Streamlining job costing and compliance with Rippling

Joe Cangelosi is the founder of Tee Lex. Joe is a Rippling power user who uses the product to tackle hard business problems.

At Tee Lex, we specialize in helping creative service businesses manage the parts of their operations that aren't fun or sexy. That means handling everything from granular project costing to compliance and payroll. I spent 25 years in event and television production before starting Tee Lex, so I understood the need for granular project costs across a variety of projects. I was repeatedly disappointed by products that just couldn't deliver. Then, I discovered Rippling.

Here’s how Rippling transformed our approach to job costing, compliance, and more.

The problem: inefficient job costing and compliance tools

Before Rippling, most of our clients had to use multiple disconnected systems to manage their job costing: one for time tracking, another for payroll, and another for accounting. These systems usually didn’t sync with each other, leaving businesses scrambling to reconcile project costs manually. The process often looked like this:

• Time tracking data lived in tools like Harvest or Clockify. For hourly California employees, this often meant they were tracking time twice, once in the project time app and again in a compliance-focused tool with no access to job data.
• Payroll systems lumped all wages into one expense category with little or no access to dimensions like jobs or classes.
• Job costs were pieced together using endless spreadsheets or inefficient manual journal entries.

This patchwork approach created chaos, errors, and inefficiencies (and sometimes tears). Without seamlessly  integrated systems for job costing, businesses struggled to:

• Identify profitable projects or clients.
• Maintain compliance with regulations, especially in states like California & New York.
• Accurately forecast labor costs and project budgets.

The solution: granular job costing and seamless integration

With Rippling, we finally found a solution that connects all the dots—timekeeping, payroll, and accounting—while offering unmatched flexibility and automation. We manage this process for our clients, but it's easy to do on your own even if you don't have an outside consultant to do it for you. Here’s how we use Rippling to solve the biggest challenges our clients face:

Step 1: automate time tracking and payroll

Rippling Time and Attendance makes it easy for employees to log their hours accurately. They handle complex compliance requirements, like California’s strict timekeeping laws for breaks and overtime. Once time tracking setup is complete, the data flows directly into payroll, eliminating the need for manual data entry.

Step 2: map job costs with precision

Using Rippling’s job costing and layered account mapping features, we can add layers of granularity to payroll data. For instance:

• Freelancers’ wages go to a direct cost account (cost of goods sold).
• Full-time employees’ salaries are categorized as operating expenses.
• Payroll costs are tagged with dimensions like location, project, and task.

All this data integrates seamlessly into QuickBooks, Sage Intacct, or our clients’ other accounting systems, providing real-time visibility into costs.

Step 3: ensure compliance

For clients contracting with the federal government, compliance with FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulation) standards is critical. Rippling provides functionality that can be used to create labor distribution plans, ensuring compliance, saving us hours of manual work (and worry) each month.

The impact: time savings and better insights

The difference Rippling makes for our clients is night and day. Here’s how it’s improved our processes and outcomes:

Time savings

Before Rippling, manually reconciling job labor costs could take 2 or more hours per client per month. Now, it’s fully automated. For a business managing dozens of projects, this adds up to hundreds of hours saved annually.

Error reduction

Rippling’s automation minimizes the risk of human error. For example, the detailed account mapping enables us to send unexpected or aberrant expenses to a separate account, making it easy to catch mistakes before they escalate.

Smarter decision-making

With granular cost data at our fingertips, we can:

• Pinpoint which projects and clients are most profitable.
• Forecast labor costs more accurately.
• Share detailed, real-time insights with stakeholders.

Why Rippling stands out

What makes Rippling unique is its modern approach to solving old problems. It’s not just a payroll tool; it seamlessly integrates HR, compliance, and accounting. The Jobs feature, in particular, offers a level of flexibility I’ve never seen in any other system.

From onboarding employees to managing payroll and compliance, Rippling streamlines the entire process. It gives us—and our clients—the freedom to focus on what really matters: delighting their clients and growing their business.

This blog is based on information available to Rippling as of January 27, 2025.

Disclaimer: Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied on for tax, accounting, or legal advice. You should consult your own tax, accounting, and legal advisors before engaging in any related activities or transactions.