6 practitioner guides by Julian R. Sterling, best read first at the top. Each one is built on a single worked case, and every figure it prints is a live formula in a free workbook.
The quickest way into business operations: cost, contracts, pricing and supply chain is Construction Cost Control, the most read title in this list. The others go deeper into one job or one asset each. Every book below has a free companion page with the workbooks, so the arithmetic can be checked before the book is bought.
Construction Cost Management and Contract Administration from the Contract Sum to the Final Account
The four workbooks behind Construction Cost Control: both bridges from the contract sum to the final account with all eleven lines and their workings, the appraisal run six ways with the break-even solved in closed form, six one-input sensitivities that print every line, and a calculator for a project that has not been signed yet.
Worked example: Do liquidated damages cover what a late week costs the client?
Worked example: How do you calculate prolongation costs for an extension of time?
Worked example: How do you calculate construction cost escalation to the midpoint?
Worked example: How do you calculate retention on a construction contract?
Worked example: How do you calculate CPI, SPI and EAC on a construction project?
Worked example: How do you calculate construction contingency from a risk register?
Worked example: How do you calculate preliminaries and OH&P in a contract sum?
Worked example: How do you price a change order with overhead and profit?
Worked example: How do you calculate a measured mile for a disruption claim?
Worked example: How are provisional sums adjusted in the final account?
Worked example: How do you calculate unabsorbed overhead with the Eichleay formula?
Worked example: How do you forecast a construction cash flow with an S-curve?
Worked example: How do you calculate anticipated final cost in a cost report?
Worked example: How does pain/gain share work in a target cost contract?
Worked example: How do you build up a unit rate in construction estimating?
Worked example: How are dayworks calculated in construction?
Worked example: Is it cheaper to accelerate or pay liquidated damages?
Worked example: How do you spot front-loading in a construction tender?
Worked example: How is an advance payment recovered from interim payments?
Worked example: When does a quantity change justify a new rate under FIDIC?
What the Clauses Actually Cost, and How to Price Them Before You Sign
The four workbooks behind Contract Management: the Larchmere case priced clause by clause with both bridges and the month-nineteen crossover, nine standalone clause calculators, a calculator that prices your own contract before you sign it, and the one-page negotiation ledger with its per-unit values.
Worked example: Is a longer warranty worth more than a better remedy?
Worked example: What does a minimum volume surcharge cost per unit short?
Worked example: When does an indexed price overtake a dearer firm bid?
Worked example: How do you compare two supplier bids on total cost?
Worked example: How do you calculate liquidated damages for late delivery?
Worked example: How do you size a limitation of liability cap in a contract?
Worked example: How much does it cost to terminate a supplier contract early?
Worked example: How do you price the currency risk in a supplier contract?
Worked example: How does a price adjustment formula work in a supply contract?
Worked example: What is a price benchmarking clause worth in a supply contract?
Worked example: How do you calculate service credits under an SLA?
Worked example: What does a missed auto-renewal notice cost in a supply contract?
Worked example: How do you price a force majeure clause in a supply contract?
Worked example: How do you build a should-cost model for a supplier's price?
Worked example: How do you calculate contract value leakage?
Worked example: How do you calculate late payment interest on a business invoice?
Worked example: How do you calculate total contract value (TCV) for a contract?
Worked example: Cost-plus vs fixed price contract: which costs the buyer less?
Worked example: Should tooling be paid upfront or amortised in the piece price?
Worked example: How much does a most-favoured-customer clause pay out?
Product Costing, Overhead Allocation and What a Wrong Standard Cost Does to the Orders You Win
The four workbooks behind Cost Accounting: one factory costed twice on the same 13,440,000 of overhead with the identity that both methods distribute it, the five pools and their driver rates with capacity and the avoidable split, the decisions from the batch and the make-or-buy to the spiral and the price correction, and a calculator that costs your own part before the quotation leaves the building.
Worked example: Should a factory buy a part quoted below its absorbed cost?
Worked example: How do you calculate activity-based costing per unit?
Worked example: How do you calculate the cost of unused capacity?
Worked example: How do you calculate material price and usage variances?
Worked example: How do you calculate the predetermined overhead rate?
Worked example: Absorption vs variable costing: why is the profit different?
Worked example: How do you calculate a cost-plus price for a target margin?
Worked example: How do you calculate cost of goods manufactured?
Worked example: How do you calculate a machine hour rate for overhead?
Worked example: How do you calculate a minimum order quantity from setup cost?
Worked example: How do you calculate labour rate and efficiency variances?
Worked example: Should you accept a special order below full cost?
Worked example: How do you calculate equivalent units of production?
Worked example: How do you allocate joint costs: physical units or NRV?
Worked example: Direct vs step-down vs reciprocal method: which allocation is right?
Worked example: Variable overhead spending and efficiency variance: how to calculate
Worked example: How do you calculate fixed overhead spending and volume variances?
Worked example: How do you calculate unit cost with an 80% learning curve?
Worked example: Normal vs abnormal spoilage in process costing: how is each costed?
Worked example: How do you calculate material mix and yield variances?
Discounts, Price Increases, Price-Volume-Mix and What One Point of Price Is Actually Worth
The four workbooks behind Pricing Strategy: the list-to-pocket waterfall on one account and on a whole company, the break-even volume of a discount with the rebate cliff solved by bisection, the price-volume-mix bridge with the elasticity as an input cell, and a blank calculator for your own book of business.
Worked example: How much of a price increase does forward buying take back?
Worked example: How do you calculate pocket price from list price?
Worked example: How do you calculate a price-volume-mix bridge on contribution?
Worked example: How do you calculate price elasticity of demand from a price test?
Worked example: What is a 1 per cent price increase worth in operating profit?
Worked example: How do you calculate the real cost of a retroactive volume rebate?
Worked example: Should you match a competitor's price cut? The break-even
Worked example: How do you calculate price realisation on a price increase?
Worked example: How do you calculate customer profitability with cost to serve?
Worked example: How do you set a price floor from a pocket price band?
Worked example: How much must prices rise to offset cost inflation?
Worked example: What does skipping a price increase for one year cost?
Worked example: How do you set discount approval levels for a sales team?
Worked example: How do you calculate the optimal discount with win probability?
Worked example: How do you calculate economic value to the customer (EVC)?
Worked example: How do you measure discount leakage by salesperson?
Worked example: What discount should an annual subscription plan offer?
Worked example: How much discount should a product bundle give?
Worked example: How do you run a Van Westendorp price sensitivity analysis?
Worked example: How do you calculate willingness to pay from conjoint analysis?
Safety Stock, Service Levels and Lead Time, Priced on One Product Line
The four workbooks behind Supply Chain Management: demand during lead time and where its variance comes from, service level against fill rate, the three policies priced in euros, what supplier reliability is worth, pooling, bias and the holding rate.
Worked example: Which costs more: a forecast 10 per cent low or 10 per cent high?
Worked example: How do you calculate safety stock when lead time varies?
Worked example: How do you convert a cycle service level into a fill rate?
Worked example: How do you calculate the economic order quantity (EOQ)?
Worked example: How do you calculate a reorder point with safety stock?
Worked example: How much safety stock does the square root law really save?
Worked example: How do you calculate EOQ with quantity discounts?
Worked example: How do you calculate the optimal service level for a stocked part?
Worked example: How do you calculate inventory turnover, and what drives it?
Worked example: How do you calculate safety stock in a periodic review system?
Worked example: How do you calculate inventory carrying cost?
Worked example: How do you calculate safety stock from forecast error?
Worked example: How much more can you pay a supplier for a reliable lead time?
Worked example: How many deliveries do you need to estimate lead-time variability?
Worked example: How do you set the order quantity and reorder point together?
Worked example: How much inventory does a shorter lead time free up?
Worked example: How do you calculate the bullwhip effect?
Worked example: How do you calculate the newsvendor order quantity?
Worked example: Which ABC class should get the highest service level?
Worked example: How do you calculate the number of kanban cards?
The four workbooks behind Trade Finance: the order and all six routes priced at held terms, the documentary credit in every form with the risk it removes set against the risk it introduces, the cost of the money from the discount that is not a yield to the receivable sold outright, and a calculator that prices a payment term on an order you have not quoted yet.
Worked example: Is a 6.90 per cent discount cheaper than an 8.40 per cent facility?
Worked example: Is a letter of credit confirmation fee worth paying?
Worked example: What is the effective annual cost of invoice factoring?
Worked example: How are letter of credit fees calculated?
Worked example: Is trade credit insurance worth the premium? A worked example
Worked example: How much should you charge for extended payment terms?
Worked example: Letter of credit vs documentary collection: which costs less?
Worked example: How is a forfaiting discount calculated?
Worked example: What is the minimum order size for a letter of credit?
Worked example: What does a letter of credit discrepancy actually cost?
Worked example: Open account vs letter of credit: which costs the exporter less?
Worked example: How do you calculate the financing cost of an export order?
Worked example: Recourse vs non-recourse factoring: which costs the exporter less?
Worked example: What does a usance payable at sight (UPAS) letter of credit cost?
Worked example: D/P vs D/A: which documentary collection costs the exporter less?
Worked example: Supply chain finance vs factoring: which costs the supplier less?
Worked example: Transferable LC vs back-to-back LC: which leaves the trader more?
Worked example: Is an advance payment guarantee worth its cost to the exporter?
Worked example: What is the all-in cost of an ECA-backed buyer credit?
Worked example: How do you convert an FOB price to CIF with 110% insurance?
Start with Construction Cost Control by Julian R. Sterling. It is the most read title in this list, and like the others it is built on one fully specified worked case whose every printed figure is reproduced in a free Excel workbook.
Yes. Every title in this guide has a free companion page on julianrsterling.com with the workbooks, blank templates and checklists. They need no account and no email address.
Analysts, associates and managers who need to compute the numbers rather than describe them: each book follows one case from the first input to the decision, at practitioner level.
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