Construction profitability and cash flow dashboard with worked examples

Define the period and Jobs being reviewed

Select the Jobs you want to examine and give each a unique reference. A multi-job dashboard needs one row per selected Job, not one row per Invoice line or visit. Repeating the whole selling value on several rows can exaggerate the apparent size of the work.

Enter the current and previous snapshot dates. The worked review compares 30 September 2026 with 31 August 2026. Cumulative customer receipts and selected cost payments at those two dates produce the September movements for the same Jobs.

Use the same population for both snapshots. Adding an old Job whose earlier receipts are omitted can make its entire history look like new cash. If the cohort changes, obtain the comparable earlier figures or keep the resulting limitation explicit.

Record the source references and scope basis for every row. The template supplies a note field alongside its measures so another reviewer can trace the values. A plausible total without a retrievable source still leaves the dashboard difficult to trust.

Separate agreed value from the cost forecast

Agreed value describes the reviewed selling value for the selected work. It is not the amount necessarily invoiced or collected today. Use the actual agreed scope and accepted adjustments, keeping proposed work outside the measure until the appropriate agreement exists.

The cost column contains the forecast total direct costs for that same scope. It should include the selected costs still expected as well as those already incurred. Comparing a full selling value with a partial cost-to-date figure can make unfinished work look more profitable than the forecast supports.

Mark the cost basis as Reviewed only after checking its completeness for this measure. The workbook withholds the completed forecast contribution and margin where a named Job has missing values or an incomplete cost basis. An unknown cost is not a zero.

Here, forecast contribution equals agreed value minus forecast total direct costs. It excludes overhead and other items outside the selected cost definition. The label matters: it is a planning measure to investigate, not a statement that accounting profit has already been earned.

Read the worked contribution without averaging margins

The extension Job has £12,000 agreed value and £9,000 forecast costs, leaving £3,000 contribution. Joinery has £6,000 value and £4,200 costs, leaving £1,800. The repair has £3,000 value and £2,400 costs, leaving £600.

The portfolio therefore contains £21,000 agreed value, £15,600 forecast costs and £5,400 selected contribution. Divide the total contribution by the total agreed value to obtain about 25.71%. That is the margin on this forecast cost basis.

The three individual margins are 25%, 30% and 20%. Their simple average is 25%, which differs from the portfolio result because the Jobs have different selling values. Sum the relevant amounts before calculating a percentage for the combined work.

A change in the forecast should lead you back to its underlying cost or scope evidence. The dashboard highlights the effect across Jobs, while the estimate and actual-cost records explain the inputs. It does not replace a detailed investigation with one percentage.

Reconcile issued Invoices and recorded receipts

The worked extension has £8,000 invoiced and £5,000 received against those Invoices. Joinery has £6,000 invoiced and received. The repair has £1,500 invoiced with no receipt recorded. The selected totals are £15,500 invoiced, £11,000 received and £4,500 outstanding.

The outstanding amount answers a billing question, not the forecast contribution question. Uninvoiced agreed value may relate to future stages or other arrangements. It should not automatically be described as overdue money.

Use receipts allocated to the selected billing records and a consistent basis. Deposits, refunds, credits or other amounts may need separate treatment in your financial process. The template’s simple reconciliation flags receipts exceeding the selected invoiced amount rather than silently deciding how to classify the difference.

Trace an unexpected balance to the actual records. A duplicated receipt, a payment allocated elsewhere or a changed Invoice basis can affect the number. Keep the original reference and the reviewed correction visible instead of adjusting the dashboard until the total looks familiar.

Calculate the period’s selected cash movement

At the previous snapshot, the extension had £2,000 of cumulative receipts and £2,000 of cumulative selected cost payments. At the current snapshot those figures are £5,000 and £6,500. September therefore contains £3,000 coming in and £4,500 going out, a £1,500 negative movement.

Joinery starts this period with no selected receipts or payments and ends with £6,000 received and £4,200 paid, a positive £1,800 movement. The repair has no receipt and £800 paid in the period, a negative £800 movement.

Together the selected Jobs contribute £9,000 period receipts and £9,500 period cost payments, a negative £500 cash movement. That can sit beside the £5,400 forecast contribution without contradiction. One concerns expected value and total direct costs; the other concerns actual movements during the selected period.

British Business Bank guidance explains the distinction between profit and cash flow, including cash pressure while awaiting payment. This workbook does not include every business receipt or payment, an opening bank balance, tax, finance or unselected overhead. Its negative £500 is not the business’s closing cash balance.

Use a complete cash forecast for future funding needs. Moving an expected customer payment into next month is a scenario, while this dashboard uses actual snapshots. Keep an expected date distinct from a receipt that has occurred.

Resolve the checks before trusting a combined result

A duplicate Job reference withholds the completed aggregates. Investigate whether you repeated a row, split the wrong unit of work or genuinely need a different reference. The dashboard should not count the whole agreement twice merely because it has several supporting records.

Missing forecast costs prevent a complete contribution result while separately reviewed cash information can remain usable. This distinction helps you identify the gap without throwing away unrelated evidence or substituting zero for the unknown value.

Cash checks flag missing inputs, receipts above selected invoicing and prior cumulative figures greater than current figures. Corrections or refunds might explain a decrease, but this simple snapshot model cannot infer that treatment. Reconcile the source and use the appropriate financial method before interpreting the result.

Check the dates and source cut-offs as well as the arithmetic. A receipt entered after the review date can be valid in the system while belonging outside the selected snapshot. Consistent timing is essential to a meaningful period comparison.

Turn a measure into a specific review

Read the measures together and choose the actual question. A low contribution calls for cost and scope review. An outstanding Invoice calls for a balance and customer-conversation check. A negative cash movement calls for examining timing and the wider forecast.

Complete the blank dataset for a small group of Jobs, then trace one value from the dashboard back to its original record. Reconcile the current and previous cash snapshots and resolve incomplete rows. A useful management view gives you an evidence-backed question to act on, with each measure’s limits still visible.