Project Finances Guide

Appendix: Project Finances Formulas

Sometimes project finances can get confusing, so feel free to use this guide as a reference for various financial metrics commonly used in project management.
  • Planned Labor Cost – a prediction of how much labor cost the project might need.
    Planned Labor Cost = Estimated Hours x Internal Hourly Rate
  • Planned Expenses – a prediction of non-labor related costs the project might need.
  • Planned Project Cost – the expected total cost of the project at the very beginning of the project.
    Planned Project Cost = Planned Labor Cost + Planned Expenses
  • Actual Labor Cost – the total cost of labor spent on the project to date.
    Actual Labor Cost = Actual Number of Hours x Internal Hourly Rate
  • Actual Expenses – how much has been spent on project expenses to date.
  • Actual Project Cost – the real-time summary of the project’s actual labor costs and expenses once the project has started.
    Actual Project Cost = Actual Labor Cost + Actual Expenses
  • Estimate at Completion (EAC) Labor Cost – the estimated total labor cost at the end of the project.
    EAC Labor Cost = Actual Labor Cost + ETC Labor Cost
  • ETC Expenses – remaining expenses needed to complete the project.
  • ETC Project Cost – the real-time summary of the remaining estimated labor cost and planned expenses – what is left to complete the project.
    ETC Project Cost = ETC Labor Cost + ETC Expenses
  • Estimate to Complete (ETC) Labor Cost – remaining labor cost needed to complete the project.
    ETC Labor Cost = Hours Left x Internal Hourly Rate
  • EAC Expenses – estimated total expenses at the end of the project.
    EAC Expenses = Actual Expenses + ETC Expenses
  • EAC Project Cost – estimated total cost at the end of the project.
    EAC Project Cost = EAC Labor Cost + EAC Expenses
  • Total Project Budgeted Cost – a set amount allocated to a project as a cost threshold that the Project Manager needs to remain under.
    Total Project Budgeted Cost = Planned Project Cost + Contingency Padding
  • Remaining Budget – the amount left to complete the project.
    Remaining Budget = Total Budgeted Cost – Actual Cost
  • Actual Flat Fee Activities – the sum of all flat fees associated with billable activities that have been completed.
  • Actual Labor Billing – the amount of money matching the performed billable labor.
    Actual Labor Billing = Actual Billable Hours x Billing Rate + Actual Flat Fee Activities
  • Actual Billable Expenses – the sum of all actual expenses that are billable to a customer.
  • Actual Billing (Project Revenue) – the amount of money matching the work you are ready to bill your customer for.
    Actual Billing = Actual Labor Billing + Actual Expenses
  • ETC Flat Fee Activities – the sum of all flat fees associated with billable activities that are not completed yet.
  • ETC Labor Billing – the amount of money matching the billable labor that was not performed yet.
    ETC Labor Billing = Billable Hours Left x Billing Rate + ETC Flat Fees Activities
  • ETC Billable Expenses – the sum of all planned billable expenses.
  • ETC Billing (Revenue) – estimated amount of money expected yet to be charged to the customer.
    ETC Billing = ETC Labor Billing + ETC Billable Expenses
  • EAC Labor Billing – the amount of money matching the estimated billable labor at the end of the project.
    EAC Labor Billing = Actual Labor Billing + ETC Labor Billing
  • EAC Billable Expenses – the sum of all billable expenses at the end of the project.
    EAC Billable Expenses = Actual Billable Expenses + ETC Billable Expenses
  • EAC Billing (Revenue) – the estimated total amount of money expected to be charged to the customer by the end of the project.
    EAC Billing = EAC Labor Billing + EAC Billable Expenses
  • Actual Project Profit – the real-time difference at any given moment between Actual Project Revenue and Actual Project Cost.
    Actual Project Profit = Actual Project Billing – Actual Project Cost
  • Estimate at Completion (EAC) Project Profit – how much profit or loss is estimated to be at the end of the project.
    EAC Project Profit = EAC Project Revenue – EAC Project Cost
  • Actual Profit Margin – real-time profitability of the project represented as a percentage.
    Project Margin = Actual Project Profit / Actual Project Revenue * 100%
  • EAC Profit Margin – estimated profitability at the end of the project represented as a percentage.
    EAC Project Margin = EAC Project Profit / EAC Project Revenue * 100%
  • Billed – total amount already billed to a customer.
  • Work in Progress (WIP) – shows how much work has been completed that has not been billed to the customer yet.
    Work In Progress = (1 – (Total Billed / Total Project Billing)) * 100%
  • Cost Performance Index (CPI) – shows how well the project is performing relative to the project budget.
    CPI = (Progress * Estimated Hours * 100) / Actual Hours
  • Schedule Performance Index (SPI) – shows how well the project is performing relative to the project schedule.
    SPI = (Progress / 100) / (Current Date – Start Date) / (End Date – Start Date)
  • Utilization Rate – a ratio between the total billable hours spent by each resource to their available hours and is calculated as a percentage.
    Utilization Rate = Billable Hours / Total Available Hours * 100%
  • Realization Rate – a ratio between total billed hours compared to the total available billable hours.
    Realization Rate = Total Billed Hours / Total Billable Hours * 100%
  • Realized Rate – an effective billing rate based on the Realization Rate and your resources’ billing rate.
    Realized Rate = Realization Rate * Billing Rate

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