

Your service is now ready to use in quotes, jobs, invoices and templates.

Note: Remember that only Service items support worksheets and timesheets. Every job that requires labour tracking should include at least one Service item.