# Budget Report
The Budget Report compares planned project budget against actual purchases, inventory usage, and expenses — showing variation by service items, inventory items, and other expenses.
Overview
Open from Project → Reports → Budget Report, or from the Budget Report tab inside a project view. Report title: Project Budget Report.
What it shows. Three sections — Service Items, Inventory Items, and Other Expenses — each listing budgeted amount, actual spend, and variation. A Grand Total row sums all sections. Negative variation rows are highlighted.
When to use it. After entering a Project Budget and posting purchase invoices, consumable issues, and expenses to the project.
Use Cases
- Cost overrun check — Run after month-end to see which budget lines exceeded plan.
- Project review meeting — Open from the project view Budget Report tab for a single-job snapshot.
- Estimate validation — Compare original budget to actual before closing the project.
Filters
| **Filter** | **Description** |
|------------|-----------------|
| Project | Selected automatically when opened from a project view; choose a project when opened from the Reports menu. |
No additional date or status filters — the report uses all approved transactions linked to the project.
Columns
Each section (Service Items, Inventory Items, Other Expenses) uses:
| **Column** | **Description** |
|------------|-----------------|
| Item / Account | Line description. |
| Budget | Planned amount from Project Budget. |
| Actual | Posted actual cost. |
| Variation | Budget minus Actual (negative = over budget). |
Grand Total row shows Budget, Actual, and Variation across all sections.
Actions
- Generate — refresh the report.
- Export — download to Excel.
- Print — print the report.
FAQ
What is the difference between this and Project Budget?
Project Budget is where you enter planned amounts. Budget Report compares plan to actual.
Why is a section empty?
No budget lines or no actual transactions exist for that category on the project.
Does the Budget Report use a date range?
No. Actual amounts include all approved transactions linked to the project regardless of date. Use Project Summary for period-filtered totals.
Why is Variation negative and highlighted?
Negative variation means actual spend exceeded the budget line (over budget). Positive variation means spend is under budget.
Do draft purchase invoices appear in Actual?
No. Only approved purchase invoices, consumable issues, and expenses count toward Actual.
Can I run Budget Report without entering a budget first?
Yes. Sections with no budget lines show zero budget and actual from posted transactions only.