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 left on the table.
The five columns are math, 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.
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Want it set up for you? Onboarding only, from $4,500 one time. Books migrated and job costing built, then your own team keeps it up.
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 held 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. The one-time onboarding fee is right here in the table.
Built for subs doing $1M to $12M. Above $12.5M we quote.
| Last 12 months revenue | Core | Strategic | Platinum | One-time onboarding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $1M | $1,900 | $3,100 | $3,300 | $2,500 |
| $1M to $3.5M | $2,600 | $4,100 | $5,300 | $4,500 |
| $3.5M to $6.5M | $3,800 | $5,900 | $8,300 | $6,000 |
| $6.5M to $9.5M | $5,100 | $7,600 | $11,800 | $7,500 |
| $9.5M to $12.5M | $6,100 | $8,900 | $14,900 | $9,000 |
| Above $12.5M | Quoted | Quoted | Quoted | Quoted |
The onboarding fee covers migrating your books back to the start of your last taxable year and getting you fully operational in 60 days. It's billed once, with your first invoice. It's the same for all three tiers, and it moves with your revenue band. Your first month is prorated, and your monthly engagement starts on the first of the first full month.
Just want the setup? Onboarding only is the same onboarding work with no monthly service after it, one time, at the onboarding fee plus $2,000. Start a monthly engagement later and $2,000 counts toward it. It starts at $4,500, and the price for every band is on the pricing page.
The three tier columns are the whole price. Which one fits depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. No payroll. No hidden line items. The onboarding fee is right here in the table.
- Online software only: QuickBooks, Sage, Viewpoint and similar. No VPN or hosted desktop.
- Not in any tier: payroll, pay applications, collections on receivables.
- Pricing valid through 2027.
CFO work. Your own bookkeeper keeps doing the books.
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 and never in a report.
Your bookkeeper still does the books.
Core, plus bookkeeping and bank reconciliations, plus job costing and WIP software set up and managed for you. Use your own online accounting software or we supply it, one price.
Every job shows its margin while it is still open.
Everything in Core, plus the bookkeeping and bank reconciliations done for you, and the job costing and WIP software set up, loaded with your cost codes, and managed every month. Use your own online software, or move to ours and we cover it.
A bookkeeper we choose does the books and reconciliations. No payroll.
Strategic, plus a controller who handles payables and receivables the way an in-house controller would. You approve every payment.
You approve, and the money side gets handled.
Everything in Strategic, plus a controller we choose who handles your bills and receivables for you the way an in-house controller would. They call vendors, pay the bills and keep the accounting current. We plan the cash flow first, and you approve every payment because it is your money.
A controller we choose does the payables and receivables. No payroll, no pay applications, no collections.
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