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Budget tracking

Budget tracking gives you real-time visibility into work order costs — comparing your estimated budget against actual spending from sub-jobs. Catch overruns early and keep projects financially on track.

Enterprise Plan Feature

Budget tracking is available on the Enterprise plan with Work Orders enabled. Access it via the Budget card on the Overview tab of the work order detail panel.

Overview

Every work order can have an estimated budget — the planned cost ceiling for the entire project. As sub-jobs accumulate costs, the budget tab shows a live comparison of planned versus actual spending.

Metric Description
Estimated budget The planned total cost set when creating the work order
Actual cost Sum of all costs reported from sub-jobs
Budget utilization Actual cost as a percentage of the estimated budget
Remaining budget Estimated budget minus actual cost

Setting a work order budget

Set the budget when creating or editing a work order:

  1. Open or create a work order
  2. Enter a value in the Estimated Budget field
  3. Click Save

The estimated budget represents the total cost ceiling for all sub-jobs combined.

Set the budget early

Establish a budget during the Draft phase so you can track costs from the moment the work order goes active. You can also use the budget figure in estimates sent to customers for approval.

Tracking actual costs

Actual costs are accumulated from sub-jobs within the work order. As technicians complete work and costs are recorded against individual sub-jobs, the budget tab updates automatically.

Sub-job cost breakdown

The Budget tab displays a detailed breakdown showing:

  • Each sub-job's contribution to the total cost
  • Individual sub-job cost amounts
  • The proportion each sub-job represents of the overall spend

This breakdown helps you identify which phases of the project are driving costs.

Budget utilization indicators

A visual progress bar on the Budget tab shows how much of the estimated budget has been used:

Utilization Indicator Meaning
0–75% Green On track — spending is within plan
76–99% Yellow Approaching limit — review remaining scope
100%+ Red Over budget — immediate attention needed

The progress bar fills proportionally, giving you an instant visual read on budget health.

Over-budget alerts

When actual costs exceed the estimated budget, the system highlights the work order with a clear over-budget warning:

  • The budget progress bar turns red and extends beyond 100%
  • The Budget tab shows the overage amount
  • The work order detail view displays an over-budget indicator

Over-budget does not block work

Exceeding the budget does not automatically stop work on a work order. It serves as a financial alert — you decide whether to adjust the budget, reduce scope, or continue as-is.

Best practices

Review budgets weekly

Check the budget tab on active work orders at least once a week. Early detection of cost overruns gives you time to adjust before the project finishes over budget.

Use sub-job breakdown to find cost drivers

If a work order is trending over budget, check the sub-job cost breakdown to identify which specific phase is responsible. You may be able to adjust scope or approach on remaining sub-jobs to recover.

Align budgets with estimates

When sending a customer estimate for approval, use the same figure as your estimated budget. This keeps your internal tracking aligned with customer expectations.

Account for unexpected costs

Include a buffer (e.g., 10–15%) in your estimated budget for unforeseen expenses like emergency parts or additional labor. This reduces the frequency of over-budget alerts on complex projects.

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