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Template · job cost

Construction budget template: budget, committed, actual and forecast by cost code — free Excel

A construction budget that only compares actual cost with budget tells you what has happened. One that also carries committed cost and an estimate to complete tells you what is going to happen — which cost codes will finish over, and by how much, while there is still time to do something about it. This template carries all five numbers per cost code and calculates the forecast at completion and the variance, so the budget reads as a forecast every month.

Updated · 8 minute read

Key takeaways
  • Five numbers per code: budget, changes, committed, actual, cost to complete.
  • Forecast = actual + cost to complete.
  • Committed cost shows overruns before invoices do.
  • Review variances monthly and feed the forecast into the WIP.

The columns that turn a budget into a forecast

Revised budget = original budget + approved changes
Forecast at completion = actual to date + cost to complete
Variance = revised budget − forecast at completion

A filled-in example

Five cost codes on Maple Street Medical Office at the end of September:

Cost codeRevised budgetCommittedActualTo completeForecastVariance
03-3000 Concrete$214,000$196,000$151,000$71,500$222,500−$8,500
05-1200 Steel$388,000$379,000$122,000$257,000$379,000$9,000
09-2116 Drywall$612,000$598,000$64,000$548,000$612,000$0
22-0000 Plumbing$195,400$195,400$111,800$83,600$195,400$0
01-5000 General conditions$262,000$40,000$118,000$162,000$280,000−$18,000

Concrete is going over, and actual cost alone would not show it yet — $151,000 spent of $214,000 looks healthy. General conditions is over because the schedule slipped a week. Both variances are visible in September, not at close-out.

CalculatorForecast one cost code

A monthly budget review in four steps

  1. Update committed and actual from accounting, after month-end close.
  2. Ask each project manager for cost to complete on every code — in units and hours where possible, not just dollars.
  3. Sort by variance; explain every negative variance over a threshold you set (say $5,000 or 2%).
  4. Carry the forecast into the WIP schedule, where it decides revenue recognised and over- or under-billing.

How to fill it in

  1. Enter each cost code from the estimate with its original budget.
  2. Add approved change orders to Approved changes as they are signed.
  3. Each month, update Committed and Actual to date from accounting.
  4. Estimate Cost to complete for every code — that one judgement drives the forecast.
  5. Sort by Variance: the negative ones are where the job is going over.
Checklist
Construction budget template in Excel, filled in with example rows — columns: Cost code, Description, Cost type, Original budget, Approved changes, Revised budget, Committed, Actual to date…
The construction budget template as it opens in Excel: example rows in italics, calculated columns shaded.
Free template · Construction budget template (Excel & CSV)An Excel workbook with drop-downs, validation and formulas built in — or the same columns as a CSV for Google Sheets and Numbers.
Download Excel (.xlsx)
What this template captures

Everything a job budget needs to forecast rather than just record: each cost code's original budget and approved changes, what is committed and what is spent, the estimate to complete — with the revised budget, forecast at completion, variance and percent spent calculated.

12 columns: 7 you fill in, 1 picked from drop-down lists, so every row uses the same values and 4 calculated by formula and filled down 200 rows, so nothing is worked out by hand. In the Excel version, 5 columns reject entries of the wrong type (a date column only takes dates, an amount column only numbers), the header row stays frozen with filters on it, and the workbook opens on an Instructions sheet that lists every column below.

Every column, and how it is captured
ColumnTypeWhat goes in it
Cost codeTextCost code from your cost code list, matching the estimate and the ERP.
DescriptionTextWhat the line is, in words the other party will recognise.
Cost typeDrop-downLabor, material, subcontract, equipment or other. Options: Labor / Material / Equipment / Subcontract / Other.
Original budgetAmount ($)The budget at award, from the estimate.
Approved changesAmount ($)Budget added or removed by approved change orders.
Revised budgetCalculatedCalculated: [Original budget] + [Approved changes]
CommittedAmount ($)Subcontracts and purchase orders issued, whether invoiced or not.
Actual to dateAmount ($)Cost posted to the code in accounting.
Cost to completeAmount ($)What is still to be spent to finish the code — an estimate, updated monthly.
Forecast at completionCalculatedCalculated: [Actual to date] + [Cost to complete]
VarianceCalculatedCalculated: [Revised budget] − [Forecast at completion]
% spentCalculatedCalculated — actual to date as a share of the revised budget (= IF([Revised budget]=0, blank, [Actual to date] ÷ [Revised budget]))

See it on real-looking numbers

Constructelligence is a construction intelligence platform: it reads your ERP, project and field systems read-only and does this arithmetic every week, for every job. The demo runs it on a sample eight-job portfolio.

Try the demoJoin the private beta

Frequently asked questions

How do you create a construction budget?

Start from the estimate, organised by cost code and cost type. Add approved change orders as they are signed. Each month, record committed cost and actual cost to date, estimate the cost to complete each code, and forecast the cost at completion.

What is the difference between budget and forecast in construction?

The budget is what the job was expected to cost, adjusted for approved changes. The forecast is what it is now expected to cost — actual to date plus estimated cost to complete. The difference is the variance.

What is committed cost in a construction budget?

Cost the company is contractually committed to through subcontracts and purchase orders but has not yet been invoiced for. Including it shows overruns before the invoices arrive.

How often should a construction budget be updated?

Monthly at minimum, after the accounting close, with cost to complete re-estimated by the project manager — weekly on jobs that are at risk.

CI
Written by the Constructelligence teamConstruction finance and software. Worked examples use the sample demo portfolio; formulas are standard practice. Reviewed September 2026.
Job cost forecasting: how to forecast a job’s cost at completionHow contractors forecast cost at completion (EAC): the four methods, the formulas, a worked example, the mistakes that hide overruns, and how forecasting from past jobs helps.Committed cost in construction: track buyout and the exposure still to buyWhat committed cost is, how to track buyout against budget, the projected-cost formula that includes uncommitted scope, a worked example and a buyout log template.The WIP schedule: over-billing, under-billing and why they matterHow a construction WIP schedule works: percentage of completion, earned revenue, over- and under-billing formulas, a worked example, and the errors lenders and sureties look for.

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