The monthly cycle: the progress certificate
The certificate measures what has been executed in the period, item by item, under the contract's measurement rules, values it at the agreed prices in the valued statement and generates the right to payment. Its golden rule is to really measure: the complacent certificate (spreading the budget into twelfths, certifying stockpiles as works) shifts the problem towards the end, where there are no levers left. Mechanics, deadlines and good practice in progress certificates.
The watch: deviation control
On the certificates, the control dashboard is built: certified-to-date against budget, commitments (contracts and orders) against remaining funds, and projection to completion. Each deviation is classified by origin (quantity, price, scope) because each origin has its treatment: quantity deviations point back to the takeoff, price deviations to new rates, scope deviations to change orders. The indicator system and corrective actions are developed in cost control and deviations.
The changes: change orders and new rates
Every scope change is valued under the contract's rules: existing prices where the unit exists, new rates where it does not. The decisive discipline is documentary: written change order, valuation before execution where possible, and continuous recording. The change order managed in real time is a technical operation; the change order rebuilt after the fact is a dispute. Typology and method in change orders.
The close: the final account
The final account resolves the general measurement (what was really executed against what was certified), pending change orders and new rates, price revisions if the contract provides for them and cross-claims. Its hardness is exactly proportional to the quality of the prior monitoring: rigorously certified works are settled in weeks; works certified in twelfths are settled in conflict. The complete process in the final account.
| Magnitude | What it measures | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Certified | Work executed and approved to date | Monthly cycle |
| Committed | Amount already tied up though not yet certified | Continuous, as orders and new rates are signed |
| Projection to completion | Foreseeable cost if nothing changes | Reviewed monthly alongside the certificate |
| Final account | Definitive amount against what was certified | Closure of the works |
The four analyses in this branch
Progress certificates. The monthly cycle: measuring execution, the valued statement, deadlines and errors.
Cost control and deviations. The dashboard, deviation classification and corrective actions.
Change orders. Typology, valuation and documentary discipline.
The final account. General measurement, pending accounts and closure.
The essentials
Economic monitoring is a cycle in four beats: certify by really measuring, watch by classifying deviations by origin, value changes under the contract's rules and close on a complete file. Each beat protects the next, and the whole rests on the other branches' foundations: an auditable takeoff and a traceable pricing system.
Note: usual conventions and practices in Spain in 2026; each contract's regime and, in public works, the applicable rules prevail.