Talk to us
HomeFeaturesWho it's forAppsSecurityPlansTalk to us

Building budget with 80 and 100 % alerts

One budget per project, by cost code and place, approved once and changed only by approved revisions. Costs from site flow into it every hour. The project manager is told when a line passes 80 % and 100 % used.
PLANSEvery plan
Compare plansHow it works

The problem it solves

  • The budget was approved at the start and nobody looked at it again.
  • Costs sit in purchase, wages and subcontract registers, so nobody knows what a cost head has used until the month is closed.
  • Someone quietly raises a budget figure after an overrun and there is no record of why.

How it works

  1. Open Construction > Projects > Finance > Costs > Building Budgets and make the project's budget. Each line is a cost code and, if you want, a place such as Tower B or the basement, with its original amount.
  2. With a BOQ, press Fill from the BOQ. Its items are added up by cost code and place, at the cost share you set.
  3. Press Send for Approval. The budget waits in the Building Budget approval chain; a Construction Manager approves or sends it back.
  4. Once approved, the lines are locked. To change a figure, send a Budget Revision for approval: cost code, place, amount up or down, reason.
  5. Costs come in by themselves every hour, or at once with Update Costs. Each line shows actual and % used, and turns amber at 80 % and red when it is over.
  6. At 80 % and at 100 % used, the project manager gets an alert in the app, by email and on the phone.

Everything it does

The budget

  • One budget per project; a second one is refused
  • Lines by cost code and place; a place left empty means the whole project
  • Each line and the budget: original, revisions, current, committed, actual, to complete, forecast, variance, % used
  • Built-up area (m² or ft² as the project uses) gives the forecast cost per unit of area
  • 21 cost codes come ready, from Land and Approvals to Finance Cost and Contingency; add your own under Configuration > Cost Codes

Approval and revisions

  • Who approved and when are kept, and the reason if sent back
  • Lines of a sent or approved budget are locked
  • Budget Revision: reason, date, and a line per change (cost code, place, amount up or down, reason)
  • An approved revision adds to the line's Revisions column, or makes a new line

Where the costs come from

  • Purchase orders, subcontract work orders and bills, wage runs (split by hours), plant log sheets, project loan interest and fees
  • Typed Costs: petty cash, fees or older costs, as spent or committed
  • A cost with no budget line gets a new line marked Not in the Budget
  • Updated every hour for running or on-hold projects

Alerts and reports

  • Alert at 80 % and at 100 % used (committed plus actual against the current budget), once each per line
  • Budget lines amber from 80 %, red when the forecast is above the budget
  • Filters: Over Budget, Not in the Budget; group by project, cost code or place
  • Construction > Projects > Reporting > Budget Analysis: every line of every budget as a pivot

CAPEX and OPEX (Scale)

  • Each cost code is marked CAPEX or OPEX once, on the cost code list
  • Material, labour, plant and subcontract codes start as CAPEX; overhead, other and headings start as OPEX; change any of them by hand
  • The budget shows CAPEX and OPEX budget, committed and actual
  • Filter and group lines and Budget Analysis by CAPEX / OPEX

Who uses it

Construction ManagerMakes the budget, sends it for approval, raises revisions, types costs and reads the analysis.
Project managerGets the 80 % and 100 % alerts for the lines of their project.
Approver in the chainApproves or sends back the budget and each revision.

Where you use it

  • Web: Construction > Projects > Finance > Costs (Building Budgets, Budget Revisions, Typed Costs)
  • Web: Construction > Projects > Reporting > Budget Analysis
  • Web: Construction > Projects > Configuration > Costs and Payments > Cost Codes
  • The SmartMy Construction app: the alert as a phone notification, and budgets to approve in My approvals. Built and in testing, not in the app stores yet
  • Not for site staff: Construction Managers only

What you control

Settings

  • Cost codes and their cost type; CAPEX / OPEX mark per code (Scale)
  • Cost Share of the BOQ: 100 % to start with
  • Built-up area per budget
  • Default Material, Labour, Plant, Subcontract and Finance Cost Codes on the project
  • Alert levels: fixed at 80 % and 100 %
  • The Building Budget and Budget Revision approval chains (Construction Managers to start with)

Approvals

  • Building Budget: Construction Managers approve to start with; add levels such as finance and a director, or set it to Approved at Once
  • Budget Revision: a separate chain, the same to start with

Notifications

  • Budget Line at 80 % / 100 %: to the project manager, in the app, by email and as a phone notification. It gives the cost code and % used
  • Approvers get each budget and revision in Approvals and as a to-do
  • The alert is sent at once; a person can switch off email or the phone notification for themselves, and the in-app notice always arrives

Questions

Can we start the budget from our BOQ?

Yes. On a draft budget press Fill from the BOQ. Items are added up by cost code and place at the cost share you set. Items without a cost code are left out and listed on the budget.

Can a manager change the approved figure if a head runs over?

Not directly. An approved budget changes only through an approved Budget Revision with a reason. Each line keeps original, revisions and current apart.

Which costs count without anyone typing them?

Billed purchase orders, approved subcontractor bills, approved and paid wage runs, confirmed plant log sheets and project loan interest and fees. A vendor bill that came from no purchase order or work order is not picked up: type it under Typed Costs.

Can we change the 80 and 100 % alert levels?

Not yet. The two levels are fixed.

Related features

MONEYCommitments, forecast and over-budget checksEvery budget line shows what is already ordered or contracted, what is spent, what is still to come and where the line will end. A project purchase order that goes past what is left of its line needs a Construction Manager to confirm it.MONEYProfitability per projectOne row per project: value sold, budget, revenue from approved client bills and cost from the building budget. Cost is split CAPEX and OPEX, with committed, margin and budget used.MONEYCash flow planA month-by-month plan of money in and out for each project, filled from the budget, schedule, bills, wages and loans. Actual figures sit beside it, with the most money the project will need and when.ESTIMATINGBOQ with versionsKeep each project's bill of quantities in the system, item by item, priced and tied to places and cost codes. Import it from the client's Excel, make it final, and when the scope changes start a new version: the old one is kept as Replaced. Site progress, the budget, work orders and client bills all work from the same items.PROJECTS AND SET-UPProjects, places at any depth and cost codesEvery job is a project: a contract for a client, a development you build to sell, or a building for your own use. Each project is split into places as deep as you need (tower, floor, flat, or a road chainage). Costs are booked to your own cost codes.ACROSS SMARTMY CONSTRUCTIONApproval chainsBudgets, material requests, wage runs, work orders, subcontractor and client bills, client updates, piece work, permits and more need approval. They go to the right people in order, set up without code. Every decision is kept with who made it, when and why.

See your next site report on it.

Tell us what you build, how many sites you run and how your client hears about progress today. We will set up a project with you and send your first daily update.
Talk to usCompare plans