Reference projects: checking the calculation against past orders

How to use it

1. Open «Production» and then «Reference projects» on the left. «Price list and norms» is in the same column. While there are no projects, the page shows three steps to start and the «Open the orders» and «Add a project by hand» buttons.
2. The easiest way is to make a closed order a reference project (see the section below). If the order was not run in AURA, click «Add a project by hand»: the «New reference project» window opens. Enter a name, «Where and when» (venue, month and year), the «Order with files and calculations» and the purpose, then tick what the project has: «Client brief», «Sketches», «Dimensions», «Estimate with overheads», «Actuals: purchases and work».
3. In «Actuals by category», add categories and amounts: how much was actually spent on materials and work. For each category, select the order's saved calculations that should reproduce these actuals.
4. You can select the calculations of the estimate calculators, studio products and decor from the «Calculator». The «What to compare in the calculations» field compares the actuals with the whole cost of the calculations or only with materials, labor, subcontract or transport.
5. Click «Save the project». The card shows its number, status («Everything gathered», «No actual estimate», «Sizes needed», «Being gathered») and what it is missing.
6. Choose a project in the list and click «Check the calculation». AURA recalculates the linked calculations with the current norms and compares them with the actuals: «Actual», «Aura's calculation», «Materials within tolerance» and a table by category.
7. The check goes into the «Check log» together with the norm versions. The reviewer writes comments and clicks «Accept» or «Reject».
8. Actuals can be brought in from Excel: in the order's «Estimate» tool, click «Load from Excel» and choose «Into a reference project».

How to make an order a reference project

1. Close the order: move it to the «Closed» stage or wait until the installation date has passed.
2. At the «Installation and results» stage, open the «Actual» tool and enter the order's spending.
3. In the «Reference project» block, click «Make it a reference project». The studio owner clicks it. The spending by kind of cost and the order's calculations (products, decor and estimate calculators) go into the reference project by themselves.
4. Open «Reference projects» and click «Check the calculation».

What the check shows

• AURA recalculates the order's calculations with today's norms and prices and compares them with what was actually spent. At the top there are three figures: «Actual», «Aura's calculation» and «Materials within tolerance», and below them a table by category with the deviation.
• If the calculation is below the actuals, AURA underestimates that category; if it is above, it overestimates it. The norms do not change by themselves: adjust them on the «Price list and norms» page and check again.

For tuning norms and for checking

• A reference project has one of two purposes. «For tuning norms»: norms are fitted on it. «For checking»: norms are not fitted on it, so a check against it is fair.
• The groups do not overlap. If you check a «For tuning norms» project, AURA reminds you that this is not a real check and offers to move it to the «For checking» group.
• Gather 3–5 past orders: that is enough to see where the norms differ from real life.

Tolerance and the check result

• The materials tolerance is ±10% by default; you can change it in the project's «Materials tolerance, %» field. A category within the tolerance is marked «within tolerance», and one outside it «out of tolerance».
• No tolerance has been agreed for work yet, so the deviation is only shown.
• «no actuals» means the category has no actual amount; «no linked calculations» means no calculations are linked to it. Rows without a price and calculations that could not be reproduced are shown under the total.

Good to know

• Reference projects are only for checking how accurate the calculation is. They are not drafts or product templates. No model is trained on them.
• Write assumptions and manual corrections into the project, one per line: they are shown next to the check.
• «Remove from the reference projects» deletes the reference project and its check log. The order itself and its calculations remain.
• Reference projects are part of «Production» and since 4 October 2026 are available to every account, no invitation needed. An AURA administrator can close the module again to everyone except invited people on the «Beta access» tab: if you do not see the item in the «Production» section, contact support.

Frequently asked questions

• Is the «Check the calculation» button inactive? The project has no actuals or sizes, or no calculations are linked to the categories: there is nothing to check against. What exactly is wrong is shown in place of the table.
• The check is out of tolerance, what now? See which norms it was calculated with (they are in the check log), adjust the norms on the «Price list and norms» page on a «For tuning norms» project and check the result on a «For checking» project.

Reference projects from the phone

In the mobile app, open «Production» → «Reference projects». Reference projects are private to the owner and available when the beta tool of production estimates is switched on.

1. Tap the button for a new reference project, enter a name and the purpose: for tuning the norms or for an independent check. Mark which of these exist: a brief, sketches, sizes, an estimate and the actual figures.
2. Choose an available order, add the actual sums of the categories, the linked saved calculations, notes and the tolerance. Save the reference project.
3. Tap «Check the calculation». Look at the actual figures, the recalculated cost, the deviations, the gaps and the versions of the norms. The check is free, does not start a generation and does not train the model.
4. In the log of checks, accept or reject the result and write a remark. The decision is saved next to the historical values, and a change to the reference project does not rewrite a past check.
5. To transfer the actual figures, open the import, choose Excel or CSV in the system «Files» and check the rows. After you confirm, the sums of matching categories are replaced; the estimate of the order stays as it was.

• When you change the order, the app asks you to confirm removing the links to other people's calculations. The sums and notes of the categories are kept.
• If the saved version has changed on another device, your fields stay on the screen, and saving again is blocked until you refresh explicitly. If the outcome of an operation is unknown, check the library first.
• Deleting a reference project also deletes the log of its checks after you confirm. The order and the original calculations remain.

Related guides

• Production estimate: cost and client price
• Load an estimate from Excel
• Price list and norms: the studio's consumption norms
• Order actual costs and stock
• Production: orders, calculator, price list and reference projects