Construction cost tracker in Excel, with a one-page renovation budget worksheet: budget, variations, invoices and forecast final on one sheet.
Budget versus actual by 18 cost codes, a variations log that feeds the budget once a change is approved, an invoice and payment claim register with overdue flags, and a printable budget to agree with the client before anything is ordered. Free, no email required.
How do you track construction costs so a job does not go over budget?
Give every cost a code, enter the budget per code from the quote, and record three more numbers against each as the job runs: committed (quotes accepted, orders placed), invoiced, and paid. The forecast final is the largest of revised budget, committed and invoiced, so an over-run shows the day a quote is accepted, not the day the invoice lands. Log every variation the day it is raised and give it an amount only when it is approved and dated; the budget sheet then adds it to the right code. Send the client the sheet with every progress claim. Across 13,567 publicly posted NZ construction reviews, value is the lowest-scoring of the four rated dimensions (97.6 out of 100) and quote accuracy is praised in only 13 to 14% of positive reviews. Projects rarely go over budget in one jump; they go over one unlogged variation at a time.
The job this document is doing.
- —The budget is the quote, and the first time anyone compares actuals to it is at the final invoice
- —A variation agreed on site is costed from memory three weeks later
- —Payment claims under the Construction Contracts Act sit unanswered past 20 working days and become debts
- —Contingency is spent in month one on things that were not contingencies
Open it and use it today.
- 01Budget versus actual: 18 cost codes, budget, approved variations, revised budget, committed, invoiced, paid, forecast final, variance (red when negative), percent spent (amber over 90%), totals and contingency remaining
- 02Variations log keyed by cost code; only dated approvals count
- 03Invoices register with due dates, paid amounts, overdue flag and a payment-claim marker
- 04Renovation budget worksheet PDF: the 18 codes with quoted-or-estimated and allowance columns, GST, signatures
Free to use and adapt for your own business. Not legal advice: check contract terms against your own terms of trade and, where it matters, with a lawyer.
Why this document, and not another one.
| Category | Value score (of 4 dimensions) | Quote accuracy praised | Transparent pricing praised |
|---|---|---|---|
| Builders | 97.6 / 100 (lowest) | 13.9% of positive reviews | 21.6% |
| Outdoor and civil construction | 97.6 / 100 (lowest) | 12.9% of positive reviews | 25.0% |
From 13,567 publicly posted reviews of 328 NZ builders and outdoor and civil construction contractors, collected August 2026. Positive reviews score 80 or more out of 100. Full corpus, method and thresholds: the construction methodology page. Full findings: the construction research study.
The questions this document answers, in full.
Why Do Building Projects Go Over Budget in NZ? Five Causes
Read the answer →How to Track Construction Costs (Budget, Committed, Invoiced, Paid)
Read the answer →Use it alongside
Construction quote template
A two-page NZ construction quote with the sections that stop disputes: scope by stage, allowances, written exclusions, a variations clause, payment stages and acceptance.
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