Know where the job is going before it is over

Expected, projected and final are different facts

1. 01

   Baseline

   The starting estimate and proposal economics are frozen so the original plan remains readable.

2. 02

   Actual cost

   Record incurred costs, or explicitly confirm eligible receipt and employee-hour costs. Field records alone never post money.

3. 03

   Committed cost

   Issued purchase orders create linked commitments. Keep other obligations visible without duplicating receipt-based actual costs.

4. 04

   Forecast to complete

   Add the cost still expected to finish instead of treating an open job as complete.

5. 05

   Projected profit

   Projected final cost is actual costs plus the forecast to complete, which includes remaining commitments. Commitments are not added again. Compare that cost with the current contract.

6. 06

   Final variance and learning

   Close the loop by explaining estimate-versus-actual differences and carrying accepted learning forward.

The job-costing terms stay precise

Estimated cost

What the work was expected to cost when it was priced.

Committed cost

An approved obligation not yet recorded as an actual cost.

Actual cost

A cost that has already happened.

Forecast

The remaining cost still expected before the job is complete.

Expected profit

The profit in the original estimate economics.

Projected profit

The current outlook while the job is still open.

Actual or final profit

The result only after final revenue and job cost are known.

Change order

An approved change to the current contract, not a rewrite of the original baseline.

Check the numbers with free tools

• True Job Cost Calculator

  Build the cost from named classes rather than one miscellaneous total.

• Job Profit Calculator

  Compare revenue with job cost and distinguish margin from markup.

• Estimate vs Actual Calculator

  See cost, revenue and profit variance without turning unknown final values into zero.

• Committed costs and cost to complete

  Read how commitments and remaining work change a live profit forecast.

• How to close out a job

  Understand when the final result is complete enough to become learning.

• RHACOVA methodology

  Use the same definitions that drive the product calculations.

Job profit and company cash: connected, never confused.

Managerial finance adds receivables, supplier bills, recorded payments, statement import and reconciliation, cash projections and recognition-based P&L under separate permissions. A job cost is not a bill or payment; projected job profit is not cash or recognized revenue. RHACOVA does not replace certified accounting, payroll or tax reporting.