Schedule of Cost (SOC)

What Is the Schedule of Costs?

The Schedule of Costs (SOC) is a four-stage cost lifecycle tool used by the General Contractor to plan, track, and control project costs from early estimation all the way through to live actuals derived from the Schedule of Values.

The module surfaces a single, consolidated view of every cost line — Division, Subdivision, and Task — across all four stages simultaneously, so the team can spot overruns before they become problems.

"Promote tasks Estimated → Budgeted → Contracted → Actual. The Actual stage is computed live from approved Schedule of Values."

Why the Schedule of Costs Matters

• End-to-end cost visibility — see all four cost stages for every line item on one screen
• Early overrun detection — the module flags any contracted cost that meets or exceeds its budget, so you can catch overruns before work begins
• Live actuals — the Actual column is computed in real time from approved Schedule of Values entries
• Forecasted Profit — each row shows a running profit forecast so the team knows where margin is being lost
• Audit trail — each stage is frozen with a date when promoted, creating an immutable history

The Four Cost Stages

The SOC is built around a linear promotion flow. Each stage is locked ("frozen") once promoted to the next:

Each stage card at the top of the detail view shows the stage total and the variance vs. the previous stage (e.g., "+$5,000 vs Estimated" or "−$11,000 vs Budgeted").

Schedule of Costs detail view showing the four stage cards (Estimated, Budgeted, Contracted, Actual) and the cost breakdown table

SOC Table Structure

The detail table follows a three-level hierarchy:

1. Division — major work categories (e.g., "1 – General Conditions", "6 – Wood and Plastics")
2. Subdivision — subcategories within a division (e.g., "1.1 – Design Services", "6.1 – Rough Carpentry")
3. Task — specific line items with cost values at each stage (e.g., "1.1.96 – Temporary Barricades")

Table Columns

SOC table showing cost overrun indicators — orange ≥ Budget badges, red Actual values, and + New from SOV tags

Cost Overrun Indicators

The SOC uses visual cues to surface cost risks immediately:

• ⚠ ≥ Budget (orange badge) — appears on the Contracted column when the contracted value equals or exceeds the Budgeted amount, signaling a potential overrun at the contract stage
• Red Actual values — the Actual column turns red when actual costs exceed the Contracted value
• + New from SOV (blue badge) — marks tasks that were added to the SOV but were not in the original SOC estimate, making scope additions easy to spot

SOC table structure showing Division, Subdivision, and Task hierarchy with all four cost columns

Current Stage & Compare View

A "Current stage" chip at the top of the page shows which stage the SOC is actively tracking. The "Compare with Contracted" button opens a side-by-side comparison view, letting the team quickly evaluate how the current stage measures up against what was contracted.

Promoting Stages

Tasks are promoted through the four stages as the project progresses:

1. Build the Estimated stage — PM or Superintendent adds Divisions, Subdivisions, and Tasks with cost values during the planning phase
2. Promote to Budgeted — once the estimate is reviewed and accepted, it is frozen as the official budget baseline
3. Contracted stage populates — when the linked SOV is approved, its scheduled values flow in as the Contracted column
4. Actual updates live — as Pay Applications are approved against the SOV, the Actual column updates automatically

SOC stage promotion flow — promoting tasks from Estimated through to Contracted and Actual

Schedule of Costs vs. Schedule of Values

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