In construction, accurate forecasting isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity. One of the most important metrics every contractor must understand is Cost to Complete (CTC). Whether you’re running one project or managing dozens, knowing how much more you’ll need to spend helps you stay profitable, stay on schedule, and avoid surprises.
This guide explains what cost to complete construction means, why it matters, and how tools like PivotXL can simplify the process.
What Does Cost to Complete Mean?
Cost to complete is the amount of money needed to finish a project. It includes expected costs for:
- Labor and remaining work
- Subcontractor commitments
- Unpurchased materials and equipment
- Indirect costs and overhead
- Approved change orders
Contractors typically update this estimate every month. It plays a big role in work-in-progress (WIP) reporting and helps you stay compliant with ASC 606 revenue recognition rules.
👉 Related Read: ASC 606 Revenue Recognition for Contractors
Why Cost to Complete Matters
Knowing your cost to complete allows you to:
- Recognize revenue accurately under ASC 606
- Track job profitability in real time
- Predict cash needs for the coming weeks
- Identify risk early when jobs go over budget
- Communicate clearly with clients and bonding agents
Without reliable CTC data, your WIP reports won’t reflect the true health of your projects — and you risk underbilling or misstating profits.
How Contractors Estimate Cost to Complete
Most construction companies follow a similar process each month:
- Pull actual job costs from your accounting system
- Ask project managers to estimate what’s left to spend
- Update spreadsheets with labor, materials, and sub estimates
- Calculate % complete based on total expected cost
- Review the data and build the WIP report
This process works — but it’s time-consuming, often manual, and prone to errors.
Challenges with Manual CTC Reporting
Many contractors rely on spreadsheets, which can create problems:
- Slow turnaround: Reports can take days to finalize
- Too much manual work: Copy-pasting data and checking formulas every month
- No visibility: Teams work in silos with outdated templates
- Version control issues: Multiple versions of the same file cause confusion
- Missing audit trail: It’s hard to track changes or who made them
All of these issues can impact the quality of your financial reports — and make it harder to make informed decisions.
How PivotXL Makes Cost to Complete Easier
PivotXL is a modern planning and reporting tool that works inside Excel. It connects directly to your accounting system and gives you better control over your cost-to-complete process.
🔗 Pull Data from Sage Automatically
PivotXL integrates with Sage 100, Sage 300 CRE, and Sage 50. It imports trial balances, job costs, and billing data without manual exports.
🧩 Simplify CTC Collection
Use Excel-based templates that project managers can fill out directly. These templates update the system in real time, keeping everyone on the same page.
📈 Automate WIP Reporting
Once cost-to-complete values are entered, PivotXL automatically calculates:
- Percent complete
- Earned revenue
- Estimated gross margin
- Over- and underbilling
You don’t need to build new spreadsheets every month — just open the report and review.
📊 Spot Trends and Improve Accuracy
Track trends across projects and months:
- How accurate were past estimates?
- Is margin slipping over time?
- Which jobs are always over budget?
This helps you improve forecasting and hold teams accountable.
🧾 Keep a Full Audit Trail
Every change is tracked. You know who updated what and when — helping with internal reviews, audits, and compliance.
Why It Matters for Contractors
By using PivotXL for cost to complete construction, you can:
✅ Reduce time spent on manual reporting
✅ Improve forecast accuracy
✅ Share real-time data with finance and field teams
✅ Build clean, consistent WIP schedules
✅ Stay compliant with ASC 606 and bonding requirements
Conclusion
Cost to complete is one of the most powerful tools in a contractor’s toolkit. When you estimate it accurately — and manage it efficiently — you gain better control over job profitability, revenue recognition, and cash flow.
If your team is still buried in spreadsheets, it may be time to upgrade. PivotXL helps you stay in Excel while automating the back end — giving you the flexibility you want and the structure you need.
👉 Related Read: Sage 300 WIP Report – How to Streamline Work-in-Progress Reporting
