When Spectrum calculates variance for unit price phases or jobs, variance is calculated as the price variance and not just a simple subtraction on unit price phases.

An example of a unit price phase, or job that has unit price and the phase defaults from the job, is shown here:

Projected Qty = 84,000	Estimated Qty = 60,000
Projected Unit Cost = .03	Est. Unit Cost = .11
Projected $ = 2,100	Estimated $ = 6,400
Variance = - 6,720

Notice that the variance is NOT the projected cost minus the estimated cost because for unit price contracts, the number of units means nothing. The meaningful variance for a unit price contract is the projected quantity multiplied by the price difference.

The meaningful variance for the sample unit price contract above is calculated as follows: Projected Qty (84,000) X Price Difference (.03 - .11) = - 6,720