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Project budgets

Setting and managing project budgets in Bonsai

Updated over 6 months ago

You can set a budget on your projects in Bonsai. It's a great way to track your projects against and hourly or fee-based budget and make sure you're delivering within budget.

What are project budgets in Bonsai?

Project budgets let you set a spending limit (fee-based, e.g. $5,000; or time-based, e.g. 30 hours) for your project and easily visualize how much you've used and what remains. This helps your business stay on track financially and avoid unexpected costs.

How to set a project budget

Upon project creation

1. Enable budget tracking

When creating a new project, check the "Track budget" box:

2. Set your budget

Specify the total amount, as a "Fee" (amount you expect the bill your client on this project) or as "Time" (amount of time your team expects to work on this project):

Choose a reset frequency (optional): If your project is recurring, you can set for the budget to automatically reset at specific intervals (weekly, monthly, quarterly).

In your project settings

Head to your Project settings, check "Track budget" and set your budget amount.



Your budget tracking options include specifying whether it's based solely on billable time, both billable time and expenses, or only expenses. Once you've made your selection, the budget bar at the top of the project will reflect your chosen settings.

How to visualize your budget

Track your budgets at a glance with progress bars in your project list view, board view and in your project overview.

In your projects list view:

In your projects board view:

Tip: Hover over the progress bar to reveal details about the budget (budget amount, amount used, amount remaining, dates, resets or not)

In your project overview:

How do I update / delete my budget?

To update or delete your budget, head to your project settings and check off the "Track budget" option. You'll be asked to confirm your choice via a confirmation screen.

We hope this FAQ clarifies everything about project budgets in Bonsai. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

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