9.11 Tracking Expenditures

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Big-ticket projects tend to happen in big companies that have a rough time tracking costs. Purchasing and project management systems are rarely integrated. At least, I have yet to see one that does so with timeliness and accuracy. Timekeeping systems have no real controls, anyway. When we looked and ascertained that well over 200 people were charging their time against a particular project and we recognized less than half those names, all we could do was shrug our shoulders. We had enough trouble managing the important parts of the project without taking on the additional task of auditing hundreds of time sheets every week.

It behooves you to align yourself with the appropriate parties who can provide accurate purchasing numbers. This should include equipment, services, consultants, and so on. It can be hard to get that data in a reasonable timeframe and keep it updated, but it is worth a try. As the old joke goes: "A million here, 300,000 there, and pretty soon you are talking real money!" Someone is getting invoices from vendors and tracking them against the cost centers or project number near and dear to you. Find out who that is, and get on their distribution list. Assign your tech writer, if you are fortunate enough to have one, or someone else to build and maintain a simple spreadsheet. I have even tracked the data myself a time or two. No matter how it is done, I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to really know where you stand, particularly when unforeseen expenditures come up and you need to pay for them.

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