Understanding Budget Line Items

What line items are, standard categories, and how to add custom categories.

What is a Line Item?

A budget line item is a single cost entry in your budget. Each line item has a description, estimated amount, and tracks actual spending against that estimate.

Standard Fields

• **Description** — What the cost is for (e.g., "Framing labor")
• **Cost Code** — The NAHB category code
• **Estimated Amount** — Your budgeted cost
• **Actual Spend** — What you've actually paid
• **Variance** — The difference between estimated and actual

Cost Types

• **Material** — Physical materials (lumber, concrete, fixtures)
• **Labor** — Subcontractor labor costs
• **Subcontract** — Combined material and labor from a sub

> TIP: Break large categories into specific line items. Instead of one "Electrical" line item for $25,000, break it into rough-in, fixtures, panel, and service entrance. This gives you better tracking and helps with draw requests.