How to read and manage a project CVR
The CVR (cost value reconciliation) shows what a project is worth, what it will cost and the margin you will make. It lives inside each project, under Financials. Most figures fill in from customer orders, purchase orders and invoices, while the QS owns the forecast.
- Who uses it
- Commercial and QS users, project leads and directors.
- Where it lives
- Inside a project, under Financials, then CVR.
- What fills it
- Customer orders, trade partner POs and supplier invoices.
- What you own
- Package budgets, forecasts, contingency and provisional sums.
Before you start
The CVR reads from records that already exist in Sync. Before you start, check that:
- The project has been created.
- Package codes exist in Config Settings.
- You have permission to view the CVR.
- Customer quotes or orders are raised against the project, for live figures.
- Trade partner POs are raised against the project, for live cost.
Open the CVR
Go to Projects and open the project. Select the Financials tab, then CVR.
Read the Commercial view
The CVR opens in the Commercial view: forecast final cost, cost to complete, committed costs and margin. There are three headline cards:
Comes from customer orders once the first one exists. Before that it is a manual figure (marked "Manually entered") or the total of the package customer values. Once it switches to orders, the card shows "Originally £…" so you can see the starting value.
Committed POs plus the remaining package forecasts. Before the first PO it can be a manual figure.
Shown as a percentage and as profit in pounds. Highlighted green when positive and red when negative.
Select a card to drill into the customer invoices, POs or profit behind it.
Switch to the Financial view
Use the Commercial / Financial toggle at the top right. It shows the same data through a finance lens:
The total billed to the customer to date, and the percentage of customer value billed.
Supplier invoices received and processed.
Revenue invoiced minus actual cost.
Read the cost position
The Cost position bar splits forecast final cost into Committed (raised POs) and Remaining (forecast still to spend), and shows how much of committed cost has been Invoiced. Committed plus remaining always equals forecast final cost.
Read margin movement
The Margin movement card shows how margin has changed since the CVR baseline, in points and in pounds, with a small trend chart.
Read the CVR line items table
The line items table has one line per service (package). Its columns are:
The package.
The package customer value.
Raised POs for that package, with the PO count underneath.
Invoices processed on those POs.
The remaining forecast after committed POs.
Margin turns green at 10% or more and red below 0%.
Overhead lines (OH&P and similar fixed rows) sit at the top, and a Totals row closes the table. Contingency never appears here, because it has its own card.
See the POs linked to a package
Select the arrow next to a package to expand it and see its Linked POs: reference, trade partner, date, value and status. Values are the part of each PO allocated to that package. Select a reference to open the PO.
Add a package
Select Add line item. The Add package panel opens:
Search your package codes. Required.
Usually from the customer quote. Once customer orders exist this is a package figure only, and the headline comes from orders.
The budget at tender. Required.
Read-only: committed (raised POs) and invoiced to date, plus the linked POs.
Forecast final cost and forecast margin update as you type.
Optional commentary on the package.
Select Add package to save it.
Adjust a package forecast
Open a package to see its Package forecast panel: forecast final cost, forecast margin, variance against budget and % complete. The breakdown lists:
- Original budget.
- Variations.
- Committed cost (raised POs).
- Invoices received.
- Forecast remaining (QS estimate).
- Provisional sums.
- Contingency allocation.
Select Adjust forecast, enter Forecast remaining (£), which is the QS estimate of the remaining package cost, and select Save forecast. Use the Notes and History & activity tabs to record and review changes.
Edit or delete a package
Use the row actions to edit a package. Delete package appears in the edit panel for users with delete permission. Fixed overhead rows can be edited but not deleted.
Track provisional sums
Below the line items, switch between Provisional Sums, Contingency and Variations. Add each provisional sum with its original allowance and current forecast. The variance is green when you come in under the allowance (a gain) and red when you go over. No change shows as a dash.
Set the original contingency
On the Contingency card, select Set original. Enter the amount and an optional reason. Sync suggests a typical 3 to 5% of forecast cost for the project. The card then shows Original, Remaining (% held), Drawn down and Released to margin.
Draw down or release contingency
Select Adjust, then choose what you are doing:
Use contingency to cover a cost overrun.
Return unused contingency to the project margin.
Enter an amount greater than zero and a reason, which is required. You cannot draw down or release more than what remains. Every movement is listed in Movement history with the date and user.
Record variations
The Variations card shows the count, value impact, margin impact ("Margin protected" or "Margin eroded"), final account impact and the latest variations. Select Manage Variations to open the project's variations. A variation records:
- Title and description.
- Requested by (defaults to Client).
- Date (defaults to today).
- Customer PO.
- Package and trade partner.
- Attachments.
- Revenue change and cost change.
- Supporting notes.
Sync gives each variation a reference.
Enter an expected customer value
Before the first customer order, select the edit option on the Customer value card to enter the QS estimate. It is replaced by live customer orders as soon as they exist, and the card then shows "Originally £…".
Enter an expected forecast final cost
Before the first PO, edit the Forecast final cost card to enter an estimate. Once POs exist, it is replaced by committed POs plus package forecasts.
What you can and cannot do
- Switch between the Commercial and Financial views of the same data.
- Add, edit and delete packages (with permission), and set each package budget and forecast remaining.
- Expand a package to see exactly which POs feed it.
- Enter a manual customer value and forecast final cost before live orders or POs exist.
- Set, draw down and release contingency, with a reason trail.
- Track provisional sums and variations.
- Type over committed or invoiced cost. These always come from POs and supplier invoices.
- Edit the manual customer value once customer orders exist, or the manual forecast final cost once POs exist.
- Add contingency as a line item. It is managed on its own card.
- Draw down or release more contingency than remains, or adjust without a reason.
- Change the CVR forecast by adding a variation on its own.
- Delete fixed overhead rows. Archived POs do not count towards CVR cost.
Common issues
You need permission to view the CVR. Ask your Sync administrator to check your permissions.
Adding CVR lines is a separate permission. Ask your Sync administrator.
Customer orders exist for the project, so the value now comes live from those orders.
Nothing has been ordered against that package. Raise a PO and pick the package on its line items.
Another line for the same service carries the PO figures, so they are not counted twice.
Enter an amount above £0.00 and no more than what remains, and add a reason.
Variations do not change the forecast. Add a line item for the variation and allocate PO lines to it.
CVR checklist
To keep a project's CVR accurate, check that you have:
- A package added for every service, with customer value and forecast cost.
- Original contingency set.
- Provisional sums entered.
- POs raised against the right packages.
- Forecast remaining reviewed for each package.
- Variations recorded and, where needed, costed through a line item.
Summary
To read and manage a project CVR in Sync:
- 1Open the project, then Financials, then CVR.
- 2Read the headline cards in the Commercial and Financial views.
- 3Check the cost position and margin movement.
- 4Add a package for each service.
- 5Expand packages to see their linked POs.
- 6Adjust forecast remaining as the job progresses.
- 7Manage provisional sums, contingency and variations below the table.
Most CVR figures fill in on their own from orders, POs and invoices. Keep packages, forecasts and contingency up to date, and the margin on screen stays a true picture of the job.