The three numbers
Mostafa’s job is to know whether the Twin Villas is making money before the job ends, not after. The cost-control screen is where he watches that, and it rests on three numbers.
The first is the budget — what the job was meant to cost, drawn straight from the bill of quantities.
The second is actual: the invoices and labour that have already landed. Most people stop here, and stopping here is what loses jobs.
The third — the one people forget — is committed: the purchase orders Hoda has placed but not yet paid for. The work is bought, the money is spoken for, only the invoice has not arrived.
Budget, committed, actual. Read those three together and the remaining budget tells you the truth — not what is left in the bank today, but what is left once the lorries already on order are paid for.
Each cost category — finishes, joinery, drywall — carries its own three numbers, down the page.
A category whose committed is climbing past its budget is the early warning, weeks before it ever shows up in the actuals.
Drilling in, and pulling back
Drill into a category and you see exactly where the money went: which order, which supplier, which week. No spreadsheet cross-referencing, no arguing with the accounts team at month end.
Pull back to the portfolio and the same three numbers compare every job at once — the one quietly bleeding shows its committed climbing while the rest hold steady.
The habit that matters
One habit worth building: read committed, not just actual. A job that looks healthy on actuals alone is the job that surprises everyone when the bills land.
What just happened
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The three numbers
Mostafa’s job is to know whether the Twin Villas is making money before the job ends, not after. The cost-control screen is where he watches that, and it rests on three numbers.
-
Drilling in, and pulling back
Drill into a category and you see exactly where the money went: which order, which supplier, which week. No spreadsheet cross-referencing, no arguing with the accounts team at month end.
-
The habit that matters
One habit worth building: read committed, not just actual. A job that looks healthy on actuals alone is the job that surprises everyone when the bills land.
Open cost control Opens Taskity in your own project.