Estimate to Complete (ETC) is a project management measure used to predict how much it will cost to finish a project as a whole. It’s an estimate of how much it will cost to finish the rest of the project’s work, based on the work that has already been done and any changes to the project’s scope or plan.
This is how to figure out ETC:
ETC = Estimate at Completion (EAC) – Actual Cost (AC)
where EAC is the expected cost of the whole job and AC is the cost of the work that has already been done. EAC is determined using one of several methods, such as the budget at completion (BAC) method, which estimates the total cost of the project based on the original budget, or the earned value method, which estimates the total cost based on how far the project has come so far.
For example, if the original budget for a project was $100,000 and the real cost of the work done so far is $50,000, but the estimate at finishing using the earned value method is $120,000, then the estimate to finish would be:
ETC = $120,000 – $50,000 = $70,000
This would mean that the rest of the work on the project is expected to cost $70,000 to finish.
