How do I track budget vs actual costs in Bolster?

Overview
Once a project is booked, you can use the Budget page to compare what you budgeted for each item against what it actually cost. You can add actual costs by uploading a bill or receipt or by entering an amount manually, and Bolster shows how much budget remains.

Open the Budget

1. In the left-hand menu, click Jobs.

2. Click Job list and select the estimate. You can also click Pipeline and select it from there.

3. In the estimate sidebar, under Production, click Budget.

Filter and Focus the Budget

1. Choose how to group the budget: Group by construction stage, Group by vendor or Group by budget code. You can also filter by vendor using the All vendors dropdown.

2. If you group by construction stage, click the icon next to all at the top left of the table to collapse or expand all groups.

3. Click the arrow next to the stage you want to focus on to open it (for example, Fencing).

4. To see more columns, scroll right using the scroll bar at the bottom of the table. You can also hide column groups you don't need by clicking their icons in the column header (for example, Labor) so only the columns you want to focus on are shown.

Add an Actual Cost

1. Scroll right to the Costing columns. The Budgeted cost column shows what was budgeted for each item (for example, $26,000).

2. On the item, click the Actual cost cell. The Bills and receipts panel opens for that item.

3. Choose one of the following:

• Add bill or receipt: Upload a bill or receipt for the item.
• Set manual amount: Enter the actual cost yourself.

4. If you clicked Set manual amount, enter the amount in the Set manual actual cost window (for example, $20,000).

5. Click Save.

The actual cost now appears beside the budgeted cost, and Budget Remaining shows the difference. For example, an item budgeted at $26,000 that came in at $20,000 shows $6,000 remaining in green.

Assign, Mark Final and Track Progress

• Use the Assign column to assign a subcontractor to the item.
• Check the Final? box to mark that this is the final invoice, bill or receipt for the item (the vendor has been fully paid).
• Use the Progress column to mark the progress of that stage.

Why This Matters

• You can see at a glance whether each item came in over or under budget.
• Actual costs can come from uploaded bills and receipts or be entered manually, so the budget stays up to date.

Summary

To track budget vs actual costs, open the booked job and click Budget under Production. Group or filter the budget, open the stage you want, then click an item's Actual cost cell to add a bill or receipt or set a manual amount. Budget Remaining shows the difference, and you can assign subcontractors, mark the final bill and track progress from the same page.