Setting Task Costs

Every task in BuildChart has two cost fields that let you track spending at the most granular level: Estimated Cost and Actual Cost. Together, these fields give you a clear picture of where your budget stands as the project progresses.

Adding Costs to a Task

Open any task by clicking its row in the task list or Gantt chart. Scroll down to the Budget section of the task detail form. You will see two dollar-amount fields:

• Estimated Cost — What you expect to pay for this task. Enter this during the planning phase based on quotes, bids, or historical data from similar projects.
• Actual Cost — What you actually paid. Update this as invoices come in, change orders are approved, or materials are purchased.

Over and Under Budget Indicators

BuildChart compares the two values and provides instant visual feedback:

• Over budget — When the actual cost exceeds the estimated cost, the actual value displays in red. This draws your attention to tasks that have gone over what was planned.
• Under budget — When the actual cost is less than the estimated cost, the value displays in green. This confirms the task came in at or below expectations.

Parent Task Rollup

You do not need to enter costs on parent tasks manually. Parent tasks automatically roll up the costs from all their children. The parent's estimated cost equals the sum of all children's estimated costs, and the parent's actual cost equals the sum of all children's actual costs. This gives you section-level and phase-level budget totals without any extra work.

For example, if a "Plumbing" parent task has three subtasks with estimated costs of $2,000, $3,500, and $1,200, the parent automatically shows an estimated cost of $6,700.

Cost Notes

Each task also has a cost notes field where you can record details about the expense. Use this to note invoice numbers, vendor names, change order references, or breakdowns. For example: "Invoice #1234 from Smith Plumbing — includes extra fitting for relocated water heater."

Budget Columns in the Task List

By default, the task list shows scheduling columns (dates, duration, status). To see budget data inline, click the budget toggle in the project header. This adds two columns to the task list: Est. $ (estimated cost) and Act. $ (actual cost). Toggle them off again when you want to focus on scheduling.