Every project reports in its own format
One project sends a spreadsheet, another a PDF and a third a verbal update. The program director spends the first week of each month reconciling them before anyone looks at a variance.
For owners and program directors
Construction portfolio budget variance report for owners with several projects
With many projects, an owner wants one list that shows which ones are over budget and which need a closer look, before a large variance turns up weeks later. This page shows what the Financials page lists, the exact rule behind the Over budget, Watch and Within budget marks, and what is deliberately left out of the totals.
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What makes a portfolio report hard to trust
Variance shows up when it is already large
A project is on budget until a batch of change orders is approved and an invoice goes overdue in the same month. Without an early mark, the first signal is the finished report.
Totals that mix things that should not be mixed
Adding a project in one currency to a project in another gives a number nobody can use, and counting a project that has no approved budget as zero distorts the variance of the rest.
The rule behind Over budget, Watch and Within budget
The marks follow a fixed rule. A project without an approved budget is marked No approved budget. When the estimate at completion is above the current budget, it is Over budget. When it is not over, but at least one change order is pending, at least one invoice is overdue, or the estimate at completion is above 98 percent of the current budget, it is marked Watch. Otherwise it is Within budget. The order of the checks matters: a project is never marked Watch if it is already over budget. Because the rule is the same for every project, a program director can compare two projects without asking how each defines trouble.
Key metrics & reporting
What the totals include and what they leave out
Costs count for every project, but budget, estimate at completion and variance count only projects whose budget has been approved, so a project that is still being estimated does not read as a variance. Projects in different currencies are totaled separately, never combined. All amounts exclude sales tax. A project that you belong to but whose costs you may not see is not shown, and a note counts how many are missing and says that a project admin can give you access to the costs.
How to read the portfolio list in Fidrel
Step 1
Open Financials and choose the organization
Financials lists the projects of the organization you choose with their budget, estimate at completion and variance. A person who belongs to several organizations picks one with Choose organization.
Step 2
Read the summary for each currency
For each currency the summary shows Current budget, Estimate at completion, Variance, Committed cost, Invoiced, Paid, Pending change orders and Overdue invoices. A bar compares the estimate at completion and the invoiced amount with the budget.
Step 3
Go to the projects that need attention
The Needs attention row counts the projects that are Over budget, To watch or Without an approved budget. In the project list, Sort offers Needs attention first, Name, Largest budget and Largest variance, and Status filters by mark.
Step 4
Open the project behind a line
Search by name or project number, then open Cost tracking, Cost estimate or Invoices for the project. The list is where you decide where to look, and the project’s own pages are where you find the cause.
Pending change orders in the picture
Pending change orders appear as a count and an amount in the summary and as a reason for the Watch mark, so a large approval waiting in the queue is visible before it lands in the estimate at completion. The change order register itself holds the proposed, approved and invoiced amounts and the schedule impact of each one; the portfolio only reports how many wait for a decision.
What this report is not
Amounts in different currencies are never added together, so an organization with projects in two currencies reads one summary for each and no grand total. A project without an approved budget is left out of the budget and variance totals, and a project whose costs you may not see is left out of the list with a note saying how many. Fidrel produces no report for a lender and no application for payment from this list; it is a view for deciding where to look, and its amounts exclude sales tax.
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For owners and program directors
Frequently asked questions
Anything else on your mind? We are happy to help.
Talk to usA project is Over budget when its estimate at completion is higher than its current budget. A project without an approved budget is marked as having no approved budget instead.
A project is marked Watch when it is not over budget but has a pending change order, an overdue invoice or an estimate at completion above 98 percent of its current budget.
No. Projects in different currencies are totaled separately and never combined, so the summary shows one block for each currency instead of a single grand total.
If you belong to the project but have no access to its costs, it is not shown, and a note says how many are hidden. A project admin can give you access to the costs.
Their costs count, but they are left out of the budget, estimate at completion and variance totals, and a note says how many projects were excluded.
Not as one. The list is a view for deciding where to look, and Fidrel produces no lender report or application for payment. The data behind a project can be exported to Excel or CSV.