Made a mistake at work and I am FREAKING out

[Schhhteeevie]

I’ve been there 6 months. I had to work out some costs (covering a project inflight over the last 5 years, so before my time) I worked them out (took a couple of months) but basically duplicated one of the costs. We haven’t actually invoiced the customer, but I’ve outlined the costs already in detail and provided the paperwork. They haven’t realised that I’ve almost overcharged them (circa 40k) so I will have to come clean and tell them it’s a mistake. That’s embarrassing.

Worse still, I’ve already let the senior team know that we will be invoicing 160k but actually it’s going to be more like 120k. So, the client AND my colleagues are going to think i’m a complete idiot.

My mistake seems so glaringly obvious to me now. I’m just really spiralling into horrible thoughts.

1. Im going to be fired
2. Im actually quite stupid

3 Best case scenario I don’t get fired but lose the respect of my colleagues

Im really, really anxious about this, how bad is it?

Oh it is awful being wrong but we all do it. I work with figures and in our office we uncover loads of errors, sometimes our own.

Why/how did you find it? Was it be side you were double checking? That's good, isn't it?

You made a mistake: you own up, apologise once, explain how you'll avoid doing it again. Your colleagues will all say a silent "thank fuck that wasn't me this time" and feel for you. It'll be forgotten by everyone in a month or two. Relax!

Honestly this is no biggie …
Own it and correct it and you will be respected for your honesty .
Employers and customers like people that they can trust ..
better that than someone who hides things only to be found out later .

Try to chill out …

OP from what I can tell this hasn't actually cost anyone anything yet?
I once made a stupid mistake at work when I'd only been there a year.
It was a data entry mistake and it cost our customer £10k!
I owned up as soon as I saw the error and the company I was working for had to take the hit and were £10k down
I was marched into the office and told in no uncertain terms that they very much valued a staff member who would hold their hands up when a mistake was made and indeed a lot more could have gone wrong/money lost if I hadn't had the guts to do that!
I'm sure you'll be fine, good luck

'Fess up ASAP. It's never the mistake that causes the problem - it's always the cover up or the faffing about.

If you deal with it first thing tomorrow, this will be over in 10 hours. Over.

Agree with @Antiquestuff - there are numerical errors and then there is real cash - in the OP's case no actual cash has gone.

You are human and we all make mistakes.

It's not ideal, easily rectified and there is minimal potential for long term damage.

You need to frame the situation and manage it. Do not use negative works like messed up, stupid, glaring obvious etc. You set the tone for others to follow.

Instead, let however you know that you double checked the costings as they seemed a little high and realised that there was a double entry and the correct figure is actually €40k less than previously advised. You are delighted you decided to review it so it was discovered before the final invoice was issued, are sure the client will respond positively etc.

Advise the client that you have some positive news for them and that the costings were over estimated and you will be reducing the final bill.

If you go done the route of daying it's awful, I messed up, it's very easy for supervisors to co tongue that narrative.

Whereas if you handle it professionally, referring to final checks, etc. Zthey are more likely to see it that way too.

Apologise and say hope it doesn't cause anyone any inconvenience but it was a near miss that your final checks identified etc...

No you can't be fired over a near miss.

I calculated costs wrong into 7 figures. My managers response:- “nobody died”.

How big is the company and what sort of percentage of overall billing is 40k? I work in a multinational and I would be meh at 40k. One of my cost centers is underspent by 130k and I’m still fairly meh about it (I would prefer to have known a couple of months ago). However, in a small company 40 k can be a huge deal and the difference between being in the black or severely in the red, when you would be seriously in the shit!

Phrase it carefully to your manager - not, “OMG I just realised an awful mistake!” but, “I wanted to review everything before finalising, I realised I’d double counted xyz cost.

What this poster said. Be calm, clear, apologetic and then move on. Don't repeatedly apologise or bring it up.

What I was told many years ago in my first job is that when a cock-up happens people forget the cock-up and only remember how you dealt with it.

It's a mistake that goes in the client's favour, which is good news. And it shows at least you check your work, albeit a bit late. Own up and it will be fine, just learn from the experience.

This is not going to be a big deal to anyone else. There was an error in the calculation, you spotted it and know how to solve it.

No more panicking, OP.

It sounds like you had a big job unpicking the finances for this project, you've done it and noticed a duplication just slightly late. Really not a catastrophe. Flag it with your management first thing saying how you will fix it- inform the client, reissue the invoicing etc, and it will be sorted. Please don't use any of the language in your OP or over-apologise, you've done your own double checking and noticed this off your own back. Nothing bad has happened. The client will look favourably on this, they're 40k up compared to what they thought they'd be spending and you've been honest with them, not left it for them to identify the error.

I think you're blowing this out of proportion,
Say to the client, some materials, labour- whatever has unexpectedly come in below cost I've given you.
So good news, I've managed to save £40k off the price.
Merry Christmas =)... your client will be happy. Just make up a story that fits, they'll appreciate the £40k saving.

Better to have over-estimated a cost than under.
Better to have found it now than later.
Better that you have spotted it than someone else.
Better that you disclose it than try to hide it.

Don't make up a cover story, OP. The truth is fine.

It was a mistake, nobody will think you’re stupid. The client will probably be happy the cost is less.

Tell someone as soon as possible - I tend to bottle things up and before I know it things have got more complicated or harder to fix.

Better than having g to go back to client and ask for another £40k or your company having to take the loss.

My DH is a project controls lead and said this happens constantly. Thats why they are employed to check that the actual costs are matching the plan. Its usually an invoicing error things are coded wrong. If its a bigger company the plan would be checked on your side but also theirs and error would be picked up eventually (otherwise would cause major issues when audited). It obviously looks a lot better if you step up and correct the issue at your side rather than waiting until they come back to you. It may be an issue if its a smaller company you work for (as in the client may not wish to use your services again) but if its a large client they see it constantly.

I'm a nurse and errors for ourselves have been studied for years...its not usually the error that would get you sacked. Its how you deal with it, never try to cover things up. Mistakes allow us to put processes in place to ensure the risk of repeat is minimised.

Mistakes happen. They will be glad you were thorough enough to check again. Had you not they could be done for fraud if the customer noticed and ruin their reputation. Its not ideal but you picked it up. The company have not lost anything. Its 40k they never spent to begin with.

Much worse would have been you charging them the whole amount and them noticing it and calling it fraud and reporting it to your managers. You would be fired. By owning up now it's only your own company who loses out a little bit. The client will be very glad that you are honest and cheaper than they thought. I wonder though whether your manager will try to add on additional costs to make up the money.

You picked up the anomaly. That's the main thing. It may work in your favour, it demonstrates that you are scrutinizing your work.

Apologise once and only once. No bowing, scraping, and no self-flagellation. You are human. You made a miscalculation, but upon checking, you have identified an irregularity and have rectified it.

You won't be fired and no one will lose any respect for you!

At least once a week I tell someone that until they replace us with robots, were going to make mistakes.

I think framing it as 'I wanted to review before we issued the invoice' is an excellent idea & makes it feel more like you saved the day than fucked up.

Stay calm. All will be well.

You’ve caught your own error before any money was actually paid, which is a positive thing. Mistakes happen, customers and bosses both know that. The important thing is how you deal with them. Be open and honest and explain how you’re going to fix it

It’s only money, and only hypothetical money at this point. Nobody died. It’s absolutely not the end of the world, no matter how much it feels like that right now.