Budget vs actual, live
from the Yes Foreman platform
Set the budget once, then watch labour, materials and expenses stack up against it in real time. No end-of-job gut punch.
Budget vs actual, live in Foreman: how it works
Big jobs rarely lose money in one go. It leaks out a receipt at a time, and by handover nobody can say where it went. In Foreman a multi-week job becomes a project with its own budget, so every hour, material and expense is measured against the number you agreed before work started.
Step 1
Turn the job into a project
Create a project with a client, site and contract value, or convert a job already on the board. Its materials and history carry over, and it shows on the pipeline with a Project badge.
Step 2
Seed and approve the budget
Pull budget lines straight from the accepted quote and material allocations, split by labour, materials, subcontract, plant and contingency. Approve it, then lock it so later changes go through a variation.
Step 3
Watch actuals land against it
Approved expenses and timesheet labour roll into Actual spend. The project overview shows approved budget, actual, committed, remaining, billed, claims and margin side by side.
Step 4
Get warned before it's too late
The project list flags Over budget, Under-claimed and Expenses to approve, and scheduling a visit that would push the project over budget warns you as you save.
Budget vs actual, live: common questions
Where does the budget come from?
Use Seed on the Budget tab to pull lines from the accepted quote and the job's material allocations, then adjust quantities and prices before you approve it.
Does labour count if my crew doesn't fill in timesheets?
Labour comes from timesheets where they exist. When it's estimated instead, the overview shows a labour-estimated hint so you know which figures are firm.
Can my accountant see the budget?
Export CSV downloads the budget for your accountant. People without finance access in Foreman see a notice instead of the project's money figures.
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