Use this guide to set up a project Budget, record approved changes without rewriting the baseline, read current revenue and cost exposure, update forecasts, and export or investigate Budget activity.
Start here
- Set up the Budget: Set up a project Budget.
- Change an approved Budget: Add and manage Budget Modifications.
- Protect approved values: Lock or unlock Budget values.
- Review project position: Read the Budget.
- Include or exclude pending changes: Control pending Change Orders in totals.
- Update a forecast: Override Forecast at Completion.
- Trace or export a value: Use the activity log and exports.
- Something is missing or blocked: Troubleshoot Budget.
Set up and edit
Set up a project Budget
Open Budget. If the project has no Budget, select Setup Budget and choose:
- Import Budget File to build items from an existing bid sheet, spreadsheet, or PDF.
- Copy from Prime SoV to use owner SOV lines as a starting point.
- Add Budget Items to enter the Budget manually.
The project's Budget Type records that choice as Imported from CSV, Copied from Prime SOV, or Manual. Not Selected leaves Budget amounts at zero. Autofill from Prime SOV (Legacy) supports existing projects; don't switch away from it without confirming how that project's lines are maintained.
Before adding or importing lines, confirm the organization and project coding:
- A Budget Code combines a cost code and cost type.
- Subprojects separate phases or locations when the project uses them.
- Revenue codes organize Prime Contract revenue and can map to the cost codes they fund.
- When Require Cost Type on Line Items is enabled in Organization Settings → Financial Settings, every imported or manually entered line needs a cost type to roll up correctly.
Note: Copying the Prime SOV is a starting point, not a completed cost Budget. Review every code and amount because owner revenue and project cost are different values.
Add and manage Budget Modifications
Keep the Original Budget as the baseline. Record later approved changes as Budget Modifications:
- Open Budget.
- Select Add Budget Modification.
- Enter a title and choose whether the modification starts Locked.
- Enter the Budget Code, description, and amount.
- Select Add Line Item for additional changes.
- Select Save and Close.
Use a negative line in a new modification to reverse an approved amount. This preserves the original value and the correction instead of rewriting history.
The source labels explain where a change came from:
- Budget: [title] is a modification created directly by a user.
- Budget Impact #NNN is linked to a Prime Change Order.
A Prime Change Order creates or updates its Budget Modification when it reaches its Billable On date. That modification locks automatically.
Lock or unlock Budget values
Lock the Original Budget when its coding and amounts are approved. Lock later modifications independently after reviewing their values and related change documents.
Use Actions → Edit Budget to open the Budget editor. Locking uses financial write access. Unlocking a Budget Modification requires Unlock Budget modifications.
Unlock only to correct a value that was wrong when approved. If the project changed later, add a Budget Modification. Unlocking doesn't delete values, but changing approved history can make the Budget disagree with a related Prime Change Order or accounting record.
Note: A modification linked to a Prime Change Order locks when the change reaches Billable On. Unlocking it doesn't alter the Change Order.
Review and forecast
Read the Budget
The Budget groups records by Budget Code and reads left to right:
- Revenue: Prime SOVs, Prime Change Orders, pending Prime Change Orders, actual revenue, and revenue remaining.
- Budget: Original Expense Budget, Budget Modifications, and Prime Change Order Costs.
- Costs: vendor SOVs, vendor Change Orders, pending vendor Change Orders, Non-Committed Costs, and vendor invoices.
- Forecast and variance: Remaining Budget, Forecast at Completion, Prime Over/Under, and Expense Budget Over/Under.
Use search, filters, and grouping to narrow the grid. When revenue codes are enabled, Actions → Roll up to Revenue Codes groups mapped cost codes beneath the revenue code that funds them.
The Budget is a current calculation, not a signed financial statement. Confirm source records and accounting sync before using it for a contractual decision.
Control pending Change Orders in totals
Open Actions and use Show Pending Change Orders in Totals:
- Selected: pending Prime and vendor Change Orders count in totals.
- Cleared: totals use billable or executed changes; pending values remain visible but are excluded.
The setting changes the current view and saved grid configuration. It doesn't change, delete, execute, or void a Change Order.
When two users report different totals, compare this setting, their permissions, filters, and grouping first.
Override Forecast at Completion
Use the pencil beside Forecast at Completion when the project team knows about an expected final cost that source records don't yet show.
- Forecast to Complete is the cost still expected from today through project completion.
- Forecast at Completion is the expected final total, including actual cost already recorded.
Enter the intended value, add a note explaining the assumption, save, and verify the resulting total. Use a Commitment, Change Event, Change Order, invoice, or Receipt when a formal source record already exists; don't use an override to conceal a missing transaction.
Forecast at Completion estimates final cost, not the timing of cash.
Audit and export
Use the activity log and exports
- Select Actions → View Log and filter the date range to trace activity from Budget changes, Commitments, Change Orders, and forecast overrides.
- Select Actions → Download PDF for a readable snapshot.
- Select Actions → Download as CSV for spreadsheet analysis or reconciliation.
Check filters, grouping, and Show Pending Change Orders in Totals before exporting. Exports don't update when project records change; generate a new file for a current view.
The activity log supports investigation. Signed contracts, approved invoices, and accounting-system history remain the authoritative records for those transactions.
Connected setup and troubleshooting
Use Budget with accounting integrations
Accounting behavior depends on the mappings configured for the organization:
- Sage Intacct project estimates can create the Original Budget or later Budget Modifications.
- A manually built or imported Budget also satisfies workflows that require Budget lines.
- Imports create Constructable records from a file; they don't create a live QuickBooks or Sage link.
On a Sage-connected project, Add Change Order is blocked while the Budget has no line items when the project participates in Sage sync. Add or sync Budget lines first. This restriction doesn't apply when Exclude from Sage Intacct Sync is selected in Project Settings → Integrations.
Don't recreate a Budget or accounting record because a sync link is pending or in error. Fix and retry the existing link so the systems remain one-to-one.
Troubleshoot Budget
Budget is missing
Confirm the organization has the Financial package and the role has View financial reports. Financial Tools won't appear when the package isn't available.
All Budget amounts are zero
Open project financial settings and check Budget Type. Not Selected leaves the Budget waiting for setup.
Setup Budget opens the editor immediately
The project already has original lines, often from an import, while Budget Type was still Not Selected. Constructable completes setup and opens those lines for review.
A line or modification can't be edited
Check whether the Original Budget or modification is locked. Use a new modification for a later change. Unlock only with the required permission and only to correct approved history.
A PCO can't be created on a Sage project
Add at least one Budget line or allow the configured Sage project estimate to sync. Also confirm whether the project is excluded from Sage sync.
Two users see different totals
Compare Show Pending Change Orders in Totals, filters, grouping, saved views, and access to the source financial records.