Real-Time Job Costing: Moving from Monthly Reports to Daily Insights

Labor is the single largest expense on most construction projects,  and it’s the one most frequently miscalculated. The reason isn’t a lack of data. It’s a lack of timely data. When field information takes one to two weeks to reach the office, and budget-vs-actual comparisons only happen at month-end, cost overruns are old news by the time anyone sees them.

For Foundation Software users, closing that gap between the field and the office changes everything about how projects get managed.

The Visibility Gap in Construction Cost Management

Most construction companies experience the same pattern:

• Manual data entry creates 1–2 week delays between when work happens and when costs appear in Foundation.
• Change orders get lost between field and office — scope changes are captured on paper but don’t reach accounting until the next reporting cycle.
• Budget vs. actual comparisons happen monthly — by the time an overrun surfaces, the project has already moved past the point where corrections would have been cost-effective.
• Reactive management becomes the default — without current data, project managers can only respond to problems after they’ve already impacted the bottom line.

The core issue isn’t that Foundation lacks reporting capabilities. It’s that the data feeding those reports is always stale.

Closing the Gap with Bidirectional Integration

The Rhumbix integration with Foundation Software addresses the root cause by creating a continuous data flow between the field and the office:

• Projects and budgets sync from Foundation to Rhumbix — field teams always work against current budget targets.
• Cost codes map automatically — labor hours are allocated to the correct cost codes without manual mapping.
• Production data flows back to Foundation in real time — as hours are recorded in the field, they appear in Foundation’s reporting immediately.
• Budgeted hours vs. actual hours are visible daily — project managers can spot trends and make adjustments before small variances become large overruns.

Before and After Integration

What Project Teams Are Experiencing

“The speed and accuracy of information provided by using Rhumbix enables us to move from monthly to near real-time reporting, revolutionizing how we track costs, manage resources, and ultimately deliver projects successfully.”
— Ryan Quesnel, Manager of Development and Integration at Thomas Cavanagh Construction

When project managers have daily access to accurate labor cost data, the management model shifts fundamentally. Instead of reviewing last month’s numbers and hoping this month goes better, teams can course-correct in real time — reassigning crews, adjusting schedules, and flagging scope changes before they erode margins.

Better Data, Better Decisions — Every Day

Real-time job costing isn’t about generating more reports. It’s about making sure every decision on a project is informed by data that reflects what’s actually happening in the field right now, not what happened two weeks ago.

For Foundation Software users, the Rhumbix integration delivers that visibility without requiring anyone to change how they work. The data simply flows where it needs to go, when it needs to get there.

Download Our Guide: Real-Time Job Costing with Foundation + Rhumbix