CONSTRUCTION LABOR FORECAST VS ACTUAL HOURS PLANNED, HOURS BURNED.
The labor forecast is the estimate converted to a weekly deployment schedule: this many hours, this week, on this phase. The actual is what the timecards say happened. The distance between the two, visible weekly from current timecard data, is the earliest and most reliable signal of whether a project is on track financially. A phase running 15 percent over on labor hours at 40 percent completion will close at a labor overrun unless something changes, and identifying it at 40 percent complete means something can still change.
Most contractors compare labor to budget once a month, from books that closed two weeks earlier, which puts the news three weeks behind the crew. Weekly entry by phase moves the signal to within days of the work. That's the difference between an adjustment and an explanation. The second benefit takes longer to see: every project tracked this way through completion produces one honest data point about what that scope type costs in hours, and after six to twelve of them the estimate template stops being a guess.
WHAT IT MEANS.
The labor forecast is the estimate converted into a weekly deployment schedule: this many hours, this week, on this phase.
WHERE THE HOURS GET AWAY.
There's no weekly forecast to compare against
The labor forecast starts in the estimate: estimated hours by phase, by work type, and by labor classification. Without that converted into a weekly deployment schedule, there's nothing to compare the timecards to except a single project total. A project total tells you the job ran over once the job is over.
Hours get entered monthly, so the variance is stale
Actual labor is what the timecards say, and it only becomes useful when hours by phase and labor classification are entered every week. A labor variance identified at week 8 from timecards entered at month end is 2 to 3 weeks stale by the time anyone sees it. By then the crew has worked three more weeks against the same wrong plan.
The variance never reaches the cost to complete
When actual hours run above planned at the same physical completion, the labor forecast for the remaining scope has to be updated, which raises the cost to complete and the projected final cost. Most contractors calculate the variance and stop there. The monthly report then still carries the estimate's number rather than the current position.
Nothing feeds back into the next estimate
A project tracked through completion produces one data point: the actual labor hours required to perform this scope type, in this market, with this crew. Contractors who don't track it estimate the next one from memory. After 6 to 12 projects with consistent tracking, the estimate template for that scope type is built from documented reality instead.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN DOLLARS.
On a $500,000 concrete project the estimate might show 600 foreman hours, 1,800 journeyman hours, and 400 laborer hours across 4 phases. That's the labor plan. The 13 week cash forecast converts those hours into weekly payroll cost by modeling which phases are active in which weeks, which tells the owner what crew will cost per week for the next 13 weeks if the project runs to schedule.
Plus or minus 10 percent on a cumulative phase basis is normal field variation. At 10 to 15 percent negative variance, the PM reviews the cause. Above 15 percent negative, the cost to complete gets updated and an action item is assigned.
After 6 to 12 projects with consistent tracking, the estimate template for that scope type is built from documented reality. Every CFOS client builds a labor tracking history over 12 to 24 months of engagement. That history is the most accurate input to future estimates the contractor has.
THE WEEKLY PROCESS THAT CLOSES THE DISTANCE.
Planned hours by phase by week, taken from the estimate and the project schedule. That's the target, and it doesn't change unless the schedule changes. It takes 30 minutes to build at project start.
Weekly, not monthly. The variance calculation requires current data to be worth acting on. A variance identified at week 8 from month end entry is 2 to 3 weeks stale before anyone sees it.
Weekly, the foreman sees the units per hour number. Monthly, the PM and the CFO function review cumulative actual against planned by phase and identify the phases trending over. Action items for over budget phases get assigned in the job review.
A phase running 15 percent over on labor hours triggers a cost to complete update in the same week. The projected final cost gets updated before the next billing cycle. The monthly report then reflects the current financial position rather than the one the estimate assumed.
Every client builds a labor tracking history over 12 to 24 months of engagement. SPM runs an annual estimate accuracy review that compares estimated to actual labor hours by scope type and updates the bid template for the next year. The estimating accuracy improvement compounds over time.
THE OUTPUTS, NAMED.
FLAT MONTHLY FEE. NO SURPRISES.
Three tiers, priced by your trailing twelve month revenue. Which one you're in depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. No hourly billing, no payroll, and no add-ons.
Pricing
| Last 12 months revenue | Monthly fee |
|---|---|
| Up to $1M | $1,900 to $2,900 |
| $1M to $3.5M | $2,600 to $3,900 |
| $3.5M to $6.5M | $3,800 to $5,700 |
| $6.5M to $9.5M | $5,100 to $7,100 |
| $9.5M to $12.5M | $6,100 to $8,500 |
| $12.5M to $15.5M | $7,400 to $11,000 |
| $15.5M to $18.5M | $9,400 to $13,500 |
| $18.5M+ | Quoted individually |
Range reflects the three tiers below. Which one you're in depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. No payroll. No hidden line items.
You stop guessing.
You get the CFO work. Job costing built against the way you estimate, a 13 week cash forecast, monthly WIP, and a meeting every month that ends in decisions rather than a report.
Your bookkeeper keeps doing the books.
You stop touching the books.
Everything in Core, and we run the bookkeeping and the controllership as well. Nobody in your office is answering coding questions or chasing a reconciliation at month end.
We do the books. No payroll.
Every job shows its margin while it's still running.
Everything in Executive, plus the job costing and WIP platform set up, loaded with your cost codes, and managed for you every month. You never have to learn it.
We do the job costing.
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