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
Project budgets let you set a limit on how much time or money a project should use.
You can define a budget as either:
A fee-based budget (e.g., $5,000 total project value)
A time-based budget (e.g., 30 hours of work)
Budgets help you:
Track how much has been used
See what remains
Avoid going over budget
Each project displays a progress bar so you can monitor usage in real time.
How to set a project budget
You can set a budget during project creation.
Create a new project
Enable Track budget
Choose your budget type:
Fee (total amount)
Time (total hours)
Enter the budget value
(Optional) Set a reset frequency:
Weekly
Monthly
Quarterly
This creates a fully tracked budget from the start of the project.
How to set or update a project budget from project settings
You can add or modify a budget at any time from project settings.
Go to Projects
Select your project
Click the three dots (•••) in the top right
Select Settings
Open the Budget tab
Configure your budget
You can choose how the budget is calculated:
Billable time only
Expenses only
Billable time and expenses combined
Once saved, the budget updates immediately across the project.
How to set recurring project budgets
If your project repeats, you can configure the budget to reset automatically.
When setting your budget:
Choose a reset frequency (weekly, monthly, or quarterly)
This ensures your budget refreshes for each cycle without manual updates.
How to track project budget usage
You can view budget usage across multiple areas in Bonsai.
In the projects list view
See a progress bar next to each project
View percentage of budget used
In the board view
Track progress visually across projects
In the project overview
Hover over the budget (top right corner) to see:
Total budget
Amount used
Remaining amount
Date range
Reset details (if applicable)
This allows you to quickly understand project performance without opening detailed reports.
How to update or remove a project budget
You can edit or remove a budget at any time.
Go to your project Settings
Open the Budget tab
Update or clear the budget amount
Click Save Changes
If you remove the budget, tracking will stop immediately.
What counts toward a project budget
Budget usage depends on your selected tracking settings.
A budget can include:
Billable time
Expenses
Or both
Make sure your selection matches how you want to track project costs.
FAQs
Can I track both time and expenses in a budget?
Yes, you can configure budgets to include both billable time and expenses.Can I change my budget after creating a project?
Yes, budgets can be updated or removed at any time in project settings.What happens when I reach my budget limit?
The progress bar will reflect full usage, helping you decide next steps.Can I set budgets for recurring work?
Yes, you can set budgets to reset automatically on a schedule.