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How to track project budgets

Budget overruns are rarely a surprise — they're a spreadsheet nobody updated in time. PlanMee compares planned vs. actual cost live, per job, so you catch the gap before it grows.

How to track project budgets

Master project budgets in 5 simple steps

No complex setup or steep learning curve. See how PlanMee compares planned and actual costs on every job, as they happen.

  1. 01

    Set the Budget

    Plan revenue, labor and other costs for every job.

  2. 02

    Capture Costs

    Book every cost and labor hour to the right job.

  3. 03

    Compare Live

    See planned vs. actual costs as they happen.

  4. 04

    Approve Spending

    Send new costs and invoices to an approver.

  5. 05

    Protect Margins

    Spot unprofitable jobs before the margin is gone.

Step 1

Set a realistic budget before work starts.

The job budget captures expected revenue, labor and accommodation costs and other items, and calculates your expected margin. One-time costs, monthly extras and an editable hourly rate in the project tracker keep the plan close to reality.

Set a realistic budget before work starts.
Step 2

Record every cost where it happens.

Labor hours, material purchases, accommodation and subcontractor invoices are booked straight to the job, with multiple attachments as proof. Bank statement import matches transactions to existing items, so nothing is typed twice.

Record every cost where it happens.
Step 3

Compare plan and reality every month.

The project tracker compares your plan against the costs and revenue actually booked in the financial report. A health banner, financial KPIs and a trend chart show at a glance whether the job is still on budget.

Compare plan and reality every month.
Step 4

Approve spending before it hits the books.

Every new cost and invoice can go to an approver first, with two-stage approval and a full audit trail. Month lock keeps closed periods untouched, so the numbers you have reported stay the numbers on record.

Approve spending before it hits the books.
Step 5

Spot the leak before it eats your margin.

Financial statistics break down revenue, costs, profit and margin by job, client and category, compared with the previous period. Receivables and payables aging shows what's still open, so you can act before a gap turns into a loss.

Spot the leak before it eats your margin.
The PlanMee effect

Tracking budgets should be simple.

PlanMee compares planned and actual costs on every job, live.

  • Budget Planning

    Before PlanMee

    Budgets in separate spreadsheets

    With PlanMee

    Job budget with expected margin

  • Cost Capture

    Before PlanMee

    Receipts collected at month end

    With PlanMee

    Costs booked to the job right away

  • Plan vs. Actual

    Before PlanMee

    Compared after the job is done

    With PlanMee

    Live plan vs. actual per job

  • Approvals

    Before PlanMee

    Invoices paid without sign-off

    With PlanMee

    Approver for every cost and invoice

  • Closed Periods

    Before PlanMee

    Past months edited after reporting

    With PlanMee

    Month lock keeps numbers final

  • Profitability

    Before PlanMee

    Margins known too late

    With PlanMee

    Profit per job, client and category

Ready to replace spreadsheet chaos with one unified system?

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