PMIS for GC/CM Programs — Owner-Side Project Controls for Guaranteed Maximum Price Delivery

Section 1 · GC/CM Requirements

What GC/CM delivery requires from the owner's perspective.

GC/CM programs have a distinct project lifecycle with controls requirements that span from preconstruction through GMP establishment through cost-plus construction. Each phase requires specific owner-side documentation that generic platforms don't support.

Requirement 01

Preconstruction Cost Tracking

GC/CM preconstruction services are a fee-bearing contract phase before any construction work begins. Owner-side PMIS must track preconstruction costs — design fees, estimating, constructability reviews — separately from construction costs, with attribution to the eventual GMP line items they inform.

Requirement 02

GMP Establishment Documentation

The Guaranteed Maximum Price is established through a negotiated process between owner and construction manager. Owner-side PMIS must document the basis of GMP — estimate components, scope inclusions and exclusions, allowances, and owner-accepted risk — in a traceable record that supports future change order governance and claims defense.

Requirement 03

Contingency Management

GC/CM programs have multiple contingency pools: GC contingency (managed by the construction manager), owner contingency (managed by the owner), and program contingency (managed at the portfolio level). Owner-side PMIS must track each pool separately, with authorization controls on drawdowns and running exposure reporting for executive dashboards.

Requirement 04

Cost-Plus Governance

Below the GMP, the construction manager bills on a cost-plus basis. Owner-side PMIS must support cost review — verifying that subcontractor invoices and general conditions costs are allowable, allocable, and consistent with the GMP breakdown. This requires structured invoice tracking and cost verification documentation, not just payment approval workflows.

Requirement 05

Federal Funding Documentation

GC/CM programs receiving IIJA, SRF, or other federal funding must attribute costs to eligible cost categories — from preconstruction through construction completion. Federal auditors review cost attribution, documentation completeness, and audit trail continuity. This documentation must be built into the PMIS from contract execution, not assembled at closeout.

Requirement 06

Open-Book Transparency

GC/CM contracts typically include open-book cost provisions — the owner has the right to audit the construction manager's costs. Owner-side PMIS must support the owner's cost review function with structured access to subcontract values, general conditions costs, and fee calculations — not rely on the construction manager's own reporting system.

Section 2 · Delivery Method Comparison

How GC/CM project controls differ from Design-Bid-Build.

GC/CM is not a variation of DBB — it is a fundamentally different delivery model with different owner controls requirements at every phase.

GC/CM

Construction Manager at Risk — Owner Controls

→Preconstruction contract executed separately before design is complete
→GMP established by negotiation — basis of GMP must be documented for audit
→Owner and GC contingency pools tracked separately in real time
→Cost-plus billing below GMP requires cost review and verification by owner
→Owner-managed change order exposure within GMP structure
→Open-book cost access requires structured owner review capability
→Federal cost attribution must span preconstruction and construction phases
→Subcontractor procurement managed by GC/CM — owner tracks compliance

DBB

Design-Bid-Build — Owner Controls

→Design contract executed separately; construction contract after design completion
→Contract price established by competitive bid — bid tabulation is the record
→Owner contingency managed against fixed contract price
→Fixed-price billing — progress payments against schedule of values
→Change orders against fixed contract price — straightforward approval chain
→No cost-plus review function — contractor's costs are their own
→Federal cost attribution from construction contract execution forward
→Subcontractor procurement managed by contractor — minimal owner visibility

Section 3 · The 6 Owner Controls

The 6 owner controls that GC/CM programs require that generic tools don't provide.

Control 01

Preconstruction Cost Account

A discrete cost account for preconstruction services, separate from the eventual construction GMP, that tracks design fees, estimating costs, constructability review costs, and owner project management costs during the preconstruction phase. These costs must be attributable to eligible funding sources from day one — not allocated retroactively when the GMP is established.

Control 02

GMP Basis Documentation Log

A structured record of what is included in the GMP — estimate line items, scope inclusions and exclusions, design assumptions, allowances, and owner-accepted uncertainties. This documentation is the baseline against which future change orders are evaluated. Without it, every change order becomes a negotiation without reference, and cost overruns are impossible to characterize as legitimate or illegitimate.

Control 03

Dual Contingency Tracking

Separate tracking of GC/CM contingency (the construction manager's risk pool within the GMP) and owner contingency (the owner's reserve above the GMP), with authorization workflows for drawdowns from each pool, running balance reporting, and separation from approved change order values. Conflating these pools produces inaccurate cost exposure reporting and undermines owner governance.

Control 04

Cost Review Documentation

A structured owner review record for cost-plus invoices — documenting which costs were reviewed, by whom, what supporting documentation was examined, and what determinations were made about allowability and allocability. This is the owner's evidence of fiduciary responsibility in a cost-plus contract and is required for federal audit compliance.

Control 05

Change Order Exposure Within GMP

Change order tracking in a GC/CM context requires distinguishing between changes that draw from GC contingency, changes that draw from owner contingency, and changes that require a GMP amendment. Each category has different authorization levels and financial implications. A single change order log without these distinctions produces misleading cost exposure reporting.

Control 06

Subcontract Compliance Register

When the construction manager procures subcontractors, the owner retains compliance obligations — DBE/MWBE participation tracking, prevailing wage documentation, and federal flow-down requirements. Owner-side PMIS must track subcontract award values, compliance certifications, and subcontractor performance documentation — not rely on the GC/CM's internal systems as the record of compliance.

Section 4 · AMP Essentials for GC/CM

How AMP Essentials handles GC/CM-specific requirements.

AMP Essentials was built in active GC/CM programs — not adapted from a contractor tool after the fact.

AMP Essentials supports GC/CM delivery natively — with preconstruction cost accounts separate from GMP construction costs, dual contingency tracking with authorization workflows, and cost review documentation structured for federal audit. These are not configuration options added to a generic platform — they are built into the AMP data model for how GC/CM programs actually work.

Preconstruction Controls

Separate preconstruction cost accounts

Preconstruction services tracked in a discrete cost structure from contract execution. Costs attributable to funding sources before GMP establishment. Preconstruction-to-GMP transition documented with cost carryforward tracking.

GMP Governance

GMP basis documentation and change control

GMP line items recorded with scope basis documentation. Change orders evaluated against GMP basis — not just against total contract value. GMP amendment tracking separated from contingency drawdowns and within-GMP changes.

Contingency

Dual contingency with authorization controls

Owner contingency and GC contingency tracked in separate accounts with separate authorization workflows. Running balance reporting on both pools in executive dashboards. Contingency drawdowns linked to documented cost events.

Cost Review

Invoice review documentation for audit

Structured cost review workflow with reviewer documentation, supporting document linkage, and determination records. Audit trail captures who reviewed what, when, and what determination was made — producing the federal audit evidence trail automatically.

Compliance Tracking

Subcontract and federal compliance register

Subcontract award values, DBE/MWBE participation tracking, prevailing wage documentation, and federal flow-down compliance records maintained in the owner's PMIS — not in the GC/CM's system of record.

Executive Reporting

Board-ready GC/CM program summaries

GC/CM-specific executive dashboards showing GMP status, contingency exposure by pool, change order exposure within GMP, federal funding attribution, and preconstruction-to-construction cost continuity — from live program data, not manual assembly.

Managing a GC/CM program? See how owner-side controls work in practice.

Score your current GC/CM controls against the requirements in this guide — then see AMP Essentials demonstrated with your program's actual delivery method and documentation requirements.

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