---
title: "Estimate Building vs. High-Level Entry in Ontraccr Budgets"
url: "https://help.ontraccr.com/en/article/estimate-building-vs-high-level-entry-in-ontraccr-budgets"
language: "en"
last_updated: "2025-08-22T18:11:20.917Z"
---

# Estimate Building vs. High-Level Entry in Ontraccr Budgets

## 🧾 **Estimate Building vs. High-Level Entry in Ontraccr Budgets**

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### 📘 **Overview**

When budgeting in Step 5 of a project, Ontraccr gives you two distinct methods to define your job costs:

1.  **Build Estimate (Enabled by toggling “Build Estimate”)**
2.  Upload Estimate (Default Mode enabled by toggling off “Build Estimate”)
3.  Option 3: High-Level Entry

Each method serves a different purpose depending on the level of detail you want, how your organization tracks budgets, and how cost codes are used downstream.

This article explains how each mode works, their benefits, and when to use each.

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### **🔢 Option 1: Build Estimate (Live Estimate Generation)**

Enabled by toggling “Build Estimate”

### **🧰 How It Works**

-   Every cost code you added in Step 3 appears in the budget page
-   You enter:
    -   **Costs** for all codes
    -   **Labor/Overhead Hours**, if applicable

As you enter data:

-   The system **auto-totals** costs and hours at the top of the page under the relevant categories
-   Results flow into reports and the **Progress Page**

### **✅ Best When:**

-   You want to use the page to calculate the total costs based on data entered below for each cost code.
-   Your don’t have an existing budget created and instead want to create a budget from scratch
-   Your company is tracking **labor hours** with high accuracy
-   You want precise **cost-to-actual comparisons**

### 🧠 **Benefits**

-   Enables cost code-level profitability tracking
-   Allows you to create a budget from scratch based on cost code costs entered below
-   Supports hourly billing, activity tracking, and forecasting
-   Ties directly to **live time entries** and **material/equipment usage**

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### **📊 Option 2: Upload Estimate**

Enabled by default. Can be **turned back on by toggling OFF** the **Build Estimate** toggle. Headings will be editable in this mode.

### **🧰 How It Works**

You’ll see editable fields for:

-   Estimated **Labor Hours**
-   **Material**, **Labor**, **Overhead**, and **Equipment** Costs
-   **Burden Rate** (%)
-   **Contract Value**
-   **Start/End Dates**

Once those are added, you then proceed to allocate costs/hours to the cost codes below

-   Every cost code you added in Step 3 appears in the budget page
-   You enter:
    -   **Costs** for all codes
    -   **Labor/Overhead Hours**, if applicable

As you enter data:

-   The system will NOT auto total the values to the above high level fields. Instead you will see an hours allocation text that shows how many hours you’ve allocated to help you match the high level estimate.
-   Another option is to upload your budget by clicking the 3 vertical dots and selecting upload. This will auto populate the budget page based on the data uploaded. (Must match upload format)
-   Results flow into reports and the **Progress Page the same as all other methods**

### **✅ Best When:**

-   You already have an existing budget that you want to match in Ontraccr.
-   You would like to upload an existing budget vs manually enter one in

### 🧠 **Benefits**

-   Allows you to create/upload existing budget
-   Enables cost code-level profitability tracking
-   Supports hourly billing, activity tracking, and forecasting
-   Ties directly to **live time entries** and **material/equipment usage**

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### **📊 Option 3: High-Level Entry**

Default Mode :Enable this by **turning OFF** the **Build Estimate** toggle.

### **🧰 How It Works**

The budget page can be used without having any cost codes added to a project initially. Simply select create budget, and only enter in details for the high level estimated costs shown at the top of the page. Be enabling “Allow Global Cost Code Selection” in the settings, users will be able to clock into Global cost codes and those will automatically be added to the project for job costing insights. Costs updated via forms using the “Update Cost” workflow step, will also automatically be added to the Budget or Progress page (depending on configuration) to allow for detailed insights.

You’ll see fields for:

-   Estimated **Labor Hours**
-   **Material**, **Labor**, **Overhead**, and **Equipment** Costs
-   **Burden Rate** (%)
-   **Base Contract Value**
-   **Start/End Dates**

This method does not require individual cost codes for input.

### **✅ Best When:**

-   You’re creating a **quick estimate with high level breakdowns (Ie. Total Labour, Total Material, Total Equipment etc)**
-   Your company only needs **top-level budget vs. profit tracking**
-   You’re not using job costing for **labor, equipment, or invoicing**
-   You prefer to track detailed costs via **forms or time entries**, and compare those to the high level budgeted amounts.

### 🧠 **Benefits**

-   Simple, clean, fast
-   Still integrates with **contract value** and **expected profit**
-   You can switch back to “Build Estimate” later if needed or add cost codes later on.

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### **🔄 Switching Between Modes**

-   You can toggle between the two modes **before submitting** the budget
-   Once submitted, you’d need to **edit the project** to change the mode again

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### **🧠 Tips for Choosing**

| Use Case | Recommended Mode |
| --- | --- |
| No Existing Budget/Quote | Build Estimate |
| Need to Generate Estimate | Build Estimate |
| Only have high level budget info | High-Level |
| Have Existing Detailed Quote/Budget | Upload Estimate |
| Want to get started with job costing | High Level + Global Cost Code Selection Setting |