News & trends

Late information. Most overruns are not caused by surprises – they are caused by slow cost reporting that reveals problems weeks after they happen. By the time a monthly CVR shows a package is overspent, the money is already gone. Real-time committed cost tracking is the single biggest change contractors can make.

Construction cost management software like Planyard, Procore, and LiveCosts gives you real-time cost visibility per project. Planyard connects to Xero or QuickBooks and tracks committed costs (purchase orders and subcontracts) so you see projected overruns before invoices arrive. This replaces spreadsheet-based monthly reporting.

Contractors who switch from monthly CVRs to real-time cost tracking typically catch overruns 4-6 weeks earlier. On a 2 million GBP project, catching a 50,000 GBP overrun early enough to intervene (re-tender, negotiate, or re-scope) versus discovering it at month-end saves real money. Teams also save 3-4 days per month on reporting admin.

Committed costs are the costs you are contractually obligated to pay – purchase orders issued and subcontracts awarded – whether or not the invoice has arrived yet. Tracking committed costs gives you a forward-looking view of your project spend. Without it, you only see costs when invoices land, which is always too late to change course.

Use a construction-specific cost management tool like Planyard that connects to your existing accounting software (Xero, QuickBooks, or Sage). You get per-project job costing, committed cost tracking, and real-time budget vs actual reporting without the complexity or cost of a full ERP system.