Why slippage shows up too late
Cost and schedule drift compound because field actuals, labour, materials, equipment, subcontractor draws, lag behind the budget baseline. By the time the month-end report lands, the overrun is already in the ground.
Cash flow is where it bites: retainage, slow draws, and front-loaded costs strand working capital while the project still looks fine on paper.
Measure earned value, not just spend
The honest view is earned value against cost. The cost performance index, earned value over actual cost, drops below one when you are spending faster than you are earning. Schedule performance does the same for time.
These are the measures the RICS cost-management standards are built around, and they turn a vague worry into a number you can act on.
Where the ERP closes the loop
On Hudace, the budget baseline, daily field cost, procurement, and accounts payable share one ledger, so cost and schedule performance update through the month, not at the end of it. Xenon AI reads the trend and forecasts the estimate at completion and the cash gap weeks early.
A project manager or controller validates the forecast and chooses the response, rescope, accelerate, or renegotiate.
The numbers to watch
Track cost, schedule, and cash together, since an overrun usually hits all three.
CPI
Cost performance index = earned value / actual cost. Below one means you are over budget against the plan.
SPI
Schedule performance index = earned value / planned value. Below one means you are behind schedule.
Cost variance
Earned value - actual cost. The currency figure of the overrun.
Cash flow forecast
Projected inflows from draws against outflows. The gap a forecast should surface early.
See live project cost on Hudace
Talk to our team about putting budget, field cost, and cash on one ledger.