Results: forecast, revenue and reporting
Revise a project's estimate at completion
Each month, enter what every task still needs to finish, see the cost and margin the project will end with, and have someone else approve the revision so revenue and reports use it.
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In this article
The budget says what a job should cost; the estimate at completion (EAC) says what it will cost, given what is spent and what is left. Revising it every month is how a contractor sees a loss coming while there is still time to act.
Start a revision
Open the project and its Estimates tab, then select New estimate.
The revision lists every task with its Budget, its Cost to date and what open purchase orders have still Committed, all read from the books.
For each task, enter the Estimate to complete: what it still needs to finish. The first revision suggests the budget left; later ones carry forward what the approved revision expected.
The Estimate at completion of each task is cost to date + committed + estimate to complete. Under the grid you see the contract value, the estimate at completion, the Margin at completion and the % complete.
When the estimate is above the contract value, the screen warns you: the expected loss is provided for in full at the next revenue run.
Approve it
Save the revision and send it for approval. Someone else with permission to approve estimates opens it and approves it, or returns it for changes with a reason. You cannot approve your own revision.
The newly approved revision replaces the previous one. It is what revenue recognition, the WIP schedule, the portfolio and the project's profit and loss use.
Common questions
Can I have two revisions open? No. Finish, approve or delete the open one before starting the next. Approved revisions stay in the list as history.
Why did the cost to date change after I saved? It is read again from the books every time the revision is saved or sent, so what is approved is the position on that day.