The ledger and project forecast disagree
Cost codes, committed costs, approved changes, and cost-to-complete assumptions are updated on different schedules.
Financial visibility
Build WIP and job-cost reviews from governed data, not month-end spreadsheet archaeology.
Create a repeatable financial-control workflow that reconciles the project story with the ledger, highlights incomplete inputs, and routes forecast exceptions to the right decision-maker.
Teams usually arrive here searching for:
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The operating symptoms
What this problem looks like before automation.
WIP preparation is a monthly fire drill
Finance spends the close collecting explanations instead of reviewing exceptions and deciding what needs correction.
Margin fade appears after it can be managed
Forecast changes are not consistently tied to production, procurement, change orders, or a named owner.
The SBA automation map
Build the system in four layers.
The implementation starts with reliable inputs and business rules, then automates routine actions while routing exceptions for review.
01
Inputs Join the financial spine
Bring together original budget, approved revisions, actual cost, commitments, billings, cash receipts, and project forecasts.
02
Rules Govern coding and forecast updates
Define required cost-code mapping, close cutoffs, forecast owners, tolerance bands, and evidence for manual adjustments.
03
Actions Prepare the review automatically
Reconcile source totals, calculate review fields, request missing forecasts, and present exceptions by project and owner.
04
Exceptions Route the numbers that need explanation
Flag unmapped cost, stale forecasts, overbilling/underbilling shifts, unposted approved changes, and margin movement beyond tolerance.
Human approvalThe decision remains accountable.
Controllers and project leaders retain responsibility for forecast judgments, revenue recognition, write-downs, and final financial statements. Automation makes the inputs traceable and the exceptions visible.
What gets built
A scoped operating system for this workflow.
- Source-system and cost-code map
- WIP preparation workflow
- Project forecast request and approval path
- Exception dashboard
- Close checklist and audit trail
How the pilot is measured
Evidence before expansion.
- Hours to prepare WIP
- Unmapped transaction count
- Forecast age by project
- Unposted approved changes
- Margin exceptions awaiting review
Work with the stack you have
Integrate before you replace.
The assessment checks access, data quality, ownership, and safe write-back options across your current tools.
QuickBooksSageProject-management exports or APIPayroll and timekeepingSpreadsheet forecasts and bank data
Common questions
Answers before you automate.
Can a construction WIP report be automated?
Data collection, reconciliation, calculations, reminders, and exception reporting can be automated when the source records are consistent. Forecast judgments and accounting approval should remain with qualified finance and project leaders.
Does this replace QuickBooks or Sage?
No. The goal is usually to keep the accounting system as the financial system of record and improve how project inputs, forecasts, and review evidence reach it.
What data is required for job-cost automation?
A useful starting set is contract value, approved changes, budget by cost code, actual costs, commitments, billings, cash received, and cost-to-complete forecast. The assessment identifies missing ownership and coding before building the automation.
Go deeper
Read the supporting guide How to Automate Construction WIP Reports
One workflow. One accountable pilot.
Show us how this process works today.
We will map the failure points, define the approval boundary, and tell you what should and should not be automated first.
Book a workflow assessment