Creating a Budget in Buildertrend¶

Overview¶

This guide explains the complete process for entering a new budget into Buildertrend. Properly setting up your budget is a critical step in project setup that enables accurate financial tracking, subcontractor management, and billing throughout the project lifecycle.

Step-by-Step Budget Creation Process¶

Setting Up Budget Divisions¶

1. Create a New Division

Click "Add Group" to add a new "Division." Each division serves as a category in your Schedule of Values (SOV).

2. Name the Division

Add a descriptive Division Title under "Group Title" that clearly identifies the category of work.

Adding Phase Codes and Line Items¶

3. Add a Phase Code

Click the "+" button to add a phase code within that division. Phase codes help further organize your budget items.

4. Add a Budget Item

Click "+ Item" to create a new line item in your budget.

5. Create a Line Item Title

Click the title field to add a descriptive name for your budget item.

6. Assign a Cost Code

Click the dropdown to assign the appropriate cost code. You can search for the code by number or description.

7. Enter the Unit Cost

Click in the unit cost field to add the dollar amount for this budget item. For subcontracts, this should be the contract amount. For other line items, enter the total budgeted amount.

8. Select the Cost Type

Click to assign the appropriate cost type from the dropdown. This categorizes the budget item by type of expense.

9. Save the Line Item

Click anywhere outside of the line item to save it and add it to your budget.

Linking Subcontractors to Budget Items¶

10. Access Subcontractor Options

    Click the "..." menu to assign this line item to a subcontractor. This step is only necessary for items coded as "Subcontractor" cost type.

    Subcontractor Tracking

    Linking subcontractors to budget items enables the system to track change orders and progress billings through the project lifecycle.

    

11. Create a Purchase Order

    Click "Create Purchase Order" to begin linking the budget item to a subcontractor.

    

12. Select the Subcontractor

    Click the dropdown to assign the appropriate subcontractor from the list.

    

13. Continue the Process

    Click "Continue" once you've selected the subcontractor to proceed with the purchase order creation.

    

14. Add Users to the Job

    Click "Add Users to Job" to specify which team members should have access to this subcontractor information.

    

15. Set Permissions

    Click "Do not update permissions" if you want to maintain existing permission settings.

    

16. Complete the Purchase Order

    Click "Finish" to complete the purchase order creation process.

    

17. Close the Dialog and Finalize

    Click "X" to close the dialog. The line item is now added to the budget and linked to the subcontractor.

    Important Final Step

    Once all budget line items have been added and configured, click "Lock Budget" at the top of the screen to finalize the budget and prevent unintended changes.

    

Budget Creation Checklist¶

Use this checklist to ensure you've completed all necessary steps in the budget creation process:

• Created all required divisions (SOV categories)
• Added phase codes within each division
• Created detailed line items with appropriate titles
• Assigned correct cost codes to each line item
• Entered accurate unit costs for all budget items
• Selected the appropriate cost types for each item
• Linked subcontractors to relevant budget items
• Created purchase orders for all subcontractor items
• Added appropriate users to each subcontractor job
• Locked the budget after all items are entered