Overview
In Handoff, your project budget is built automatically from your approved estimates. There is no separate step to create a budget or manually enter budget amounts.
Once a proposal is accepted and an estimate is approved, Handoff populates the Budget tab with your line items, budget amounts, and financial summary.
This article explains how budgets are created, what is required before a budget appears, and how approved estimates and change orders affect budget tracking.
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.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Open Your Project
Open the project you want to track.
Navigate to the Budget tab.
If no estimates have been approved, you will see the message:
No approved budget yet —Approve an estimate or change order to create your project budget.
The budget table will remain empty until at least one estimate is approved.
Step 2: Create an Estimate
If your project does not already have an estimate:
Open the Estimates section of your project.
Create a new estimate.
Add your line items, including:
Trade categories
Scopes of work
Quantities
Rates
Apply markup as needed.
The marked-up total for each line item becomes the budget amount after approval.
Estimate line items are organized into sections, such as Framing, Electrical, and Plumbing. This structure is carried into the Budget tab.
Step 3: Send a Proposal and Get It Approved
Only approved estimates are included in the budget.
Send the proposal to your client from the estimate.
Wait for the client to accept the proposal.
Once the proposal status changes to Approved, Handoff automatically adds the estimate to the budget.
Approved change orders follow the same process. When a change order proposal is approved, it appears in the budget as a separate group (for example, CO-001 or CO-002).
Step 4: Confirm Your Budget Is Active
After an estimate has been approved:
Return to the Budget tab.
Verify that the KPI cards display:
Total Budget
Total Spent
Remaining Budget
Financial Status (On Track, At Risk, or Over Budget)
Review the budget table.
The budget table displays all approved estimate line items organized by estimate group (for example, EST-10001) and section.
The Budget column shows approved budget amounts. The Actual Cost and Variance columns populate as expenses are entered.
Additional Notes
Budgets are read-only. Budget amounts cannot be edited directly in the Budget tab.
To change a budget amount, update the underlying estimate and obtain approval again.
Draft and pending estimates do not affect the budget.
Approved change orders increase the total project budget and appear as separate groups in the budget table.
Other expenses can be tracked even when they are not tied to a budget line item. These appear as unbudgeted actual costs.
The Budget tab requires the Financial Management feature to be enabled for your organization.
If you do not see the Budget tab, contact your Handoff account manager.
Budgets track project costs, not revenue.
Troubleshooting
The Budget Tab Is Empty
Possible cause: No estimates have been approved.
Resolution: Send a proposal and obtain client approval. Once approved, the estimate will automatically populate the budget.
An Estimate Is Missing From the Budget
Possible cause: The estimate is still in draft or pending status.
Resolution: Verify that the associated proposal has been approved by the client.
A Change Order Does Not Appear
Possible cause: The change order proposal has not been approved.
Resolution: Wait for approval. Approved change orders are automatically added to the budget.
The Budget Tab Is Not Visible
Possible cause: Financial Management is not enabled for your organization.
Resolution: Contact your Handoff account manager to confirm feature availability.