Post-Job Estimate vs Actual Review Template
A job that comes in over estimate teaches nothing unless someone writes down why. This one-page review pairs the numbers from job closeout with a cause, a finding and the specific correction to your estimating standard, so the next quote benefits from this job.
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Post-Job Estimate vs Actual Review Template
Post-Job Review
Company: Acme Precision Machining Job: J-48213 Customer: Northwind Hydraulics Part: NH-7731 Rev C Quantity shipped: 250 Reviewer: Production manager Date: 2026-10-20
Estimate vs Actual
| Element | Estimated | Actual | Variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct hours | 120 | 148 | Actual minus estimated; positive is over |
| Material cost | 6400 | 7050 | Actual minus estimated; positive is over |
| Outside processing | 1800 | 1800 | Actual minus estimated; positive is over |
| Quoted price | 21500 | Compare to total actual cost |
Primary Cause of Variance
Cycle time longer than estimated
What Happened
Op 20 finish pass required slower feed to hold the bore tolerance. Two first pieces scrapped during proving.
Estimating Correction
Increase op 20 cycle time by 18 percent in the estimating standard and add two proving pieces to the scrap allowance for this family.
Margin Check
| Item | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Total actual cost | Labor at shop rate + material + outside processing | |
| Actual margin on price | (Price - actual cost) / price | |
| Margin vs quote | Actual margin minus quoted margin | |
| Repeat order expected | Yes or No, and expected timing |
Approvals
Fill actual hours and costs from the job closeout in your ERP or job costing system, not from memory. Leave the variance and margin cells to complete after entering your loaded shop rate. Keep reviews for jobs where the variance exceeds a set threshold, for example 10 percent, so the habit stays manageable. Starting point only; adapt the fields to your own costing method.
Automate job variance reporting
Optional: we can show how to produce estimate vs actual variance by job, part family and cause directly from ERP data.
Optional. The tool and every export work without this. No spam.
How to use it
Pull actual hours, material and outside processing from the closed job in your ERP, then fill the estimate and actual fields. Pick the primary cause from the list, describe what happened in two or three sentences, and write the correction you will make to the estimating standard, routing or tooling. Print or export to PDF or Word and file it with the job and with the part family so the estimator sees it at the next quote.
Choosing which jobs to review
Reviewing every job is not sustainable. Set a trigger such as total actual cost more than 10 percent above estimate, any scrap above an agreed rate, or any job that lost money. Add a sample of on-target jobs to learn what went right. Reviewing repeat parts first pays back fastest, because the correction applies to the next order. For one-off work the review still helps by showing which operations the estimators misjudge systematically.
- Cost more than 10 percent above estimate.
- Scrap or rework above your normal allowance.
- First articles and new part families.
- Any job where actual margin was negative.
Reading variance by cause
Hours variance splits into setup and run time. If setup is consistently over, the estimate does not reflect fixturing or first-article proving. If run time is over, cycle times in the standard are optimistic or feeds and speeds were derated. Material variance is price or yield: did the bar stock cost more, or did nesting and kerf eat more than assumed? Outside processing variance usually means surcharges, minimums or re-work at the vendor. Naming one cause per job lets you count them over a quarter.
Closing the loop
The value is the correction. Update the standard in your estimating tool or ERP routing, note the date and job that triggered it, and verify on the next order that the new number holds. Track the percent of reviews that produced a standards change. If it is near zero, either reviews are not leading anywhere or the estimates are already accurate; both are worth knowing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How soon after shipment should the review happen?
Within a week of job closeout, while the operators and programmer still remember the details. After a month the explanation is usually a guess, and the actual cost may already be buried in later invoices.
What variance threshold triggers a review?
Many shops use 10 percent on total cost or a fixed dollar amount, whichever applies first. Pick a number that gives you a manageable stack of reviews per month, then tighten it as the process stabilizes.
Who should attend a post-job review?
The estimator, the production lead or programmer who ran the job and someone from cost accounting if margin is in question. Ten minutes with the right people yields better findings than a long meeting with everyone.
Should customers see this review?
Usually no, since it contains internal cost and margin. If the cause was a customer change or incomplete drawing, extract the facts into a separate change request or price adjustment note for the customer rather than sharing the review.
Netray can pull estimate and actual data from your ERP into this review automatically and rank causes of variance across all closed jobs.
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