Earned Value Calculator (EVM: CPI, SPI, EAC)
Earned value management in one step: enter budget at completion, planned value, earned value and actual cost to get CV, SV, CPI, SPI, EAC, ETC, VAC and TCPI for your project.
How it works
CV = EV − AC · SV = EV − PV · CPI = EV ÷ AC · SPI = EV ÷ PV · EAC = BAC ÷ CPI · ETC = EAC − AC · VAC = BAC − EAC · TCPI = (BAC − EV) ÷ (BAC − AC)
Earned value management (EVM) compares three numbers at a status date: planned value (what should have been done), earned value (the budgeted cost of what was actually done) and actual cost (what was spent). An index below 1.0 is unfavorable: CPI < 1 means each unit of money buys less work than planned, SPI < 1 means work is behind plan. The PMI PMBOK Guide and the US GAO Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide use the same formulas; BAC ÷ CPI is the standard EAC when current cost efficiency is expected to continue.
Worked example
A project with BAC $100,000 is at its status date with PV $50,000, EV $40,000 and AC $45,000. CV = 40,000 − 45,000 = −$5,000 and SV = 40,000 − 50,000 = −$10,000. CPI = 40,000 ÷ 45,000 = 0.889 and SPI = 40,000 ÷ 50,000 = 0.800, so the project is over budget and behind schedule. EAC = 100,000 ÷ 0.889 = $112,500.00, ETC = $67,500.00, VAC = −$12,500.00, and the remaining work must run at a TCPI of 60,000 ÷ 55,000 = 1.091 to finish on budget.
Sources: US GAO — Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide (GAO-20-195G), earned value chapter · Earned value management — formulas
Frequently asked questions
What do CPI and SPI tell you?
CPI (EV ÷ AC) is cost efficiency: 0.889 means you get 89 cents of planned work for every dollar spent. SPI (EV ÷ PV) is schedule efficiency: 0.80 means you have completed 80% of the work planned by now. Above 1.0 is good, below 1.0 is a warning.
Which EAC formula should I use?
BAC ÷ CPI assumes the cost overrun so far will continue — the most common default. AC + (BAC − EV) assumes the rest of the work will go exactly to budget (only for one-off problems). AC + (BAC − EV) ÷ (CPI × SPI) is the pessimistic case when a late project must also be accelerated.
How do I get earned value?
Multiply the budget at completion by the percentage of work actually completed, or add up the budgets of finished work packages. A $100,000 project that is 40% done has earned $40,000 of value, no matter what has been spent.
What is a good TCPI?
TCPI is the cost efficiency the remaining work must achieve to finish on budget. Close to 1.0 is realistic; above about 1.10 is rarely achieved in practice, which is a sign the budget should be re-baselined.
Why is SPI misleading near the end of a project?
At completion EV equals PV, so SPI returns to 1.0 even if the project finished months late. For late-stage schedule analysis, use earned schedule or the critical path instead.
Related calculators
Earned value forecasts are only as good as the percent-complete estimates behind them; review them with your project controls team.