Mastering the Work in Progress (WIP) Report
A WIP report is the ultimate dashboard of your project's financial health. It reconciles estimated costs against actual field spending to tell accounting exactly how much revenue you have earned and whether you are billing ahead or falling behind.
1. Interactive WIP Table Explorer
Hover over headers or cell values to see equations, who owns the data, and why the metric determines your success.
| PM | Customer / Project | Sage Job# | Contract Price with Changes |
Estimated Costs |
Total Billed with Retention |
Total Cost to Date |
Utilization % | Costs to Complete |
Revised Cost Estimate |
GM % | Start Date |
Completion Date |
Left to Bill |
Outstanding CORs |
Approved CORs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CO | R-Collins-Repair Mather | 53617 | $776,238.00 | $604,627.34 | $755,457.75 | $516,544.63 | 85.43% | $475,889.31 | $992,433.94 | -27.85% | 11/06/24 | 06/15/25 | $20,780.25 | - | $487,248.00 |
| TOTAL | - | - | $776,238.00 | $604,627.34 | $755,457.75 | $516,544.63 | - | $475,889.31 | $992,433.94 | -27.85% | - | - | $20,780.25 | - | $487,248.00 |
Costs to Complete (CTC)
DEFINITION
The Project Manager's field-validated estimate of the remaining direct costs needed to fully complete all scope items.
CALCULATION / SOURCE
Total Cost to Date + Costs to Complete
WHY IT MATTERS
An inaccurate CTC blinds executive leadership to massive project losses until it is too late.
Meet the Project: R-Collins-Repair Mather
Welcome to the WIP simulator! You are the PM on Sage Job #53617: a repair job for R-Collins with a contract price of $776,238.00. Originally, estimators forecasted this would cost $604,627.34 to complete. That means you started with a healthy 22.1% Gross Margin. Let's look at the WIP report at mid-project.
Active Project WIP Preview (Job #53617)
LIVE PREVIEW| Contract Price | Est. Costs | Total Billed | Cost to Date | Costs to Complete | Revised Cost | GM % | Approved CORs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $776,238.00 | $604,627.34 | $755,457.75 | $516,544.63 | $88,082.71 | $604,627.34 | 22.11% | $487,248.00 |
Financial Impact Visualizer
WIP Project Sandbox
Change the values below to model your own construction projects, experiment with margins, and see the exact mathematical mechanics of over/under billings.
Real-time Project Health Indicators
Gross Margin Speedometer
Billing Balance Scale
Warning: Severe Budget Overrun
Your revised costs ($992,434.00) exceed your original contract value ($776,238.00). You are working at a -27.85% loss. You are currently $351,442.00 Overbilled, meaning you have cash on hand but you lack the billing room left to cover the costs required to actually complete the scope. You must immediately pursue a scope Change Order (COR) or review your field productivity!
Are you ready to become a WIP Master?
Test your knowledge on real-world Project Management scenarios. Score 80% or higher (4/5 correct answers) to earn your **Official WIP Academy Certificate**!
Who is the Project Manager?
Accounting needs to know who is responsible for this job. Enter your initials (e.g. CO).