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Budget

The budget system in Cornerstone helps you track construction costs across your entire project. Organize expenses by category, manage multiple financing sources, track vendor invoices, and apply subsidies -- all with real-time projections that account for estimate confidence levels.

Overview​

The budget system provides:

  • Budget Categories -- Organize costs into categories like "Electrical", "Plumbing", or "Windows & Doors"
  • Financing Sources -- Track where money comes from (construction loan, savings, family loan) with depletion tracking
  • Work Item Budget Lines -- Link estimated costs to work items with confidence levels that reflect estimate accuracy
  • Vendors & Invoices -- Track vendors, their invoices, and line items linked to budget lines
  • Subsidy Programs -- Manage percentage-based or fixed-amount subsidies that reduce your effective costs
  • Budget Overview Dashboard -- See your project's financial health at a glance with four "remaining budget" perspectives

How It Fits Together​

Each work item can have one or more budget lines. A budget line connects a work item to a budget category and a financing source with an estimated amount and confidence level.

When a vendor submits an invoice, you link the relevant budget lines to the invoice with itemized amounts. A single invoice can be linked to multiple budget lines across different work items and household items, and each link carries a specific amount that attributes a portion of the invoice to that budget line. This replaces the estimate with the actual cost and automatically updates the budget overview.

Subsidies reduce the total amount needed from financing sources, applied per budget category.

Budget overview dashboard

Next Steps​