How to run a job cost report that actually catches problems
Most contractors have a job cost report. Their accounting system prints one every month. The problem is that the standard report shows budget and actual — and by the time actual passes budget on a cost code, the money is gone. A job cost report that helps you manage the job needs three more things: committed cost, a field percent complete, and a projected cost at completion. This template has all three, plus labor hours and a cash flow projection, in one workbook.
The columns that matter
| Column | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Original / Approved Changes / Revised Budget | What you bid, plus the cost side of approved change orders. Pending changes stay out until they're signed. |
| Committed | Subcontracts and POs issued against the code. If committed is already over the revised budget, you bought the scope out for more than you carried — find out at buyout, not at month eight. |
| Actual to Date | Posted cost through your cut-off date: labor with burden, material, subs, equipment. |
| % Complete (field) | From the field — installed quantities ÷ budgeted quantities is best. Never back into it from cost. |
| Earned Value | % complete × revised budget: what the work in place was supposed to cost. |
| Est. Cost to Complete | What it will take to finish, from the Cost-to-Complete Forecast tab. |
| Projected Cost @ Completion | Actual + cost to complete. This is the number to manage. |
| Projected Over / (Under), Variance % | Projected cost minus revised budget. Codes 5% or more over are flagged. |
| CPI | Earned value ÷ actual. Below 1.00 means each dollar spent is producing less than a dollar of budgeted work. |
Cost to complete: the PM's number, not the computer's
The Cost-to-Complete Forecast tab gives each cost code two calculated estimates and one human one:
- Budget-based ETC — revised budget minus earned value. Assumes the rest of the work goes exactly to budget. Optimistic on a code that's already struggling.
- Performance-based ETC — remaining budget ÷ CPI. Assumes the rest of the work goes the way the first part did. Usually closer to reality on labor codes.
- PM ETC — the PM's number, built from what's left: remaining quantities, crew size, weeks, open sub change requests, material still to buy. When it's entered, it wins.
The forecast also tracks fade / (gain) by code and the change versus last month's EAC. That last column is the most honest line in the report: every code that moved should have a one-line explanation in the notes.
Labor hours and the productivity factor
For self-performed work, dollars hide the real story — a wage increase or overtime premium can make a code look over budget when the crew is actually productive, or look fine when the crew is burning hours. The labor hours section tracks budget hours, actual hours and earned hours and calculates a productivity factor for each code:
- 1.00 or better — the crew is earning its hours.
- 0.90–0.99 — watch it. Check crew mix and whether they're waiting on material or information.
- Below 0.90 — act this week. Common causes: rework, out-of-sequence work, stacked trades, poor access, or a budget that was light to begin with.
Projected hours at completion = actual hours ÷ % complete. The labor $ impact column turns the hour overrun into dollars at the actual burdened rate. If you want to go deeper on crew output, the productivity calculator and labor burden calculator help set the rates.
Cash flow projection
A job that is on budget can still starve the company for cash. The Cash Flow Projection tab takes your planned pay applications, retainage percentage and the owner's payment lag, and sets them against monthly costs for labor, material and equipment, subcontracts and job overhead. The cumulative cash column — with an in-cell bar chart — shows the deepest point the job will put you in the hole and which month it happens. Line up your credit line before that month, not during it. The cash flow calculator and retainage calculator are quick checks for a single scenario.
The monthly cost review
- Close cost through the same cut-off every month and pull actual and committed from accounting.
- Get % complete from the superintendent or foreman by code, from installed quantities.
- The PM updates the cost-to-complete for every code — not just the ones in trouble.
- Review every flagged code and every code whose EAC moved since last month. Write down the cause and the action.
- Roll the projected cost at completion into your WIP schedule — the WIP is only as good as the EACs behind it.
Related tools
- WIP schedule template — over/under billing and fade across every open job
- Earned value calculator — CPI, SPI and EAC for a single job
- Cost-loaded schedule & S-curve — plan the spend curve the cash flow tab uses
- Schedule of values template — the billing side of the job
- Construction job costing software — live cost to date by cost code
- Browse all free construction templates
From spreadsheet to live job cost
The formulas are the easy part. The hard part is getting clean hours and costs coded correctly every day, so the month-end report isn't a reconstruction. Field PM captures crew time, T&M, material and vendor invoices from the field against your budget by cost code, and shows budget vs. actual, committed cost and earned hours on the PM dashboard as it happens. Start a free 30-day trial — no credit card required.
This template is an internal management tool, not accounting advice.
