Creating Your Construction Budget

Step-by-step budget creation including adding categories, entering amounts, and understanding the structure.

Your budget is the list of everything you expect to spend money on, line by line. Everything else in OwnerDraw — bids, expenses, draw requests, lender packets — hangs off it, so it is the first thing to set up.

Before you start

Have handy: your plans or scope of work, any bids or quotes you already have, and your loan amount if you are borrowing. You do not need final prices. Rough numbers are fine and you can change them at any time.

Step 1: Open the Budget page

Select **Budget** in the project menu. If the project has no lines yet, you will see the setup screen instead of the table.

Step 2: Start from a template (recommended)

1. Select **Load Template**.
2. Choose the NAHB template.
3. Confirm.

A **template** is a ready-made list of standard construction categories and cost codes. A **cost code** is the standard number used for a type of work (for example 3110 for lumber), which is what lenders and accountants expect to see. Loading a template creates the structure; the amounts start empty.

Step 3: Add your own lines

Use **+** in the budget toolbar, then:

  • **Custom Item** — type your own description.
  • Or pick an existing item from the list shown, which fills in the description and cost code for you.

In the form, enter:

  • **Description** — what the money is for.
  • **Adding to** — which category or group the line belongs under.
  • **Qty**, **Unit** and **$/Unit** — quantity times unit price becomes the line's Original budget. For a single lump sum, leave Qty at 1, use unit **LS** (lump sum) and put the whole amount in $/Unit.
  • **Agreed Cost** — only if you already have an accepted bid or contract for this line. Leave it blank while the line is still an estimate.
  • **Status** — leave it on **Planning** until an amount is agreed.

Select **Add Item** to save. The line appears in the table immediately and the summary cards at the top recalculate.

Step 4: Group and organise

Use **Add Category** or **Add Group** to create your own headings, and **View** to group the table by category, cost code or group. Grouping only changes how the table is displayed; it never changes any amount.

Step 5: Set a contingency line

Add a line for contingency — money set aside for surprises. See [Setting Your Contingency](/help/budget/contingency) for how much to hold back and how to track it.

What happens next

  • Collect quotes in **Trades & Bids** and push the winning number back to the matching budget line.
  • Record bills and payments with **Log Expense** on each line.
  • Watch the summary cards as work proceeds — see [Understanding Your Budget Amounts](/help/budget/actual-vs-budget).

Common questions

**Do I have to use the NAHB template?** No, but it saves hours and keeps your cost codes in the format lenders recognise.

**Can I import a budget from a spreadsheet?** Not currently. Load the template and adjust it, or add lines individually.

**Will my lender see this?** Only what you send. Use **Export** to produce a file to share.

For professional builders

The template is the NAHB cost-code structure with labour and material separated. Quantities and unit prices drive the Original amount, so unit-price takeoffs carry straight through; the takeoff tool can feed quantities from your plans.

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**Verification note:** Button names, dialog fields and the template flow were confirmed by inspecting the current app code and opening the Budget page and its dialogs. Loading a template into a live project was not performed during this documentation pass.