Project managers often use project management software to calculate the cost variances for a project.

"Without a state distribution formula that recognizes regional cost variances, Long Island will continue to be shortchanged."

Funding advances and actual-to-budget cost variances are calculated using the project budget adjusted to percent-of-completion.

For example, preparing a comparison of fixed cost variances in stock under different stock valuation methods can be confusing.

Direct labour cost variance is the difference between the standard cost for actual production and the actual cost in production.

Cost variance (CV)

To develop an approximation of a project cost depends on several variables including: resources, work packages such as labor rates and mitigating or controlling influencing factors that create cost variances.