# Check whether a design project will finish within its fee

A fee-burn check comparing fee spent with percent complete by phase, with an estimate at completion and recovery options.

- Topic: Finance & Accounting
- Framework: Few-Shot
- Level: Advanced
- Tags: Finance, Plan, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/check-whether-a-design-project-will-finish-within-its-fee

## Prompt

```text
Help me check whether my architecture or engineering project will finish within its fee.

**Contract fee by phase:** [e.g. "SD $40k, DD $60k, CD $120k, CA $80k"]
**Labor and consultant cost to date by phase:** [PASTE from the project report]
**Percent complete by phase:** [the project manager's honest estimate of work done, not fee spent]
**Approved and pending additional services:** [AMOUNTS and status]
**Remaining staffing plan:** [hours by role through completion]
**Billing and collections:** [billed to date, unbilled work in progress, receivables over 60 days]
**Target project profit margin:** [e.g. "15%"]

Calculate and explain:
1. Earned value per phase (percent complete x phase fee) against cost to date, and the spent-vs-earned gap.
2. Estimate at completion: cost to date plus estimate to complete, and the projected profit or loss vs. target.
3. Effective multiplier or net revenue per hour, if I give raw salary costs [OPTIONAL].
4. Which phase is causing the overrun and the likely cause (scope creep without an additional services request, rework from coordination errors, extra client meetings, longer construction period).
5. Billing health: over- or under-billed position and collection risk.

Return:
- A phase table: fee | earned | cost to date | estimate to complete | estimate at completion | variance.
- The top three drivers of variance.
- Recovery options ranked by impact: additional services to request, staffing changes, scope clarifications, schedule changes.
- A short summary I can send to the principal in charge.

Use only my numbers; mark gaps [NEED DATA]. Show formulas.
```

## What to fill in

- e.g. "SD $40k, DD $60k, CD $120k, CA $80k"
- PASTE from the project report
- AMOUNTS and status
- hours by role through completion
- e.g. "15%"
- OPTIONAL
- NEED DATA

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