Budgets

Budgets in Blueprint Studio give your clients a clear picture of what their project spend looks like. You can compare estimated pricing vs actual invoicing all in one place.

💡 Tip: Use budgets to plan ahead and monitor financial performance throughout your project lifecycle.

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Creating a Budget

Each project can have one or more budgets, depending on your workflow. A budget organizes items into sections like Furniture, Lighting, Art, or Labor.

1

Create a new budget

• Navigate to Projects → Select a Project → Budgets.

• Click New Budget.

2

Name and assign

• Give it a name (e.g., “Main Floor Budget”).

• Make it visible to your client (optional)

3

Save

• Click Save.

💡 Tip: You can create separate budgets for different project phases (e.g., Phase 1: Furniture, Phase 2: Construction).

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Adding Items to a Budget

Once your budget is created, you can add items directly from the project’s item list.

1

Open the budget

• Go to Budgets → Open your Budget.

2

Add Sections

• Click New Section.

• Enter a name for the section (i.e.: Living Room)

• You can make section changes by clicking the ellipses next to the section name for options

3

Add items

• Under the section, Click Add Item to (Section name).

• This will open a new new row in the grid where you can type in the name of the budget item, low and high range, quantity and additional notes associated to the budget line.

4

Confirm

• After changes are made, click the Save button that appears under each section.

• Optionally you can click the edit button on each budget item to make changes.

5

Review

• Review cost and price data.

Each budget line will show:

• Item name

• Low/High budget range

• Quantity

• Actual (Composed of the actual items and their prices)

• Notes

💡 Tip: Items can appear in multiple budgets if needed (for reporting or phase tracking).

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📥 Importing Budgets from Excel

Blueprint Studio allows you to quickly upload a full budget from an Excel sheet instead of entering each item manually. This is especially useful when migrating from another system or working from a preformatted budget template.

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🧭 How to Import a Budget

1. Navigate to your Project.

2. Go to the Budgets tab.

3. Click Import from Excel.

4. In the dialog that opens:

   • Enter a Budget Name.

   • (Optional) Add Notes or mark the budget as Visible to Client.

   • Upload your Excel file (.xlsx format).

   • Review the imported data preview grid.

   • Click Create Budget to finalize the import.

💡 The system automatically validates each row, creates sections as needed, and imports your budget items.

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📊 Excel Format Requirements

Your Excel file must meet these requirements:

• The column headings must be in the first row of the sheet.

• The column names must match exactly the required headings below.

• Each row represents one Budget Item within a section.

Required Columns

Column Name	Description
Section	The section name (e.g., Furniture, Lighting, Labor). A new section is created when this value changes.
Budget Item	The name of the individual budget item.
Quantity	The quantity for the item.
Unit	The unit of measure (e.g., Each, Yard, Hour). Must match an existing unit in your system.
Low $	The lower estimate or cost for the item.
High $	The upper estimate or cost for the item.
Notes	Optional notes or comments about the item.

⚠️ Column headings must match exactly (case-sensitive and spacing-sensitive). For example, “Budget Item” and “budget item” will not be treated as the same column.

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⚙️ How the Import Works

• The importer reads each row and automatically creates:

  • Sections based on the Section column (each unique section name creates a new section).

  • Budget Items linked to their corresponding section.

• If a Unit value doesn’t match an existing unit in your system, the import will stop and show an error.

• After the import, Blueprint Studio confirms how many rows were successfully processed.

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✅ Example Excel Layout

Section	Budget Item	Quantity	Unit	Low $	High $	Notes
Furniture	Sofa	1	Each	1200	1500	Custom upholstery
Furniture	Coffee Table	1	Each	500	700	Optional
Lighting	Pendant Light	2	Each	350	450	Installation not included

💡 You can use your own Excel files as long as they follow this format — or contact Blueprint Studio support for a sample template.

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🧩 After Import

Once imported:

• Your new budget appears under the Budgets tab for the project.

• Each section and item is editable like any other manually created budget.

• You can immediately print, export, or share the budget with your team or client (if marked visible).

💡 Imported budgets maintain the same structure as those created manually, so you can continue to edit or add new sections anytime.

Tracking Actuals vs Estimated

Blueprint Studio automatically compares estimated and actual figures to help track profitability.

• Estimated: Based on your proposal or initial pricing.

• Actual: Based on vendor payments or recorded expenses.

As you mark purchase orders and vendor payments complete, the Actual column updates automatically.

💡 Tip: Keep your PO and invoice data accurate — that’s how Blueprint Studio keeps your financials up to date automatically.

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Exporting Budgets

To share a budget or analyze it in Excel:

1

Open the budget

• Open a budget.

2

Export

• Click Export → Excel (.xlsx).

3

Choose columns

• Choose whether to include all columns or summary totals only.

4

Download

• The file downloads automatically.

💡 Tip: Exported budgets are great for internal reviews or client summaries.

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Updating Budget Data

Budgets stay current automatically, but you can refresh or adjust anytime.

• When items or proposals are updated, totals reflect the latest data.

• You can also click Refresh Totals in the budget to update calculations.

💡 Tip: Keep consistent pricing practices — for example, finalize pricing before sending proposals to avoid re-sync confusion.

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Archiving or Deleting Budgets

You can archive completed budgets or delete test versions.

1

Archive

• From the Budgets tab, click ⋯ → Archive.

2

Delete (admin only)

• To permanently delete, click ⋯ → Delete (admin only).

⚠️ Warning: Deleting a budget removes it permanently, but does not delete the linked items or financial transactions.

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Next Steps

Now that your financial tracking is in place, you’re ready to handle Online Payments and streamline your client billing experience.