Cost control only becomes steerable once you measure it – and day by day, not only at the year-end close. This article belongs to layer 3 of the cost-control guide – “measurable data” – and describes the metrics you use to run costs and margin: what each says, why it matters, and honestly: whether you reach it with teamspace and via which analysis.
Prerequisite for almost everything: Contribution margin and margin only compute if the internal cost rate is maintained and every item is captured. Costs that are not booked are missing from the project result – and flatter it. See Set up cost rates.
Three perspectives, three questions
The metrics of cost control sort into three perspectives – each answers a different question:
- Margin: Do we earn enough on our projects?
- Plan/actual & early warning: Are costs running within the frame – and do I see deviations early?
- Documents & liquidity: Do costs flow through cleanly – and is money outstanding?
Margin – do we earn enough?
| Metric | What it says | With teamspace? |
|---|---|---|
| Contribution margin | Revenue minus direct costs per project. | ✅ Direct – teamspace calculates the contribution margin automatically and always up to date (internal cost rate); analysis in Project analysis, Employee analysis, Customer analysis. |
| Average project contribution margin | A quality indicator for the portfolio – how profitable the projects are on average. | ✅ Direct – via the financial/project analysis per project; you read the portfolio average from the cumulative view. |
| Margin | Contribution margin as a percentage of revenue. | ✅ Direct – derived from the automatically calculated contribution margin relative to revenue. |
The model behind the contribution margin is explained in Cost control: contribution margin, recharging & cost accounting.
Plan/actual & early warning – is it within the frame?
| Metric | What it says | With teamspace? |
|---|---|---|
| Planned/actual variance | Planned against actual costs, with traffic light and threshold. | ✅ Direct – a real-time planned/actual comparison (costs, times) plus the traffic-light method with green/amber/red. |
| Forecast variance | Projected total costs against plan. | ✅ Direct – the earned value analysis delivers cost variance and cost efficiency as a forecast; see Project controlling methods. |
Documents & liquidity – does it flow cleanly?
| Metric | What it says | With teamspace? |
|---|---|---|
| Documents awaiting approval | Dwell-time monitoring – how many documents are waiting for approval. | ⚠️ With analysis – incoming documents carry a status (e.g. “To review”); you see the number awaiting approval via the status filter, the dwell time is derivable but not a ready-made metric. |
| Outstanding receivables | Open items by due date – how much money is outstanding. | ✅ Direct – the receivables status and Reminders & credit control show overdue items by stage. |
In short: what teamspace delivers – and what you contribute
- Straight from the system: contribution margin, margin, average project contribution margin, planned/actual variance (with traffic light), forecast variance and outstanding receivables. These figures arise automatically once cost rates are maintained and documents are booked.
- With a little analysis: documents awaiting approval – the number via the status filter, the dwell time derivable from it.
- With context from you: the traffic-light thresholds, the plan/budget and every target value – teamspace delivers the actual, you bring the thresholds and plans.
The common thread stays the same: margin and contribution margin are only as real as the promptly captured documents and the maintained cost rates. As maturity rises, single figures turn into a day-current planned/actual with early warning – see the maturity levels in the guide.
Related topics
- Cost control in teamspace Cost control Introduction
- Project controlling methods Controlling Concept
- Financial reports Controlling How-to
- Cost and activity accounting on teamspace.de