Domain
COST CONTROL

Cost — controlled from
estimate through to final settlement

Cost converts accepted quantities into value. ERPCons Cost Control ties every unit of cost to a work item, a contract and a source document — so you know exactly where the money is going, where it deviates and how much is left, in real time.

  • Estimate and actual on one axis
  • Variations follow a process
  • Warn before you go over
Know where the money goes
before it is gone
Approved budget
120.0bn VND
Actual cost
112.56bn VND
93.8% — still within budget
Variations awaiting approval
8.35bn VND
3 items over threshold

03 problems businesses commonly face

You find out you are over budget once you already are

Costs are only consolidated at period end. By the time a gap shows up, the money is spent and the work is built.

Variations have nowhere to go

Variations are discussed over email and chat, tied to no particular work item or budget.

Three numbers, three places

The estimate sits in a QS file, the actuals in accounting, the quantities on site — none of them reconcile.

Who uses it?

QS / Cost EngineerTake-off, unit prices, control
Project directorTotal cost & risk
Site managerSite costs
Accounting / FinanceAccounting, cash flow
SupplyPurchase prices, supplier contracts
Executive boardPortfolio profit margin

Before ERPCons

Estimatein a separate Excel file
Variationsapproved by email
Source documentsin the accounting software
Consolidated by handat month end
Spot the gapwhen it is already too late

Working with ERPCons

1
BudgetingBy WBS, work item and norm
2
Capture what actually happenedFrom acceptance, procurement and timesheets
3
Variations follow a processVO raised → reviewed → approved
4
Threshold alertsWarn before a work item goes over budget
5
Final settlementData ready, with source documents

Data in Cost Control

Input
  • Estimate & BOQ by WBS
  • Accepted quantity (from Output)
  • Unit prices, norms, price indices
  • Contracts, addenda, variation orders (VO)
  • Purchase documents, invoices, timesheets
Processing
  • Convert accepted quantities into value
  • Allocate indirect cost by WBS
  • Reconcile estimate — commitment — actual
  • Variation control by threshold and authority
  • Compute the estimate at completion (EAC)
Result
  • Cost reports by project / work item
  • Compare plan — actual — forecast
  • Budget overrun alerts by WBS
  • Cash flow, subcontractor payables
  • Datasets for final settlement & audit
Cost is the link between Output and Reconciliation

No re-keying: quantities come from Acceptance, the value is computed here, then flows on to Reconciliation to compare with what has been paid.

The real interface (sample data)

erpcons.vn/app/cost/riverside Sample data
Project: Riverside Urban Area
Cost control by work item
Period: Oct 2024
Approved budget
120.00bn
Committed
118.20bn
98.5% of budget
Actual cost
112.56bn
93.8% — within threshold
Estimate at completion (EAC)
121.4bn
+1.2% vs budget
Cost by work item · All (86) · Over threshold (3) · VO awaiting approval (5)
Work itemBudgetCommitmentReality% usedVarianceStatus
Substructure18.0bn17.6bn17.4bn96,7%+0.6bnWithin threshold
Superstructure works46.0bn45.8bn44.2bn96,1%+1.8bnWithin threshold
Finishing28.0bn29.4bn28.9bn103,2%−0.9bnOver threshold
MEP systems22.0bn21.3bn18.1bn82,3%+3.9bnWithin threshold
Overheads6.0bn4.1bn3.96bn66,0%+2.0bnTracking
Budget vs actual by period
Blue: budget · Cyan: actual · Dashed red: EAC forecast
Variations (VO) awaiting approval
  • VO-014 · Change of façade cladding material — 1.2bn
  • VO-018 · Additional basement waterproofing — 860m
  • VO-021 · Revised piling method — 540m

Interface shown with sample data — not real customer data.

Typical use cases

Variation control on long-running projects

Every VO passes an approval threshold by value and is booked against the right budget item, so nothing goes “off the books” any more.

Compare profit margins across projects

One WBS structure across the whole portfolio lets leadership see which project is eating the margin.

Preparing the final settlement does not mean starting over

Costs are tied to source documents and acceptance reports from the start of the period, so settlement records are ready.

Frequently asked questions

See all

No. Cost Control manages cost from the project perspective (WBS, work item, contract) and exchanges data with your accounting system through APIs; it does not replace financial accounting.

You set a threshold per WBS item. When committed plus actual cost reaches the threshold, the system alerts the owner before any further spend.

Based on actual cost to the current period, signed commitments and the remaining planned quantities. Results are shown with their assumptions so you can judge how much to trust them.

Yes. The system holds several price sets by date along with adjustment indices, and applies the correct unit price for the matching acceptance period.
Trust Layer
A trusted platform for sustainable operations

Security — Transparency — Compliance — Ready to scale

SecurityMulti-layer data security
Data OwnershipData ownership
Audit TrailA complete audit trail
ComplianceLegal compliance
Integration & APIOpen, flexible connectivity
ImplementationImplementation & Training
Support & SLASupport & Commitment

Know where the money is going, before it is gone

Start with the free cost control assessment, or see a demo built around your own problem.

  • No login required to run the assessment
  • A demo on your actual pain, not a broad tour