How to Use the Budget Page

How to plan costs, record agreed prices, track expenses, forecast the finished cost, and close out a finished budget line.

What this page does

Your Budget page brings together what you planned to spend, what you agreed to pay, and the expenses recorded against your project.

Start by adding the work and purchases you expect to need. As you choose vendors and receive bills, update those same budget lines. When a line is finished and fully settled, close it out so unused commitments no longer appear as outstanding work.

**Start here:** Select your project → open **Budget** → select the **+** button → **Add Line Item**.

Before you start

  • Check that the correct project is selected.
  • Gather the estimates, quantities, or quotes you want to enter. You can start with estimates before choosing contractors.
  • Choose a clear description for each cost, such as “Survey,” “Framing labor,” or “Kitchen cabinets.”
  • You need permission to edit the project's budget to add or change items.

A **line item** is one cost you want to track. A **category** collects related costs. A **group** organizes several lines within your budget. A **cost code** is a label or number used to classify the work.

1. Add a budget line

1. Open **Budget** and select the **+** button.
2. Choose **Add Line Item**, then **Custom Item**. If you already have saved cost items, **From Library** lets you start with one of them.
3. Enter a **Description** and choose the location under **Adding to**.
4. Choose the **Type** that fits the cost.
5. Enter **Qty**, **Unit**, and **$/Unit**. The form calculates the **Total**.
6. If you already have an accepted bid or agreed purchase amount, enter it in **Agreed Cost**. If you are still estimating, leave the line in **Planning**.
7. Add any useful notes or attachments, then select **Add Item**.

For a single overall estimate, you can use a quantity of 1 and enter the total estimate as the unit price. For measured work, use the actual quantity and matching price per unit.

Entering a positive Agreed Cost changes a Planning line to **Committed**. Here, “Committed” means an agreement has been entered; it does not mean the vendor has been paid.

**After you save:** The line appears in your budget, ready for vendor assignments, updates, and linked expenses.

2. Understand the amounts

Some table headings are shortened to fit the screen.

| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **Original** | The budget amount calculated from quantities and unit prices, including applicable tax configured in the budget. |
| **Changes** | Approved budget adjustments recorded through change orders. |
| **Revised** | Original budget plus approved changes. This is the amount used for budget comparisons. |
| **Agreed / Agreed Cost** | The accepted bid, contract, or agreed purchase amount. |
| **Actual Cost** | All expenses recorded against the line, including bills that have not been paid yet. |
| **Remaining Comm. / Remaining Commitment** | The portion of an active agreement not yet covered by recorded expenses. Closed lines show $0. |
| **Unspent / Unspent Budget** | Revised budget minus Actual Cost. A positive amount is budget not yet used by recorded expenses; it is not automatically savings. |
| **Expected Final / Expected Final Cost** | Your forecast of the total cost when the line is finished, including expenses already recorded. This field is optional. |

**Actual Cost is not a payment total.** For example, if you record a $2,000 bill but have not paid it, that bill still contributes $2,000 to Actual Cost. Check its payment status in **Expenses** to see whether it has been paid.

**Remaining Commitment is not the full amount still owed to a vendor.** Recorded unpaid bills are already included in Actual Cost. Review the linked expenses as well as the unused agreement amount when checking what remains to be paid.

3. Update an estimate or agreement

Open the line's three-dot menu and choose **Edit Item**. Update the relevant information and select **Save**.

  • Change quantities or unit prices when correcting your estimate.
  • Update **Agreed Cost** when the actual agreement changes.
  • Use **Expected Final Cost** when you want to record a forecast.
  • Use **New CO** or **+ → New Change Order** to record a budget change order. **CO** means change order. Approved changes feed into the revised budget.

An agreed price, a budget adjustment, and a forecast are different pieces of information. Check each applicable amount when the scope of work changes.

If you edit values directly in the table, watch for the pending-changes bar. Select **Save Changes** to apply those edits, or **Discard** to abandon the pending table edits. Discard is not a general undo for expenses or other actions already saved through a dialog.

4. Record an expense against the right line

1. Find the budget line the bill or purchase belongs to.
2. Open its three-dot menu and choose **Log Expense**.
3. Check the selected budget item, vendor, amount, and other expense details.
4. Save the expense once.

You can also open **Edit Item** and use **Add Expense**.

**After you save:** The recorded expense contributes to the linked line's Actual Cost. Manage payment status, receipts, and lien-waiver follow-up from the expense workflow.

If you saved an expense while continuing to its waiver, that expense already exists. Continue working with the saved record instead of entering the same bill again.

5. Forecast the final cost while work continues

Open **Edit Item** and enter an **Expected Final Cost** if you have an updated estimate of the total finished cost.

For example, if $6,000 has already been recorded and you expect another $3,000 of costs, enter **$9,000** as Expected Final Cost.

The form shows **Projected Savings / Overrun** against the revised budget. Leaving the forecast blank means you have not entered one; it does not mean the finished cost will be zero.

Changing this forecast does not change the budget, record an expense, or release an agreement balance.

6. Close out a finished line

Use closeout when all costs for the line are recorded and nothing further is owed. Paying one bill does not necessarily settle the whole line.

1. Open the line's three-dot menu and choose **Close Out Line Item**.
2. Review Agreed Cost, recorded actual cost, and the remaining commitment to release.
3. Resolve any linked bills shown as unpaid or waiting on a draw. If a bill has already been paid, make sure its expense record reflects that payment accurately.
4. If a retainage confirmation appears, check it only when no retainage remains owed for this line, or retainage does not apply.
5. Confirm **All costs for this line are recorded and nothing further is owed**.
6. Add an optional note and select **Close Out Line Item**.

**After closeout:** The status becomes **Closed — Fully Settled**, Remaining Commitment becomes $0, and the agreed amount and recorded expenses remain available. Closing a line does not make a payment, mark bills paid, or change the budget.

What does the retainage checkbox mean?

The confirmation can appear because a retainage percentage is configured for the project. Its appearance does not establish that money was actually withheld from this vendor on this line.

If you withheld part of the vendor's payment, that amount may still need to be paid and recorded before the line is fully settled. If no retainage was withheld for this line, **does not apply** is the relevant part of the checkbox.

The unused difference between Agreed Cost and Actual Cost is not automatically retainage.

Example: finishing below the agreed price

| Amount | Example |
|---|---:|
| Revised budget | $12,000 |
| Agreed Cost | $10,000 |
| Final Actual Cost, fully paid | $9,000 |
| Remaining Commitment before closeout | $1,000 |
| Remaining Commitment after closeout | $0 |
| Final savings against the revised budget | $3,000 |

The $1,000 released commitment is the unused part of the agreement. The $3,000 savings is the difference between the revised budget and the final actual cost.

Reopen a line

If more work or another bill needs attention, open the closed line's menu and choose **Reopen Line Item**. Confirm the action in the dialog. The line returns to Committed and its remaining commitment is recalculated.

7. Adjust your view and export

Select **View** to choose how to group the budget. You can display **Agreed Cost** and **Expected Final Cost** as optional columns; both are initially hidden in the current layout.

To export:

1. Select **Export**.
2. Choose **Bank View (Rolled Up)** for grouped totals or **Detailed View** for individual lines.
3. Review the preview and select **Export CSV**.

A CSV is a table file you can open in spreadsheet software. The Budget page's current export action downloads a CSV.

Other tools on this page

  • **Assign Vendors:** Connect vendors to the relevant budget line from its menu.
  • **Add Group / Add Category:** Organize costs into useful sections.
  • **Add Detailed Breakdown / Edit Breakdown:** Open a worksheet for the line's component quantities and costs.
  • **Allowance Item:** Mark a budget line as an allowance. That is the only setup step — the line appears on **Selections** by itself, under its own name and current Revised Budget, and you never create or link it a second time. Unticking it does not delete the items, product options or history you already recorded; Selections keeps showing the allowance with a note that the Budget line is no longer marked.
  • **Manage Selections:** In the line's menu, opens that exact allowance on the Selections page, where you add the items to choose (for example Kitchen Faucet, Toilets) and compare product options. Choosing products never changes Revised Budget, Agreed Cost, expenses or payments.
  • **Takeoff:** Open the plan-measuring tools from the Budget page.
  • **Change Orders:** Review recorded changes.
  • **Transfer Funds:** Move Revised Budget between two lines while keeping the project total unchanged. Original Budget, approved changes, agreements, costs, and payments do not change. Net Transfers explains the difference on each affected line and in exports.

**Import NAHB Structure replaces existing budget items.** NAHB categories provide a standard construction-cost organization. Review the replacement confirmation before using this option on a budget you have already populated.

Common questions

**Why did Actual Cost increase even though I have not paid the bill?**
Actual Cost includes recorded unpaid expenses. Review the bill's payment status in Expenses.

**Why is Remaining Commitment $0 while a bill is still unpaid?**
Recorded bills reduce the unused agreement amount. A zero remaining commitment does not establish that those bills have been paid.

**Why is there a positive Unspent amount while work is unfinished?**
That number compares the revised budget with costs recorded so far. Enter Expected Final Cost to see a forecast of the finished result.

**Why can I not close out a line?**
Check the dialog for linked bills needing attention and required confirmations. Resolve the underlying record rather than changing an accurate bill merely to clear the message.

**Why can I not see Agreed Cost or Expected Final Cost in the table?**
Enable the corresponding optional column under View. You can also open the line's edit form to review those fields.

**Why are some editing actions missing?**
Your project access may allow viewing without budget editing. Check with the person managing the project team.

For professional builders

Use clear notes and attachments to distinguish the accepted agreement, approved scope changes, and your internal forecast. Closeout here applies to the selected budget line; it does not establish completion of every invoice or obligation for that vendor across the project.

What to do next

Once the budget structure is in place, use **Trades & Bids** to manage contractor quotes, **Selections** for product choices, and **Expenses** for bills and payments. If your project uses draws, review **Schedule of Values (SOV)**, **Draw Schedule**, and **Draw Requests** as the next related workflows.

Related guides

  • [Creating Your Construction Budget](/help/budget/create-budget) — building your first budget
  • [Working With Budget Line Items](/help/budget/budget-line-items) — adding, editing and closing a single line
  • [Understanding Your Budget Amounts](/help/budget/actual-vs-budget) — what each column means
  • [Change Orders in Your Budget](/help/budget/change-orders) — what a change order does to your numbers
  • [Creating and Managing a Change Order](/help/budget/change-order-workflow) — step-by-step instructions
  • [Budget Exports](/help/budget/budget-reports) — the two export views
  • [Setting Your Contingency](/help/budget/contingency) — how much to hold back

This overview is the starting point; each guide above goes deeper on one area.

Quick help on the page

Select **How to use this page** in the Budget header at any time for the short version, including a link back to this guide.