Run the cost-value reconciliation

Total the cost to the cut-off date: certified subcontractor payments, materials, plant, labour and the orders placed but not yet invoiced, so accruals are in and nothing real is left out.

Why: Cost that has been committed but not yet invoiced is the trap that makes a job look healthy right up until the bills arrive. Bringing accruals in now is what stops the margin lurching the wrong way next month.

Value the work genuinely put in place to that same date, add agreed variations and any work in progress, and be honest about over-claiming that will have to be given back later.

Why: Cost and value only tell the truth when they are cut on the exact same date. Value the work straight, and the margin you read is one you can stand behind, not a number you have to explain away.

Subtract cost from value to show the margin this period, compare it against the tender allowance, and trace any drop back to the trade or element that caused it so you know exactly where to act.

Why: A margin that is quietly slipping is recoverable in month three and terminal in month nine. Catching the slide early, against the element that caused it, is the difference between a fix and a loss.