AFE Tracking Software
AFE vs actual, in real time.
The AFE-vs-actual conversation usually starts at month-end close, 30 to 60 days after the overrun is already booked. By then the decision window to stop, reduce scope, or call a partner meeting is gone. WorkSync AFE tracking shows the variance every shift, against drilling day-rate burn, completion frac stages, and workover rig time, with supplemental AFE workflows that fire before the overrun lands.
The lifecycle
Five phases. Where money leaks in each.
Phase 01
AFE creation
Where it leaks
Drilling, completion, workover, recompletion, facility capex. AFE template populated from prior-similar AFE actuals (not last year's budget). Cost line items pre-categorized for variance attribution downstream.
WorkSync lever
Reusable cost templates by well type + basin + completion design. AFE-creation time drops from 4-8 hours to under 1.
Phase 02
JV / partner routing
Where it leaks
AFEs over operator-elected thresholds (typically $250K-1M depending on the JOA) require JV partner approval. Approval routing has historically lived in email chains with PDF attachments.
WorkSync lever
Signed-link approval routing with audit trail. Partner approvals captured with timestamp + signer ID. Lapsed approvals flagged before AFE start date.
Phase 03
Live AFE-vs-actual
Where it leaks
The phase where money actually leaks. Invoiced costs land in accounting 30-60 days late. Field commitments accrue daily but stay invisible until invoice. Month-end close is the first time the operator sees the variance.
WorkSync lever
Real-time ledger pulls invoiced costs + field commitments + day-rate burn into a single AFE-vs-actual view. Projected total-cost updates every shift. Overrun catch rate moves from "30 days after the fact" to "during the job."
Phase 04
Supplemental AFE
Where it leaks
When projected total exceeds AFE bounds, a supplemental AFE is needed. In paper-based workflows the supplemental gets cut after the overrun is already booked, which is too late for partner approval.
WorkSync lever
Supplemental AFE triggers automatically with variance reason categorized (weather, mechanical, scope change, partner-approved adder). Partner approval routed before the overrun books.
Phase 05
Closeout reconciliation
Where it leaks
Final AFE-vs-actual reconciliation at job end. The number that informs the next AFE template, the next basin-specific cost model, and the CFO's FCF-per-BOE conversation with the board.
WorkSync lever
Closeout numbers flow back into the AFE template library. Variance reasons aggregate into the next-year capital planning input. The AFE-vs-actual loop closes.
Continue the cluster
AFE tracking sits inside the broader upstream finance loop.
Companion pillars
The cluster
- Upstream Optimization→
The umbrella discipline
- M&A Integration→
AFE rollup across acquired assets
- Production Allocation→
Revenue side of the FCF equation
- LOE Reduction→
OPEX side of the FCF equation
- The Numbers→
Every ratified metric with its provenance
- Route Economics Calculator→
Model your AFE-overrun-catch ROI
Compare to your stack
Already running something else?
How the loop closes
Capability deep-dives
Frequently asked
What CFOs and VP-Ops ask before they commit.
What is AFE tracking software?
AFE tracking software manages the lifecycle of Authorizations for Expenditure (AFEs): the formal cost approvals used in oil and gas for drilling, completion, workover, recompletion, and facility capital projects. Tracking software covers AFE creation, JV/partner approval routing, real-time cost capture against the approved budget, supplemental AFE requests when costs exceed bounds, and final closeout reconciliation. The good systems show AFE-vs-actual variance in real time, not 30-60 days later at month-end close.
Why is AFE-vs-actual variance hard to track in real time?
The data lives in three different systems that do not talk. The AFE itself sits in your AFE module or a spreadsheet. Actual costs flow through invoice processing in your accounting system (Enertia, PakEnergy, W Energy) on a 30-60 day lag. Field commitments (drilling day-rate, completion frac stages, equipment rental) accrue in real time but are not invoiced for weeks. The result: by the time month-end close shows a $200K overrun on a drilling AFE, the well has been drilled, completed, and is producing. The decision moment is gone.
How does WorkSync AFE tracking work?
WorkSync's DataHub pulls AFE budgets, invoiced costs, and field commitments into a single live ledger. Drilling AFEs show day-rate burn against AFE budget every shift. Completion AFEs show frac-stage costs as stages are pumped. Workover AFEs show rig time, equipment, and chemicals as the job runs. When projected total-cost exceeds AFE bounds, the supplemental AFE workflow is triggered automatically with the variance reason categorized (weather, mechanical, scope change, partner-approved adder).
How does this integrate with our existing accounting / ERP / AFE system?
Read-only integration with Enertia, PakEnergy, W Energy, Oildex, Quorum, P2, and SAP via the DataHub. Your AFE system of record stays where it is, and WorkSync adds the live variance layer on top. AFE creation and approval routing can stay in your existing system, or run in WorkSync if you do not have one.
What is the JV partner approval workflow?
AFEs over operator-elected thresholds (typically $250K-1M depending on the JOA) require partner-side approval. WorkSync routes AFE PDFs to JV partners via signed link or email, captures partner approvals with timestamp and signer ID, and flags AFEs where partner approval has lapsed past the AFE start date.
What is the ROI of real-time AFE tracking?
Two compounding wins. (1) Cost-overrun catch rate: when overruns surface in week 2 of drilling instead of month-end, the decision window to stop, reduce scope, or call a partner meeting is real. (2) Capital allocation: with AFE-vs-actual visibility across the program, the next AFE budget gets calibrated on real costs, not last year's assumption. Both flow into the FCF-per-BOE story that the CFO anchors on.
See AFE-vs-actual on one of your active jobs.
4-week pilot on the stack you already own. Pick a drilling, completion, or workover AFE currently in progress. Day 7 we surface the live variance against budget. Day 28 you decide, under the Impact Guarantee: license fees only when the metrics move.