HOW TO READ A WIP SCHEDULE.
A WIP schedule has five numbers that count for each active project: contract value, billed to date, earned to date, over-billing, and under-billing. Over-billing means you've billed more than you've earned, so that cash is borrowed from future billing events. Under-billing means you've earned more than you've billed, which is cash sitting on the table.
The five columns are arithmetic, not accounting theory. Contract value is the signed number plus approved change orders. Billed to date is the sum of your pay apps. Percent complete is the PM's honest read of how much scope is done, and how much you have invoiced is a separate figure. Earned to date is contract value times percent complete. The difference between billed and earned is the whole point of the report, because it tells you whether the cash in the bank is yours or borrowed.
WHAT IT MEANS.
A WIP schedule is a project by project report showing five numbers for every active job: contract value, billed to date, percent complete, earned to date, and whether you're over-billed or under-billed.
Percent complete is the one column that's a judgment call rather than a lookup. It's the PM's assessment of field progress, and it's not the billing percentage. When those two numbers drift apart, the WIP schedule is the only report that will tell you before the last two pay apps do.
WHAT THE FIVE COLUMNS ARE TELLING YOU.
Over-billing looks like a good bank balance
Over-billing means you've invoiced for work that's not completed yet. The money in the bank looks good and it's borrowed against future earned value. You owe work against that billing, and the crew has to deliver it before the final pay app.
Under-billing is your money financing the GC
Under-billing means work has been performed and not billed. That's your cash sitting in the project, financing the GC's construction without compensation. It's the cheapest money you'll ever lend out and the easiest to stop lending.
Percent complete gets confused with percent billed
Percent complete is your honest assessment of how much of the contract scope is done, estimated by the PM from field progress. It's not the billing percentage, and treating the two as the same number makes the whole report useless. High consistent over-billing usually means either percent complete is being overstated in billing relative to actual field progress, or the SOV is heavily front-loaded in a way that outpaces field completion.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN DOLLARS.
Contract value is $480,000 and billed to date is $312,000, which is 65% billed. The PM assesses percent complete at 52%, so earned to date is $249,600, or $480K times 52%. That leaves over-billing of $62,400, the $312,000 billed less the $249,600 earned. In month 4 of 8, the crew has to close that distance before the final billing, which means slowing the billing rate on the next pay app and accelerating production to bring percent complete up.
WHAT EACH ONE MEANS.
Contract value is the total value of the signed contract including approved change orders. You calculate it as the original contract plus all approved COs. A contract value that hasn't been updated for approved change orders understates every number downstream of it.
Billed to date is the total amount invoiced to the GC across every pay app so far. It's the sum of all submitted pay applications. This is the one column nobody argues about, because it comes straight off the invoices.
Percent complete is your honest assessment of how much of the contract scope is finished. The PM estimates it from field progress, not from the billing percentage. It's the only column that's a judgment call, which is why it's the one to review first.
Earned to date is what you've earned based on completion, which is what you're entitled to bill. You calculate it as contract value times percent complete. It's the honest measure of revenue on the job.
Over-billing is billed to date minus earned to date when that number is positive, and it means you owe work against money you already collected. Under-billing is earned to date minus billed to date when that number is positive, and it means money is on the table that hasn't been invoiced. One of the two is always true on an active job, and the size of it's what you manage.
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.
| 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.
FREQUENTLY ASKED.
