Budget a project and compare it with actual cost

A project budget is an ordinary budget whose lines name a project, and optionally one of its tasks. Each such line is compared only with the amounts charged to that project or task, so you see whether the job is staying within what you planned while the work is going on.

Before you start

• Create the project and its tasks. See Create and manage projects and Break a project into tasks.

• Budgets are prepared, approved and activated like any other budget. See Plan a budget and compare it with actual results.

Steps

1. Open Reports & Analytics › View Budgets and select New budget.

2. Choose the Type Project, enter the name and dates of the job, and select Save.

3. Open the budget's actions menu and choose Line allocations.

4. Select Add line and choose the Account, for example material cost or contract revenue.

5. In Project, choose the project. Optional: choose the Task to budget one part of the job.

6. Enter the amount of each month under Monthly breakdown.

7. Repeat for each account and task you want to control, then select Save.

The same account can appear on several lines, once for each task. A line with no project budgets the whole account, as before.

Compare with actual cost

Choose Budget vs actual in the actions menu. For a line that names a project, Actual counts only the amounts charged to that project, and to its task when the line has one. The account code is followed by the project and task the line belongs to.

Common questions

Can one budget hold several projects? Yes. Each line names its own project. Most companies keep one budget per project so that it can be approved and revised on its own.

Why is Actual zero on a project line? Nothing has been charged to that project, or task, on that account between the budget's start date and the as-of date. Check the project's cost ledger.