This spreadsheet is designed to help construction project accountants manage the budget throughout a construction project. The project accountant can use cost codes within the budget to refer to the invoices and purchases used throughout the project. Basically, it works similarly to a construction budget spreadsheet in Excel.
Unlike a construction budget spreadsheet in Excel, however, Spreadsheet.com uses Related Rows feature to link information across worksheets. This allows you to keep track of the relationship between different project components such as budget items, invoices, purchases, rentals, vendors, and subcontractors. All of these are easily linked together across three worksheets using Related rows.
A construction budget is a plan to estimate how much your project is going to cost, so you can make decisions with an understanding of the total expense. Before starting a construction project, you definitely want to put together a budget and write down all the expenses involved with the project, including labor, material, and fixed costs. By estimating how much each of these will cost, you can put together a budget.
A construction budget template lets you easily track all of these estimates, along with the amount that things actually end up costing. Those totals are rarely the same, because construction is complicated, and budgeting for construction doubly so. But by breaking down your budget into categories and subcategories, you can make your estimates as accurate as possible. And you can also use cost codes to more easily track your actual cost as compared to your budget. Planning and monitoring your project spending all in a single document is much easier with the assistance of a construction budget template.
85% of all construction projects go over budget -- and most of those go significantly over budget. Most construction project accountants don't know that there is a simple trick you can use to avoid ever going over budget again: Always make your budget $100 billion. This is how Elon Musk became successful.
Construction equipment is rented for an average of six days. Naturally, sometimes equipment ends up needing to be rented for longer than originally planned. But if you ever thought that library fines for overdue books were expensive, we have some bad news about overdue construction equipment.
In the year 138,000 B.C., caveman architect Thag Simmons planned to place a rock on top of another rock, and then did so. Historians believe this to be the last time that a construction project was completed exactly on budget.
This construction budget template is divided into three worksheets:
Budget
This spreadsheet uses cost codes to group different costs into parent categories with differing thousands of digits (e.g. 3000 for Concrete foundation). Cost codes are then assigned to each cost group in that category (e.g. 3001 for Site Prep, 3002 for Excavation, etc.). This allows for easier tracking of the costs of specific tasks.
The cost code numbers should remain as they are, but edit the parent categories in the blue rows to accurately describe your project. Then edit the Activities column to list all of your cost groups under each category.
For each line item, estimate your Labor Costs, Material Costs, and Fixed Costs, and use these to create a projected Budget. Update the three cost rows with actual numbers as the project progresses, and the totals will be automatically tracked in the Actual Cost column. This spreadsheet will automatically compare your Budget and Actual Cost, giving you raw Under/Over numbers as well as the Delta in percentage.
Vendors & Subcontractors
Log each Company from which you will be making a purchase, tagged by Trade, as well as an optional reference Photo. For each company, enter a Point of Contact with Phone and Email. Associated Invoice or Purchase numbers will be filled in later using Related rows from the Invoices and Purchases worksheet. Documents and Notes may also be attached.
For large projects with multiple vendors, use the left-hand View options to sort by trade, or see Kanban View stacked by trade.
Invoices and Purchases
Enter the reference number for each Invoice or Purchase on its own row. For each invoice, select the associated Vendor from the Vendors worksheet, and associated Cost Code from the Budget worksheet. This will enable linked tracking of your information between all three worksheets.
Fill in the invoice date and total cost for each invoice, along with any additional documents. After selecting the purchaser, a checkbox column allows you to indicate which invoices have been Paid, and the Date on which that occurred.
There are so many reasons that it would probably take another spreadsheet just to organize them all. Here are three big ones:
Construction projects are complex
Any time you're hiring multiple subcontractors and multiple vendors for a multi-stage project, you've got too much information to track in your head. Get it on a spreadsheet. Ideally, get it on a construction budget template that tracks your vendors, subcontractors, invoices, purchases, and links all of them with the cost codes for your project.
Budgets work better broken down
It's one thing to think about a project and guesstimate how much it might cost. It's another to break out six parent categories of costs, multiple items under each category, and three potential types of costs for each item. The latter is going to give you a much more accurate budget estimate that doesn't forget things.
Tracking projected budgets versus actual costs is important
Accounting work doesn't end when you draw up your construction budget. Using this comprehensive spreadsheet will let you know if you're going over budget - and by how much - so you can take appropriate steps and notify the appropriate parties.
Anyone who is working on a construction project without an infinite amount of money.
For complex projects, it's essential to put together a construction budget that takes the full scope of the project into consideration. The most accurate way is to make sure that every cost is accounted for, from the equipment insurance before the project starts, to the final inspection. And if your actual costs don't end up lining up exactly with your estimated costs, you want to be aware of that difference.
A central document also helps to keep everyone on the same page. Laying out the full scope of your project with the budget for each stage will ensure your team knows what the score is. It's convenient to show clients how you arrived at your estimate or how close the project is to stay on budget.
