Baseline
What was sold, frozen when the strategy was finalized.
Project margin tracking software
Keep delivery connected to the deal.
Project margin tracking software for services teams: compare the margin you sold with what delivery is earning, while there is still time to act.
One project, three perspectives
Planned vs actual project margin, and the forecast.
Each shows the Managed Margin, after every cost, and answers a different question. Planned vs actual project margin
Actual to date
Approved time, posted costs and recognized revenue so far.
Forecast at completion
Cost to date plus the remaining plan and expected costs.
What feeds actual margin
Actual margin from approved work.
Weekly time counts once the project manager approves it. Expenses and recognized revenue are posted in the project.
Where each actual figure comes from
- Time: weekly timesheets, counted once approved.
- Expenses: travel, licences and subcontractors posted in the project.
- Revenue: recognized revenue, recorded as it is earned.
- Unknown actual cost: the seat’s finalized planning rate, with coverage shown.
- No timesheets kept here: once delivery is complete, allocated days count as worked.
- Change requests: approved changes add their value without rewriting the baseline.
A guided workflow
Make the next action obvious.
Each service order puts the most urgent step first, so the project manager always knows what to do next.
Delivery steps in the app
- Create your team plan and assign your project team.
- Record last week’s time.
- Decide what happens to allocations ending soon.
- Approve allocation changes beyond the finalized plan.
- Look at what is lowering the margin.
- Say when delivery ends.
Project margin variance
Catch margin erosion while there is time to act.
Variance is shown in points against the baseline, with the drivers in money and project budget vs actual cost by category. On fixed-price work, every hour over plan comes straight off the margin.
Project margin varianceProject budget consumption
Why extra hours reduce fixed-price margin
Forecast at completion
See what a slip would cost.
Enter how many weeks longer the work might run to see the margin, cost at completion and end date. Nothing is changed or saved.
Protecting fixed-price project margin
Client and portfolio reporting
See each client’s margin, not just each project’s.
The Client Portfolio report shows each client’s pipeline, won business, revenue earned, Managed Margin as sold and where it is heading, and win rate. Delivery Margin totals every service order in delivery.
How to roll up project margin
Project margin tracking questions.
Short answers, with a guide for each.
Where do actual hours and costs come from?
The project manager records weekly timesheets, which count once approved; expenses are posted in the project. Project margin review checklist.
Our timesheets are kept in another tool. Can we still close delivery?
Yes. Missing timesheets never block completion: once delivery is complete, allocated days with no recorded time count as worked, at each person’s cost, and are labelled as counted from allocations. Planned vs actual project margin.
Is the forecast an AI prediction?
No. It is cost to date plus the remaining plan and expected costs, and you can see every figure behind it. How to read margin variance.
What if we don't know someone's actual cost?
Delivery still works: the seat's finalized planning rate is used, and cost-basis coverage shows how much is actual. Cost rate vs billing rate.
Can I see margin across all our projects?
Yes. Delivery Margin totals every service order in delivery, by business unit, and the Client Portfolio report shows each client’s won business, Managed Margin and win rate. How to roll up project margin.
How often should we review project margin?
Weekly for short or fixed-price work, monthly for long, stable engagements. Choose a review cadence.
Can Managed Margin forecast project margin for a consulting firm?
Yes, as a calculation rather than a prediction. The forecast is the recorded actuals plus the remaining plan you enter, so you can see the project’s margin at completion if the rest of the work goes as planned, and compare it with the approved baseline. It is project margin tracking and analysis for consulting and services teams, built from the hours, costs and revenue recorded in the project. Planned vs actual project margin.
See the work behind your margin.
Bring your team plan, recorded time and delivery costs into one review.