Before starting a construction project, every contractor needs to put together a construction budget for the team to work from. Budgets help you calculate the total costs you should expect for each project, identify problems ahead of time, and track your financial progress. Use the customizable budget templates below to make sure your construction estimate is accurate and all of your job costs are accounted for.
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There are four main parts of a construction budget when you’re breaking down income and expenses for any project, whether residential or commercial.
Hard costs are for the actual construction of the building, including materials, labor, and equipment costs. A contractor determines these costs based on pricing they receive from subcontractors and suppliers, as well as the costs to employ their own workers.
Soft costs, also called indirect costs, include design and other services that might be needed for a project, but aren’t directly tied to the building or materials. Architectural and engineering costs, insurance and bonds, and legal and accounting fees are included here.
In construction, general conditions refers to the temporary facilities and necessities that are required to support the project and its workers. They include utilities, project supervision, dumpsters, printing, trailer rental, project management, and administrative costs.
All projects, except minor repairs, are subject to review and permitting by the local jurisdiction. These fees are based on the scope of work and size of the project.
Every construction job is unique, but a project budget can be organized using common categories of expenses. Below are budget templates for two main groups of construction projects: residential and commercial. We’ve also included a template to track budgeted expenses with actual job costs on any job.
Tailor the items listed in these budgets to your specific project. If you are using the Google Sheets or Excel versions of the template, the calculation formulas are already included.
Enter estimated costs for each line item on a residential project and calculate the per square foot cost for soft costs/general conditions, site work, building construction, and overhead and profit.
