Setting Up Budget Tracking for a Project in Ontraccr
📊 Setting Up Budget Tracking for a Project in Ontraccr Overview
Budget Tracking in Ontraccr lets you plan, monitor, and control your project finances.
You can set labor, material, overhead, and equipment costs — plus forecast profits — all from inside each project.
🎯 Why Set Up Budget Tracking?
- Track your estimated vs. actual costs over time.
- Set clear cost expectations before work starts.
- Monitor profit margins throughout the project.
- Break down budgets by phases if needed (e.g., floors in a building).
🛠️ How to Set Up Budget Tracking
In the Budget Tracking step (Step 5) while creating or editing a project:
1. ✅ Enable Budget Tracking
- Check the Track Budget box to activate the page.
2. 📊 Choose How to Build the Budget
You have two options:
📈 Option 1: Build Estimate (Auto-Calculate)
- Check Build Estimate.
- Enter cost values directly into your Cost Codes.
- Ontraccr automatically calculates:
- Total Labor Costs
- Material Costs
- Overhead
- Equipment Costs
- Estimated Profit
✅ Best if you want to build the estimate inside Ontraccr.
✍️ Option 2: Manual Entry (Enter Totals)
- Leave Build Estimate unchecked.
- Directly type in:
- Estimated Labor Hours
- Labor Costs
- Material Costs
- Overhead Costs
- Equipment Costs
- Burden Rate (e.g., 32% extra to cover benefits, insurance, etc.)
- Contract Value
- Expected Profit
✅ Best if you already have estimates prepared externally.
3. 🏗️ Optional: Add Project Phases
If you have Phased Cost Codes:
- Scroll down to the Phases Section.
- Add Phases (e.g., "Level 1 Framing," "Level 2 Plumbing").
- Assign relevant phased Cost Codes to each Phase.
- Set budgets for each phase separately.
🧠 Tip: Phases help track detailed progress — great for large, staged projects!
📅 Optional: Add Dates and Timelines
- Click Add Dates and Timelines if you want to track:
- Project Start Date
- Project End Date
- Key Milestones
✅ Helps in reporting and scheduling across projects!
📈 Monitoring Allocated Hours
If you enter Estimated Labor Hours, Ontraccr:
- Tracks how many hours you allocate to Cost Codes.
- Shows you how much you’ve allocated vs. estimated.
- Warns you if you over-allocate beyond your target!
📢 Red Highlight if you exceed allocated labor hours.
🧠 Important Rules & Tips
Cost Codes Must Be Set First:
You can’t build a budget if no Cost Codes are assigned to the project.
Burden Rate Matters:
Accurately setting a burden rate ensures true cost tracking (e.g., benefits, insurance costs).
Add Phases for Detailed Budgets:
Helps track over/under budget issues before it’s too late.
Use Contract Value for Profit Calculation:
Without a contract value entered, profit forecasting won't be possible.
✅ Example Scenario
You're managing a $2M commercial renovation.
- Estimated Labor: 5,000 hours
- Material Costs: $400,000
- Overhead: $150,000
- Equipment: $50,000
- Burden Rate: 30%
- Contract Value: $2.2M
You set this up manually to instantly forecast expected profit and monitor costs.
🚀 Summary
Budget Tracking in Ontraccr gives you a powerful financial control tool — from day one through project closeout.
Set your budgets right early, and you’ll have real-time insights all the way through!