Contractor Job Planner 100 Pro

What You Need

• Microsoft Excel 365 or Excel 2024 for Windows (the desktop app)

Opening the File

1. Download the file from your Etsy Purchases page (etsy.com/your/purchases).
2. If the download is a .zip, unzip/extract the .xlsx file first.
3. Open it in Excel. If you see a yellow "Protected View" bar, click "Enable Editing."
   

Activate Your Planner

The planner unlocks with your Etsy order number. Until it's activated, you'll see a message saying "This product has expired" and the views stay locked. This is normal. Go to the Help tab and follow the 3 steps:

1. Step 1 — Enter your Etsy order number in the box next to "1. Enter your Etsy order number."
2. Step 2 — Click "Click here to get an Activation Code." Your browser opens our activation page with your order number already filled in. Copy the code it gives you.
3. Step 3 — Paste the code in the box next to "3. Enter your activation code." The status changes to Activated, and every view unlocks.

Stuck? Click "Click here for Activation Help" on the Help tab, or visit bobcatplanners.com/activation.

Make a Backup First

Before you start entering your jobs, save a clean copy of the original file somewhere safe. That way, if anything goes wrong, you can always start fresh.

Follow these 5 steps in order and you'll have a working planner quickly. The file comes with a sample job (Kitchen Remodel) so you can see how everything fits together. Overwrite it with your own job when you're ready.

1. Step 1 — Help tab. Activate the planner with your Etsy order number (see Section 1).
2. Step 2 — Settings tab. Under Team, list everyone who works on your jobs: yourself, your crew, your subcontractors, even the inspector. These names fill the "Assigned To" and "Site Lead" dropdowns.
3. Step 3 — Manage tab. Give each job a name, start and end dates, a timeline color and a site lead. Then enter the contract value, any change orders and the payments received so far.
4. Step 4 — Job sheets (Project 1, Project 2…). Click the ➤ arrow next to a job on the Manage tab to jump to its sheet. List the tasks with their status, priority, phase, dates, crew member, budget and actual cost.
5. Step 5 — Overview tab. Select a job from the dropdown at the top. Your dashboard now shows its progress, budget, schedule and job costing.

That's it! The rest of this guide explains every feature in detail.

Job costing uses the three money columns on the Manage tab (Contract Value, Change Orders, Paid To Date) plus the Budget and Actual Cost of every task on the job sheet. Here's exactly how each figure is calculated:

• CONTRACT TOTAL: What the client has agreed to pay, including approved changes.

• FORECAST COST: What the job is expected to cost by the end. Completed and Canceled tasks count at their actual cost. Open tasks count at their budget, or at their actual cost once that's higher (so an over-budget task is never under-counted).
• PROJECTED PROFIT: What you're on track to make on the job.

• MARGIN: Projected profit as a percentage of the contract total.
• BALANCE DUE: What the client still owes you.

Every task has a status you choose from the dropdown. The boards, dashboard and colors all follow it.

• ⚪ NOT STARTED: Planned but not begun.
• 🔵 IN PROGRESS: Work is underway.
• 🟡 ON HOLD: Paused, e.g. waiting on the client's tile choice or a material delivery.
• 🔴 BLOCKED: Can't continue until something is fixed, e.g. a failed inspection or a missing permit. Blockers are flagged on the Panorama tab.
• 🟤 CANCELED: Dropped from the job. It counts at its actual cost in job costing and is never marked late.
• 🟢 COMPLETED: Done. It counts at its actual cost in job costing.

Priorities

• 🔴 P1: Most urgent, e.g. permits and inspections that hold up everything else.
• 🟠 P2: High.
• 🔵 P3: Normal.
• 🟣 P4: Low, e.g. nice-to-haves.

Late ⚠ is automatic: any task past its end date that isn't Completed or Canceled.

Most views have a "Select Job" dropdown. It's the most important control in the planner.

How to use it

• Click the cell with the dropdown (Overview, Status Board, Phase Board, Task Timeline or Calendar).
• Choose any job name to see just that job.
• Choose "All" (where offered) to see every job at once.
• Many views also have a "Select Team member" dropdown, so you can see one person's work.

What changes when you switch

• Every number, card and bar in that view updates for the selected job.

What stays the same

• All your data. Switching jobs never changes any of your entries. It only changes what's displayed.

Practical uses

• Pick a job on the Overview before a client meeting to see its progress, profit and balance due.
• Pick a crew member on the Calendar to plan their week.
• Pick "All" on the Status Board for a Monday-morning look at everything that's blocked or on hold.

Phases group a job's tasks into the stages of construction. The planner comes with 7:

Where phases show up

1. The Phase column on every job sheet (a dropdown).
2. The Phase Board, with one column of cards per phase.
3. The "Budget vs actual by phase" chart on the Overview.

Renaming a phase

1. Go to the Phase Board tab.
2. Type the new name over the phase's column header (e.g. change "Rough-ins (MEP)" to "Mechanical").
3. The new name flows through to the dropdowns and the chart automatically.

Tasks you haven't given a phase yet are treated as backlog: work that isn't assigned to a stage.

• ✨ Set up your team first: The Assigned To and Site Lead dropdowns come from the Team list on Settings. Add your crew and subs before you enter tasks.
• ✨ Budget every task: Even a rough number. Job costing and the budget-vs-actual chart are only as good as the budgets you enter.
• ✨ Update actual costs weekly: Enter invoices and receipts as they come in. Your projected profit stays accurate and you'll spot overruns early.
• ✨ Log change orders right away: Add them to the Change Orders column on Manage the day they're approved, so your contract total and balance due are always right.
• ✨ Use phases consistently: Give every task a phase. The Phase Board and the budget-by-phase chart then show exactly where each job stands.
• ✨ Don't delete finished tasks: Mark them Completed instead. They keep counting toward the job's actual cost and progress.
• ✨ Start a new year: Change the "Timeline starting year" in Settings so the timelines start in the right year.

Setup & Getting Started

Q: I opened the file and it says "This product has expired." Is it broken?

A: Not at all. The planner just hasn't been activated yet. Go to the Help tab and follow the 3 activation steps in Section 1. It takes about a minute.

Q: Some cells show zeros or are empty. Is that normal?

A: Yes. The formulas are waiting for your data. Once you add jobs on the Manage tab and tasks on the job sheets, the dashboards fill in.

Q: Can I rename the tabs?

A: It's best not to. The planner finds each job by its sheet, so renaming the tabs (including Project 1 to Project 100) can break the calculations. Give each job its real name in the Job Name column on the Manage tab instead. That name then appears on every view.

Q: Can I add more rows to a job?

A: Each job sheet holds up to 96 tasks, which covers most jobs comfortably. Please don't extend the tables, because the boards, timelines and Taskline expect that size. If you genuinely need more, split a big job into two (e.g. "Smith Reno – Phase 1" and "Phase 2") or contact us.

Q: Can I add new columns or sheets?

A: You can add new sheets for your own notes without any issue. Adding columns inside the existing tables is not recommended, as it may shift formula references.

Q: I run more than 100 jobs a year. What do I do?

A: Reuse the rows of finished jobs: once a job is closed out and paid, save a copy of the file as your archive, then clear that job's tasks and give the row a new job.

Data Entry

Q: The Assigned To or Site Lead dropdown is empty. What do I do?

A: Add your team on the Settings tab first (Team, column B). The names then appear in the dropdowns automatically.

Q: Where do I enter what the client pays me?

A: On the Manage tab: Contract Value for the agreed price, Change Orders for approved extras, and Paid To Date for all payments received so far. Update Paid To Date each time a payment comes in.

Q: What currency does the planner use?

A: Amounts are shown with a $ sign, but the math works the same in any currency. Just enter all your amounts in the currency you work in.

Q: How do I remove a task?

A: Select the task's cells in the table and press Delete to clear them. If the task was dropped from the job, you can mark it Canceled instead to keep a record.

Calculations & Numbers

Q: Why is my projected profit lower than contract minus what I've spent?

A: Because projected profit also counts the budget of every task that's still open. That's what the job is still going to cost you. See Section 4.

Q: My projected profit looks too high.

A: Check that every task has a budget. Tasks with no budget and no actual cost count as $0. Also check that Change Orders on the Manage tab only holds approved changes.

Q: The job's progress doesn't match what I expected.

A: Check the "Calculate completion by status or progress" setting on the Settings tab. With "Status," only Completed tasks count as done. With "Progress," the % in each task's Progress column is used.

Q: A job doesn't show on the Timeline.

A: Make sure it has a start and end date on the Manage tab, and that those dates fall within the Timeline's year (set by "Timeline starting year" in Settings). If "Show only Active tasks on Timeline" is set to Yes, finished work is hidden.

Technical Questions

Q: Excel is slow when I choose "All."

A: Showing every task from every job is a lot of work for Excel. Filter to one job or one team member, and close other large workbooks while you use the planner.

Q: Can I use this on my phone or tablet?

A: The planner is designed for a widescreen laptop or desktop with Excel for Windows. The Excel mobile apps haven't been tested, so use a computer for the best experience.

Q: Can my office manager and I both use it?

A: Yes, within your business. We recommend one person editing at a time: keep the file in a shared folder (e.g. OneDrive) and close it when you're done so the next person gets your changes.

Q: Is my data private? Does anything get sent anywhere?

A: Your jobs, tasks, costs and client numbers stay in the file on your computer. We have no access to them. The only thing the planner sends is a licence check: your Etsy order number, the product name and its version go to bobcatplanners.com to confirm your activation. Studio only receives data if you choose to copy it there yourself.

Q: Will this file work in Google Sheets, Apple Numbers or LibreOffice?

A: No. These applications don't support the advanced Excel functions (LET, LAMBDA, MAP, VSTACK) used in this planner, so most views won't work.

Purchases & Updates

Q: I bought this. Can I share it with my crew or other contractors?

A: Your purchase is licensed for use within your own business. Please do not distribute, resell, or share it publicly. It takes a lot of work to build and maintain these tools.

Q: Will I get updates if you improve the planner?

A: If significant improvements are made, we'll release an updated version. Etsy doesn't automatically push updates, but we'll note major updates in the listing. Feel free to message us through Etsy if you have questions about the latest version.

Q: Something isn't working as expected. How do I get help?

A: Send us a message through Etsy with a description of the issue. Include which tab you're on, what you entered, and what you expected to see versus what you're seeing. We're happy to help.

Q: Can you add a feature I'd like?

A: We love feedback! Send us a message with your idea. While we can't promise every request, customer suggestions directly influence what we build in future versions.