Real estate and construction
Project accounting that tells you the cost to complete, not the cost so far
A construction project's important number is not what it has cost, but what it will cost from here. We build the project accounting that answers that while the answer still changes the outcome.
The cost to complete.
Incurred is history; remaining decides the project
At a glance
Costs are captured by supplier rather than by project, so no project has a real position.
Project position
Project-wise cost incurred, committed and to complete.
8 trades
Each trade runs on different numbers, so each has its own page
Open the one that matches your business. Each sets out how the money moves, where it usually breaks down and what we would do first.
The economics
Why the numbers are harder here
Construction spends heavily up front and collects against milestones, so a project can be profitable overall and insolvent in the middle. Cash and profit diverge for long periods, and the divergence is structural rather than a sign that anything is wrong.
That makes cost to complete the number the business runs on. Cost incurred is history; cost to complete determines whether the project still works, whether the next drawdown is needed, and whether the price agreed a year ago is still viable.
The problem
Where visibility breaks down
- Costs are captured by supplier rather than by project, so no project has a real position.
- Cost to complete is estimated once at the start and never revisited against actuals.
- Retention money is held by both parties and tracked properly by neither.
- Contractor payments run ahead of certified work, with recovery left to good faith.
- Cash phasing is not mapped to milestones, so a funding gap is discovered when it arrives.
Where we concentrate
How we focus the engagement
Project position
- Cost captured against project, phase and cost head from the point of commitment.
- Cost to complete reforecast on a fixed cycle against actual progress.
- Committed but unbilled cost visible, not only invoices received.
- Variations and claims recorded when they arise rather than at final account.
- Project-level profitability, with land, construction and financing cost separated.
Payment and cash control
- Contractor payments released against certified work and measured progress.
- Retention tracked in both directions, with release conditions recorded.
- Tax deduction at source on contractor payments reconciled to the credit available.
- Cash phasing mapped to milestones, so a funding gap is seen before it opens.
- Advances to contractors recovered on a schedule rather than at settlement.
Reporting
Reports worth receiving
- Project-wise cost incurred, committed and to complete.
- Cash phasing against milestone collections.
- Retention held and retention receivable.
- Contractor payment status against certification.
- Project profitability, with financing cost shown separately.
Common questions
Questions we hear in this sector
We know our total spend. Why is that not enough?
Total spend tells you what has happened. It cannot tell you whether the project still makes money, because that depends entirely on what remains to be spent. Two projects with identical spend to date can be in completely different positions.
Do you handle regulatory compliance for projects?
We maintain the underlying financial records and prepare the information such compliance requires. Certifications and filings reserved for a licensed professional are performed by an independently engaged professional and coordinated through us.
How often should cost to complete be revisited?
Monthly on an active project. A reforecast that only happens when something goes wrong arrives too late to change the outcome, which is the entire point of doing it.
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