When a client rings to ask how their job is going and your project manager, QS and foreman each give a different answer, nobody is lying. Each of them is reading a different source, updated at a different time. In the short video above, we play out that Friday afternoon call and explain why one agreed job status report, built from the same information, settles it.
In the video
- It's Friday afternoon and a client calls asking where things are on their project.
- You ask the PM: "We're on track." You ask the QS: "Over budget." You ask the foreman: "We need another two weeks."
- Same job, three different answers. Who's right?
- This happens when everyone is working from different information. The PM is looking at the schedule, the QS at costs from two weeks ago, and the foreman knows what's actually happening on the ground now.
- None of them are wrong. They just can't see the full picture.
- One dashboard, one source of truth, gets everyone on the same page.
What's happening here
Take the job in the video, Job 4217. Each person answers honestly from what they can see.
The project manager is looking at the program. Milestones have been hit, the frame is up, the next trades are booked. On the schedule, it's on track.
The QS is looking at costs, and those costs are as current as the last time bills and timesheets were entered against the job. If that was a fortnight ago, the QS is reporting a picture that is a fortnight old. It may show an overrun that has since been recovered, or miss one that has grown.
The foreman knows what happened on site this week: the rework on the bathroom set-out, the delivery that came late, the trade that didn't show. That's why they say two more weeks, and it's the most current information of the three. But it's in their head, not in any system.
The client gets three answers, or worse, gets the PM's answer on Friday and the foreman's answer two weeks later. Either way, trust in the builder takes a hit, and the business owner has no clear view of whether the job is making money.
Why it happens
This is a case of systems that disagree. The schedule lives in one place, costs in the accounts or a job system, and site knowledge in people's heads and phones. Each source is updated on its own timetable, so at any moment they describe the job at different points in time.
It's also a case of numbers arriving too late. The QS's view is the most important one for profit, yet it's usually the oldest, because costs reach the job only after bills are entered and timesheets processed. We explain why that delay happens, cost type by cost type, in our guide to seeing job profit sooner.
The usual fix people reach for is a meeting where everyone brings their own numbers. That helps for a week. What lasts is a single source of truth: one place everyone takes the job's status from, built from the same data, with each person responsible for keeping their part current.
What goes in a job status report
A job status report for a builder doesn't need to be long. One page per job, with each line owned by the person closest to it:
- Program status: on track, ahead or behind, with the forecast completion date (PM)
- Cost position: budget, cost to date, committed costs not yet billed, and forecast cost to complete (QS or accounts)
- Site issues this week: delays, rework, late deliveries, and what they're likely to do to time and cost (foreman or supervisor)
- Variations: raised, approved and claimed (PM or QS)
- An "as at" date on every number, so nobody mistakes a fortnight-old cost for today's
The last item matters more than it looks. Half the disagreement in the video comes from people comparing numbers of different ages without knowing it. Once every figure shows when it was last updated, the gaps become obvious and someone can close them.
For a wider view across all jobs, our construction KPI dashboards page covers the business-level numbers. The job status report is the job-level answer you can give a client. If you're still choosing which numbers to watch, start with the construction KPIs builders should track.
What it looks like when it's fixed
On Friday afternoon the client rings. You open the job's status page and read it to them: program two days behind because of a late delivery, recovering next week; costs tracking slightly over on labour because of rework, with a variation raised for the client-requested change; completion forecast still within the contract date. The PM, QS and foreman would say the same thing, because they're reading the same page.
Behind that page, costs flow from the accounts and job system without being retyped, committed costs come from purchase orders and subcontracts, and the foreman's end-of-day site notes feed the issues section. The Monday meeting is spent deciding what to do about the bathroom rework, not arguing about whose figure is right.
Questions to ask in your business
- If a client rang now, would your PM, QS and site lead give the same answer about their job?
- How old are the cost figures your QS is working from today?
- Where does the foreman's knowledge of site issues get written down, if anywhere?
- Do your schedule, job costs and accounts use the same job number?
- Is there a single place an owner or director can see where every job stands?
- When numbers disagree, how long does it take to work out which one is right?
Frequently asked questions
Why do my project manager and QS have different numbers for the same job?
They're usually looking at different sources updated at different times: the PM at the program, the QS at costs that may be a week or two behind. Putting both onto one report with an "as at" date on each figure shows where the gap is, and connecting the cost data shortens it.
What should a construction job status report include?
Program status and forecast completion, cost to date, committed costs, forecast cost to complete, site issues, and variations raised, approved and claimed. Keep it to one page per job and give each line an owner.
How often should a job status report be updated?
Weekly suits most builders, with cost data refreshed at least that often. Site issues can be updated daily if your crew already records an end-of-day diary.
Do we need new software to get one source of truth?
Often not. Most builders already have the information in a scheduling tool, a job system and the accounts. The work is connecting them so the report builds itself, rather than someone copying figures into a spreadsheet every Friday.
Get everyone reading the same page
If your team gives three answers about the same job, we can help you find where the information splits and build one job status report from the systems you already have. Book a free initial chat to talk it through.