Overview
Track actual spending against your estimated budget so you can see exactly where your project stands before costs get away from you.
Actual costs in Handoff are not pulled in automatically from invoices or timesheets. Every cost you want to track must be entered as an expense, either manually or by uploading a receipt or invoice for AI extraction.
Only Confirmed expenses count toward actual costs. Once confirmed, the budget table updates immediately.
Before You Start
The Budget table only appears after at least one estimate has been approved by the client. If you do not see the Budget table, confirm that an estimate has been accepted for the project.
These features are available only on the Pro plan, if you are not seeing these features available in your account, please reach out to us at [email protected] to assist.
Method 1: Add an Expense Manually
Use this method when you already know the cost and want to log it directly, such as subcontractor invoices, material purchases, or permit fees.
Open the project and select the Budget tab.
Click Add expenses and select Manual entry.
In the line item dropdown, select the estimate line item the expense belongs to.
Complete the required fields:
Item title: A short description of the cost (for example, "Framing labor - week 1")
Cost: The expense amount
Date: The date the expense occurred
Optionally assign a vendor or contact and add a description.
If the expense does not match an estimate line item:
Select an existing Other expenses group, or
Select + New other expenses group to create one, Click Add expense.
The expense is saved as Confirmed immediately and appears in the Actual cost column right away.
Method 2: Extract Expenses from a Receipt or Invoice
Use this method when you have a photo, PDF, or image of a receipt or invoice. AI extracts the expense details for review before they are added to your actual costs.
On Desktop
Click Add expenses and select Extract from file.
Upload your file by dragging it into the upload area or selecting it from your device.
Wait for AI to process the document and extract expense details.
Review each extracted entry.
Confirm that amounts, descriptions, and line item assignments are correct.
Approve the entries you want to keep.
On Mobile
Tap Add expenses.
Select Take a photo to capture a receipt or Upload files to choose a file from your device.
Wait for processing to complete.
Tap View entries in the review banner.
Review and approve each extracted expense.
Important
Extracted expenses start in a Pending review state.
Pending expenses do not appear in actual costs until approved. Only approved expenses become Confirmed and count toward actual spending.
Method 3: Manage Expenses from a Line Item
You can add, edit, or delete expenses directly from a line item's detail panel.
Select a row in the budget table
Open the Line item details panel on desktop or the bottom sheet on mobile.
Review existing expenses under Linked expenses.
Add an Expense
Click New expense.
Complete the expense form.
Save the expense.
The selected line item is automatically assigned.
Edit an Expense
Select the expense from the linked expenses list.
Update any fields as needed.
Save your changes.
You can also move the expense to a different line item.
Delete an Expense
Open the expense.
Select the Trash Icon
Confirm the deletion.
Additional Notes
Only Confirmed expenses count toward actual costs.
Pending review expenses remain hidden from the budget table until approved.
Manually entered expenses are confirmed immediately and do not require review.
Sending an invoice to a client does not increase actual costs.
Invoices affect gross profit calculations but do not update Total spent.
Labor costs must be entered manually because there is no time-tracking integration.
Expenses entered through the Handoff AI assistant are confirmed automatically and count toward actual costs immediately.
If actual costs appear lower than expected, check for expenses that are still pending review.
Troubleshooting
Actual Costs Are Lower Than Expected
Possible causes:
Expenses imported through AI have not been approved.
Costs were not entered as expenses.
Labor costs have not been added manually.
Resolution:
Review any pending imported expenses and approve them.
Confirm all project costs have been entered as expenses.
Add labor costs manually if applicable.
An Expense Does Not Belong to an Estimate Line Item
Resolution:
Assign the expense to an existing Other expenses group.
Create a new Other expenses group during expense entry if needed.
Expenses Disappeared After Deleting a Group
Cause:
Deleting an Other expenses group removes all expenses within that group.
Resolution:
Use caution when deleting expense groups.
Reassign expenses before deleting a group if you need to keep them.