Budgets

TL;DR: The Budgets feature lets you set spending limits for clients and track actual costs against those limits. You can monitor budgets by invoices, contracts, topics, or projects, and receive automatic notifications when spending approaches the threshold.

Who can do this

You must have Owner or Administrator permissions to activate the Budgets app.
Once activated, any member with access to a Client Card can view and manage budgets for that client.

How to activate Budgets

Open Settings & Apps from the main menu.
Find the Budget app in the list.
Click Activate.

After activation, the app's status changes to Active.

Adding a budget

Navigate to the Client Card page for the desired client.
Click the Budget tab.
Click the Add Budget button.
Enter a descriptive Name for the budget.
Set the Budget Amount.
Choose a Tracking method (see below).
Configure the Period Type (see below).
Set Warnings (see below).
Click Save.

Tracking methods

Choose how the budget is measured:

All Invoices — Compares the budget net amount with the total of all invoices (excluding canceled ones) during the period.
Contract Invoices — Select one or more active contracts; the budget is compared with the sum of invoices from those contracts.
Topics — Select one or more active topics; the budget is compared with task durations and user rates associated with those topics.
Projects — Select one or more active projects; the budget is compared with durations and user rates associated with those projects.

Read here how to set the billable rate and labor cost.

Period Type

Fixed — Set a specific time period using the Start Date and End Date.
Recurring — Choose Monthly or Annual recurrence, starting from the Start Date.
Start Date — Defaults to the first day of the current month.
End Date — Optional for recurring budgets.

Warning notifications

Notification Level — Set the percentage at which notifications are triggered (default is 90%).
Managers — Select company members who will receive notifications (default is the client's default user).
Notification Methods — Choose how managers are notified: sticky notifications and/or email.

Editing a budget

Open the Client Card and go to the Budget tab.
Select the budget you wish to edit from the budget list.
Modify the necessary fields.
Click Save to update the budget.

Deleting a budget

Open the Client Card and go to the Budget tab.
Select the budget you wish to delete.
Click Delete.
Confirm the deletion when prompted.

Troubleshooting

I cannot find the Budget tab on the Client Card

The Budgets app must be activated first. Go to Settings & Apps, find the Budget app, and click Activate. If it is already active and you still cannot see the tab, verify your permissions with a company Owner.

Budget notifications are not being sent

Check the Notification Level percentage and ensure it is set to a value that has been reached. Also verify that Managers are selected and that the correct Notification Methods (sticky notification and/or email) are enabled.

Budget shows incorrect spending amount

Verify that the correct Tracking method is selected. If using Contract Invoices, confirm the right contracts are linked. If using Topics or Projects, ensure that user rates are configured correctly (see Workforce Management).

Recurring budget does not reset at the start of a new period

Confirm the Period Type is set to Recurring (not Fixed) and that the Start Date is set correctly. Fixed budgets cover only the date range specified and do not automatically renew.