Job progress and budget tracker
“I have spent 60% of my budget — have I done 60% of the work?” That is the only question that reveals an overrun before the end. Enter three numbers for ONE line item: the tool projects the final cost at the current rate, and says plainly what it thinks.
The three numbers, and the trap in each
| The number | What it is | The trap |
|---|---|---|
| Planned budget | What the accepted estimate allowed for this item | It is not the price sold: margin is not budget |
| Committed cost | Spent OR already ordered | An undelivered purchase order is already committed — forgetting it means thinking you have room |
| Progress | The REAL percentage of work performed | It is not the percentage of budget spent; confusing the two hides the overrun exactly |
The math, in plain terms
- Projected final cost = committed ÷ progress. At $60,000 committed for 40% progress: $150,000.
- Gap to date = committed − (budget × progress). What you have spent in excess of what is done.
- Cost per point of progress: what a point has cost so far, against what you have left per point to do. When the second is smaller than the first, the remaining budget will not cover the current rate.
- At 0% progress, nothing. The tool refuses to project: a single point is not a trend, and showing an invented number with the authority of a calculation would be worse than saying nothing.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between budget spent and progress?
Budget spent is what has left your account; progress is the share of work actually performed. Confusing the two hides exactly the overrun you are looking for: at 60% of budget spent for 40% of work done, the current rate lands 50% over budget. The math is simple — committed ÷ progress — but nobody does it a third of the way in, only at the end.
What counts as a “committed” cost?
Everything spent OR already ordered. A purchase order sent to a supplier is committed even if the goods are not delivered and the invoice has not arrived: the money is promised. Forgetting it is the most common mistake — it creates a feeling of headroom until three invoices land at once.
Why does the tool refuse to calculate at 0% progress?
Because it would divide by zero, and above all because a single point is not a trend. Projecting a final cost from a job that has not started would be inventing a number and displaying it with the authority of a calculation. From 1% of real progress the projection exists — but it is worth exactly what your estimate of progress is worth.
What official data is this tool based on?
None, and that is stated on screen. Unlike the hourly rate calculator or the legal hypothec calendar, which rest on published scales and articles of law, this one does arithmetic on YOUR figures. It guesses nothing and knows nothing about your job: it makes a gap visible earlier than you would have seen it at the end.
Free 14-day trial, no credit card — create a real estimate today.