---
title: "Project budgeting"
slug: "bc-project-budgeting"
description: "Learn the importance of project budgeting, including quoting, tracking, and forecasting, to ensure successful project management and unique product delivery."
updated: 2026-06-25T07:58:40Z
published: 2026-06-25T09:59:17Z
canonical: "docs.staedean.com/bc-project-budgeting"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.staedean.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Project budgeting

A project is temporary and creates a unique product: not a routine. For that reason, having a plan is essential: *"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."*

In Industrial Equipment Manufacturing, a budget is the baseline that ensures the project is calculated accurately. It supports the right quote, correct material planning in the right quantities, and availability of your people:

- **Quoting**: the cost of the project. A ProjectQuote calculation can be made in the ProjectBudget lines at different levels of detail:
  - General, for example an amount for all resources or all items.
  - Group, for example an amount for a particular resource group.
  - Number, for example an amount for a named resource.
- **Tracking**: tracking actual numbers against the budget. Once a budget is created, you can compare the actual numbers against that budget with forecasting.
- **Comparing**: budget versions and forecasts. You can create different versions of budgets based on progressive insights. Forecasts estimate the future development of the project.

Budgets provide the following functions:

- **Breakdown**: breaks down estimates at group level into specific resources or items.
- **Apply Surcharges**: adds percentage-based costs to the budget based on a surcharge model.
- **Calculate Forecast**: determines an estimate to completion based on either budgeted costs or actual numbers.
- **Copy to Planning**: copies budget lines for specific resources or items to either item planning lines or resource planning lines.

The following table describes a sequence of tasks, with links to the topics that describe them.

| To | See |
| --- | --- |
| Create and maintain several versions of the budget | [Project budget versions](/business-central/docs/bc-project-budget-versions) |
| Learn which budget line types can be used and how | [Project budget line types](/business-central/docs/bc-project-budget-line-types) |
| Learn which actions are available from the ProjectBudget line | [Project budget line actions](/business-central/docs/bc-project-budget-line-actions) |
| Learn how to create an item from the budget line page | [Create Item Wizard](/business-central/docs/bc-create-item-wizard) |
| Learn how to create ProjectCost types | [Project cost types](/business-central/docs/bc-project-cost-types) |
| Learn how to calculate project unit costs | [Cost price per lot size](/business-central/docs/bc-cost-price-per-lot-size) |
| Learn how to create surcharge components and models | [Surcharges](/business-central/docs/bc-surcharges) |
| Learn how to create a forecast for a budget | [Forecasting](/business-central/docs/bc-forecasting) |
| Learn about the summary pages showing the ProjectKPI | [Project summary](/business-central/docs/bc-project-summary) |
| Learn how to use extended texts on budget and planning lines | [Extended texts](/business-central/docs/bc-extended-texts) |
| Learn how to copy budget lines to planning lines | [Copy budget to planning](/business-central/docs/bc-copy-budget-to-planning) |

## Related

- [Budget, timeline, register and forecast](/bc-budget-timeline-register-and-forecast.md)