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      How to interpret 'Project Hub' commercial charts

      In this article

      What is the project hub?

      Chalkstring produces graphs and charts based on real time project information and the current reported progress level for your project.  

      To view project commercial data charts, expand the main Chalkstring black menu bar and click on the ‘Project Hub’ button for the project.

      Project hub charts

      1. Tender projections

       

      The 'Tender Projections' pie chart displays the breakdown of your project and figures as expected at tender. It shows the profit you expected to make and the distribution of costs allowed for within the various budgets. 

      This chart represents the project as tendered and is therefore used to compare original tendered assumptions with onsite realities. This comparison will aid in future tender assumptions on subsequent projects.

      This chart is based on project information (rate build up, bill of quantities and fixed costs) at the time when the various package assessments were accepted onto site.  The figures for the assessments within the tender are grouped together to give whole project figures.

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      2. Current projections

       

      The 'Current Projections' pie chart displays current project information in real time, including the impact of any post tender review, inclusion of variations, re-costing and re-measures. It shows the profit you expect to make and the distribution of costs allowed for in the various budgets. These figures assume the project runs exactly as currently planned according to the project data. 

      For example, do the figures for what has been consumed onsite match what has been allowed for?

      This chart, therefore can be used to accurately contrast live onsite performance against any assumptions made for the live project.  Any deviations between live and projected data should be investigated and acted upon where necessary.

      This chart is based on project information (rate build up, bill of quantities and fixed costs for each live assessment) grouped together to give real time whole project figures.

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      3. Last certified application

      The 'Last Certified Application' pie chart displays the cumulative revenue which has been certified for payment up to a specific effective date.  It shows the costs incurred within Chalkstring with effective dates up to and including the date of the application certification. The difference between the revenue to that date, and the costs to that date, is the profit you have cumulatively made to date.

      Because application revenue is certified by clients weeks or months in arrears of works being completed, this pie chart is not showing live project data or profitability, it is reporting the actual cost and revenue information for the project on a specific date in the past. This information is also plotted against the dashboard margins tracker graph.

      This chart only activates and displays in the Project Hub once you have certified some revenue for the project. 

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      Last Certified Application - what does it show exactly?

      • The cumulative revenue certified by your client to a specific effective date (the last time you entered a certification against an open application).
      • The cumulative actual material costs incurred up to that date (approved material invoices and any external costs allocated to the material budget).
      • The cumulative accrued material costs incurred up to that date (the difference between 'sent' order values and the value of approved invoices associated with those orders). These accrued costs are factored in as you have proactively incurred them via the ordering process, and through supplier invoicing delays mean their value has not been actually 'approved' for payment.
      • The cumulative actual labour costs incurred up to that date (approved labour applications and any external costs allocated to the labour budget). Labour WIP accruals are not factored in to this chart because, for example, if you allowed 3 days to do a job in your rate build ups and it has been completed but actually took 2 days, you would not regardless pay out the 3rd day.
      • The cumulative actual contingency costs incurred up to that date (elements of approved invoices and labour applications that relate to contingency budgets, and any external costs allocated to the contingency budget).
      • The cumulative accrued contingency costs incurred up to that date (the difference between 'sent' order values and the value of approved invoices associated with those orders). These accrued costs are factored in as you have proactively incurred them via the ordering process, and through supplier invoicing delays mean their value has not been actually 'approved' for payment. This is made up of any materials or fixed cost items that have been ordered but not invoiced yet that are either:
        • not in the scope of current rate build ups or fixed cost sections of your assessments.
        • and/or are ordered or applied for in excess of the quantities allowed for in a specific zone.
      There is no concept of contingency labour accrual because of how incoming applications work.
      • The cumulative actual fixed costs incurred up to that date (approved fixed cost invoices and any external costs allocated to the fixed costs budget).
      • The cumulative accrued fixed costs incurred up to that date (the difference between “sent” order values and the value of approved invoices associated with those orders). These accrued costs are factored in as you have proactively incurred them via the ordering process, and through supplier/contractor invoicing delays mean their value has not been actually 'approved' for payment.
      • The cumulative overhead & profit (OHP) made up to that date (the difference between the revenue figure and all the above actual and accrued costs).

      The actual profit that you report for a specific application can be distorted by a number of external factors:

      • If you have projected forward on your application and over applied the progress actually made and your client pays anyway, the 'Last Certified Application' chart will be artificially showing more profit for a period, although it is simply early cash flow in reality. 
      • Conversely, if your client has unjustly reduced their valuation of your works for a period, the 'Last Certified Application' chart will be showing artificially less profit.  However, this may be a cash flow issue rather than profitability issue. 
      • The periodic fluctuations of these values and external influences mean that the 'Last Certified' margin is not what Chalkstring expects you to make at the end of the job.  It shows the profit made up to a specific date based on what you have been paid against what has been spent. 
      • Because revenue applications are certified in arrears and costs for incoming labour applications for the period in question need to be processed and approved before the revenue certification is received, any accrued labour WIP (work in progress) which existed at the effective date of the application, is excluded from this chart. 
      • In contrast, since materials and fixed costs orders only become accruals when actually 'Mark as sent' in Chalkstring and now waiting of delivery of these items, any material or fixed cost accrual figures up to the effective date are reported in this chart.  The logic being that you are aware of the incurred costs and they relate to the work done to this point, it is just the delay in supplier invoicing stopping them becoming actual costs by the effective date of the application.

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