Earned Value to Actual Cost Ratio Calculator
Earned Value to Actual Cost Ratio Calculator
| Earned Value Breakdown | Amount |
|---|---|
| Earned Value (EV) | $85,000 |
| Actual Cost (AC) | $95,000 |
| Planned Value (PV) | $80,000 |
| Cost Variance (EV − AC) | $-10,000 |
| Cost Variance % | -11.8% |
| Schedule Variance (EV − PV) | $5,000 |
| Estimate at Completion (BAC ÷ ratio) | $279,412 |
| Estimate to Complete | $184,412 |
| Variance at Completion | $-29,412 |
| EV / AC Ratio (Cost Performance) | 0.89 |
| Status | Over budget |
Summary
What Is an Earned Value to Actual Cost Ratio Calculator?
An earned value to actual cost ratio calculator measures how efficiently a project is spending its budget by comparing the value of the work actually completed against the cost actually incurred. The ratio, which earned value management practitioners call the cost performance index, divides the earned value, the budgeted cost of the work completed, by the actual cost of that work. A ratio of one means the project is earning exactly what it spends; a ratio below one means it is over budget, because the completed work is worth less than what it cost; and a ratio above one means it is under budget. Because the ratio scales across projects of any size, it is the standard way to compare cost health between projects and to forecast the final cost of a project that is already over or under budget. This calculator also derives the cost variance, schedule variance, and the full family of completion forecasts from the same inputs.
How It Works
The four core inputs are the earned value, the actual cost, the planned value, and the budget at completion. The earned value is the budgeted cost of the work completed to date, which with the default inputs is $85,000 of work earned against $95,000 actually spent, producing a ratio of 0.89 and a negative cost variance of $10,000. The cost variance is the earned value minus the actual cost, and the cost variance percentage expresses it relative to the earned value. The schedule variance subtracts the planned value from the earned value, showing whether the project is ahead of or behind its planned work. The advanced options let you compute the earned value from the physical percentage complete instead, multiplying the percentage by the budget at completion, which is the standard approach when the work can be measured physically. The estimate at completion divides the budget by the ratio, the estimate to complete subtracts the actual cost from that figure, and the variance at completion shows the projected overrun or underrun against the original budget.
Understanding Your Results
The ratio is the headline number, and the status row applies the standard rule: at or above 1.0 the project is on or under budget, below 1.0 it is over budget. The variance at completion is the number that matters most for decision-making, because it converts today's inefficiency into the projected final overrun, and a VAC of negative $30,000 means the project is on track to finish $30,000 over budget at the current burn rate. The estimate at completion is the figure to report to stakeholders instead of the original budget once the project has meaningful history. Remember that the ratio assumes the current cost performance continues, which is the most common and most conservative assumption, and projects that correct course will do better than the forecast. Update the inputs monthly as earned value and actual cost figures are reported, and investigate any ratio below 0.95 promptly, since cost problems compound the longer they run.
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