You pull up a job profitability report. The numbers look okay. Maybe even good. But something in your gut says they do not quite add up. You could be right.
And with Simpro moving quickly into AI through Simpro Lightning and its latest RAIN updates, getting the data and processes underneath your system right is becoming even more important.
Simpro Lightning launched in May 2026 with Cooper, Simpro’s AI brain, sitting at the centre of the platform. Since then, Simpro has announced RAIN, a major wave of new features, AI powered enhancements and customer requested improvements. That includes expanded JustAsk intelligence and improvements across areas such as scheduling, subcontractor management, invoicing, reporting and job costing.
All of that can make Simpro more powerful. But there is still one important catch.
If the information going into your system is wrong, incomplete or out of date, it becomes much harder to trust the information coming out.
In our experience reviewing Simpro systems, we regularly find configuration and maintenance issues that can affect the reliability of job costing and profit reporting.
Here are some of the most common areas worth checking.
Problem 1: Labour Rates and Bill Rates Not Configured Properly
Your labour costs, sell rates and overhead settings all play a part in determining what your job profitability looks like.
But here is something we see regularly. Labour rates were set up during implementation but no longer reflect the true cost of employing someone today. Bill rates have not been reviewed in years. Overhead calculations might be missing or applied inconsistently.
If the information going into your job costing is wrong, the profitability figures coming out cannot give you an accurate picture of how the job performed.
This is not something you can simply eyeball. Your rates need to reflect the business you are running today, not the business you were running two years ago.
Simpro’s Profit / Loss Job Report uses actual material and resource costs to calculate gross profit and can also factor calculated overheads into net profit.
Problem 2: Employee Cards Not Updated When Rates Change
Even if your standard labour rates are correct, individual employee settings also need to be kept up to date.
Pay rises happen. New employees come on at different rates. Employment costs change. But if nobody reviews the information sitting in Simpro, you can end up with employee costs that no longer reflect what the business is actually paying.
When inconsistent or outdated cost information is flowing into your jobs, getting a clear picture of profitability becomes much harder.
The same goes for overheads. Not every business uses overhead calculations in Simpro, and that is fine. But if you do, those settings need to be reviewed alongside your labour costs.
Problem 3: Purchase Orders and Work Orders Never Receipted
This one can quietly create problems with job costing.
Your team raises a purchase order for materials. The materials arrive. The job gets done. But the purchasing workflow is never properly completed in Simpro. Similar problems can happen with contractor work orders when the work has been completed but the Simpro process is left unfinished.
The important thing to understand is that different Simpro reports and report settings can treat costs differently. For example, Simpro’s Profit / Loss Job Report allows you to choose whether committed costs are included. Simpro says committed costs can include purchase orders that have not been receipted and labour scheduled in the future.
Simpro also explains that its Profit / Loss Job and Profit / Loss Summary reports can show different values because they look at transactions, cost centres and date ranges differently. That means you should not simply assume every unfinished PO is missing from every profit report.
The bigger issue is making sure purchasing and contractor workflows are being completed properly and that you understand what the report you are looking at actually includes. Otherwise, you could be making pricing and profitability decisions without seeing the full picture.
Problem 4: Your Simpro Data Needs to Keep Up With AI
This has become increasingly important since Simpro Lightning launched.
Lightning introduced JustAsk, which allows users to ask questions about their business data in plain language rather than manually digging through reports.
Then came RAIN. As part of RAIN, Simpro announced Expanded JustAsk AI Intelligence, with broader data coverage designed to let JustAsk answer a wider range of business questions.
That is a big step forward for owners and managers who want answers without spending hours digging through reports. But faster access to information does not automatically make the underlying information accurate.
If your labour costs are out of date, purchasing processes are inconsistent or your team is not following the same workflows, those foundations still need attention. The smarter Simpro becomes, the more important it is that the data feeding those tools can be trusted.
Problem 5: Your Team Stopped Learning After Implementation
Getting Simpro implemented is not the finish line.
Your business changes. Your team changes. Your workflows change.
And in 2026, Simpro itself is changing quickly.
Lightning originally launched with JustAsk and four AI agents called FieldReady, JobReady, JobScribe and JobBrief.
Since then, Simpro has announced RAIN, which it describes as the first major wave of new features and AI powered enhancements built on Lightning.
For Simpro users, RAIN includes updates across scheduling, sales, subcontractor management, inventory, field workflows, invoicing, reporting and more.
That means the way your team can use Simpro today may be very different from the way you were originally trained to use it.
Ongoing training is becoming more important, not less.
If your team does not know what new tools are available, you could be paying for powerful software while continuing to do things manually simply because that is the way you have always done them.
Better Field Data Can Mean Better Job Costing
Some of Simpro’s recent updates are particularly relevant to businesses trying to improve the information feeding their job costing.
Earlier in 2026, Simpro introduced minute accurate labour scheduling and the ability for technicians to add materials and labour directly to a job card in Simpro Mobile.
Lightning also introduced JobScribe, which captures job documentation from technicians, while GPS Time Tracking is designed to improve time records from the field.
RAIN continues that focus. Simpro’s current RAIN information includes Approved Timesheet Lock, which prevents approved timesheets being edited after sign off. Simpro has also listed improvements around committed labour values, contractor costs on Profit / Loss Summary reporting, Profit / Loss date ranges and margin and profit calculations.
These updates can help businesses capture and work with better information, but good processes still matter. Your team needs to understand what should be recorded, when it should be recorded and how the information they enter affects the job costing and reporting you rely on later.
RAIN Is Making Simpro More Automated
RAIN also shows where Simpro is heading next. Simpro has announced an Intelligent AI Scheduler that considers factors including technician location, skills, licences, certifications, availability and job history when building schedules.
The RAIN rollout also includes features around subcontractor work orders and financials, field inventory control, a native sales pipeline and CRM, AI guided forms and a rebuilt field app.
Some of these features are rolling out progressively through August and September 2026, so availability will depend on the individual feature and your Simpro setup. There are also new financial workflow features including Instant Quote to Payment Flow and Milestone Triggered Progress Billing.
For trade businesses, the direction is pretty clear. More processes that used to rely on someone remembering to do something manually are moving toward structured workflows and automation. That makes getting your Simpro foundations right even more important.
A Quick Simpro Reality Check
Here are a few questions worth asking about your own system.
- When were your labour costs and sell rates last reviewed?
- Have your employee settings been checked after recent pay rises or role changes?
- How many purchase orders or contractor work orders are still sitting unfinished?
- Do you know whether the Profit / Loss report you use includes committed costs?
- Are your technicians consistently recording labour, materials and job information?
- Has your team reviewed the new features Simpro has released this year?
- And when you look at your last five job profit reports, are you genuinely confident the numbers tell the full story?
If any of those questions make you uncomfortable, there may be more happening underneath the surface than you realise.
Get Your Simpro Foundations Right
Lightning and RAIN are making Simpro smarter and more automated but none of that replaces the need for a properly configured system.
If your rates are outdated, your workflows are inconsistent or your team is not using Simpro properly, it becomes much harder to trust the reports and insights you rely on. Clean data, current rates, consistent processes, trained staff and good reporting habits still matter, and they become even more important as AI takes on a bigger role.
That is where TradiePad’s Simpro Health Check can help. We review your setup and how your team is actually using the system to identify areas that may need attention.
Wondering whether your Simpro setup is ready to make the most of Lightning and RAIN?
Book a call with TradiePad and let’s take a proper look.
Frequently asked questions about simPRO Profit Reports
A: Profit reporting can be affected by outdated cost information, incomplete purchasing workflows, inconsistent processes and the settings used when generating reports. Simpro also notes that different Profit / Loss reports can produce different results because they handle transactions, cost centres and date ranges differently.
A: Labour costs should be reviewed whenever the actual cost of employing your team changes and as part of regular Simpro system reviews. Keeping your rates current helps make job costing and profitability reporting more meaningful.
A: Simpro can treat unreceipted purchase orders as committed costs. The Profit / Loss Job Report allows users to include or exclude committed costs from its calculations, so it is important to understand both your purchasing processes and your report settings.
A: Simpro Lightning introduced JustAsk, which allows users to ask questions about their business data in plain language. RAIN expands JustAsk with broader data coverage, allowing it to answer a wider range of business questions.
A: RAIN is the first major wave of new features and AI powered enhancements announced following the launch of Simpro Lightning. For Simpro, it includes new and enhanced capabilities across areas including scheduling, sales, subcontractor management, inventory, field operations, invoicing and business intelligence.
A: No. New AI and automation features can make Simpro more powerful, but your underlying data, settings and workflows still need to be maintained. Current rates, clean data and consistent processes remain important when using Simpro information to make business decisions.
A: RAIN includes improvements and features relating to areas such as timesheets, committed labour values, contractor costs, Profit / Loss reporting, field inventory and subcontractor financials. Some announced RAIN features are rolling out progressively, so availability varies.
A: A TradiePad Simpro Health Check reviews how your Simpro system is set up and being used, including areas such as rates, workflows, job costing and reporting. The aim is to identify areas that may be affecting the quality of the information you rely on to run your trade business.
