Construction business
Construction job budget variance
Track projected final job cost from actual costs to date plus the remaining cost estimate.
Your inputs
Complete the fields for your selected method. Zero means intentionally zero, not unknown. Currency selection labels amounts; it does not convert exchange rates.
How this calculation works
estimate at completion = actual cost to date + estimated cost still to incur; projected overrun = estimate at completion - approved budget
For residential or commercial company costing. Use supplied job records, measured labor and quoted total expenses. No material takeoff, shopping list, supplier sourcing, code interpretation, engineering design or legal entitlement is provided. Actual and remaining costs must not overlap. Include costs already committed but not incurred in the appropriate remaining estimate, once. This is a projected budget difference, not earned-value cost variance or a guarantee of final cost.
What information do I need?
Use records for the same job, equipment or accounting period. Only the fields for your selected entry method are required. An unknown amount is not zero.
Input definitions and where to find them
- Current job cost budget (selected currency): Job ledger, approved budget, independent remainingcost estimate. Owner records or explicit assumption; no account connection or maintained rate tables required.
- Actual incurred job cost to date (selected currency): Job ledger, approved budget, independent remainingcost estimate. Owner records or explicit assumption; no account connection or maintained rate tables required.
- Estimated costs still to incur, excluding actual costs already counted: Job ledger, approved budget, independent remainingcost estimate. Owner records or explicit assumption; no account connection or maintained rate tables required.
- Cost description: Job ledger, approved budget, independent remainingcost estimate. Owner records or explicit assumption; no account connection or maintained rate tables required.
- Cost amount (selected currency): Job ledger, approved budget, independent remainingcost estimate. Owner records or explicit assumption; no account connection or maintained rate tables required.
Use the Where to find this value controls beside the inputs for available work-it-out helpers. Estimates remain your assumptions; a helper does not verify the source figures.
Worked example
Example amounts use US dollars (USD).
Example answer: Projected final cost minus budget is -$5,000.00 for the illustrative inputs below.
Example inputs
- Current job cost budget: $100,000.00
- Actual incurred job cost to date: $60,000.00
- Estimated costs still to incur, excluding actual costs already counted
- Cost description: Expense 1
- Cost amount: $20,000.00
- Cost description: Expense 2
- Cost amount: $15,000.00
- Projected final cost minus budget
- -$5,000.00
- Estimated final job cost
- $95,000.00
- Estimated remaining cost
- $35,000.00
These illustrative values are not recommended rates or industry averages. Replace every example input with your own figures.
Use the result well
Compare projected residential/commercial jobcost to budget.
Keep inputs on the same scope and time basis. Calculations retain precision internally; displayed values generally round to two decimal places, with extra precision for very small values and whole-unit rounding where required. Economic comparisons describe your supplied assumptions and do not guarantee future results.
This tool provides business arithmetic. It does not approve engineering designs, establish legal or tax treatment, select equipment or certify safe operating conditions.