Project budget template

Planned budget per category next to what you actually spent and invoiced. See early when a project eats into its margin, not when the last invoice goes out.

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Free, no signup. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers.

Imports asIncome and costs

What is in the template

Example data. Delete it before you add your own.

Date	Project	Type	Category	Description	Amount	Currency
2026-09-04	Website relaunch	Income	milestone_payment	Invoice 1 of 4: kickoff	21,000	EUR
2026-09-30	Website relaunch	Expense	team_cost	Team hours September	14,400	EUR
2026-10-02	Website relaunch	Expense	software	Design tool and CMS licences	1,250	EUR
2026-10-26	Website relaunch	Income	milestone_payment	Invoice 2 of 4: design sign off	21,000	EUR
2026-10-31	Website relaunch	Expense	team_cost	Team hours October	16,800	EUR
2026-10-31	Website relaunch	Expense	team_cost	Contract developer October	7,200	EUR
2026-11-06	Website relaunch	Expense	travel	Workshop at client office	380	EUR
2026-11-13	Website relaunch	Expense	other	Stock photography	640	EUR

How to use it

1
On the Budget tab, fill in the planned amount per category. The contract value goes at the top.
2
Log every invoice and cost on the Transactions tab, with the date, the category and the amount.
3
The Budget tab adds up actual spend per category and shows what is left.
4
Compare spend with progress. Half the budget gone at a third of the work is the moment to act.

What each column means

Date: Invoice or payment date.
Project: The exact project name. The import uses it to put each row on the right project.
Type: Income for what you invoice, Expense for what you spend.
Category: One of the Vaizy categories, such as team_cost or software. The Budget tab explains each one.
Description: What it was for.
Amount: The amount as a plain number, without a currency sign.
Currency: Three letter code, such as EUR.

How to keep a project budget honest

Count your own hours as cost

Internal hours are the biggest cost in most service projects. Book them as team_cost at their cost rate, or the budget looks healthier than it is.

Spend only means something next to progress

60% of the budget used is fine at 70% done and a problem at 40%. Look at both numbers together, every month.

Keep a buffer, and name it

Put 5 to 10% under other as contingency. When you spend it, write down why, so the next estimate is better.

When the budget sheet stops being enough

A budget sheet adds up what you type, a month after it happened. Hours, rates and invoices come from three places and someone copies them in. In Vaizy logged hours turn into cost at each person's rate, invoices sit next to milestones, and you see cash flow for one project or the whole portfolio.

See project finances in Vaizy

Import it into Vaizy

Start a free trial and open the import dialog from the dashboard.
Drop in the file. Vaizy recognises the columns and maps them for you.
Check the preview and import. Nothing is saved until you confirm.

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Questions about this template

What should a project budget template include?

The contract value, a planned amount per cost category, every actual cost and invoice, and what is left per category. This template has all four.

Why are the categories written like team_cost?

Those are the finance categories Vaizy uses. Keeping them the same means the Transactions tab imports without changes. The Budget tab explains each one in plain words.

Can I import this template into Vaizy?

Yes, the Transactions tab imports as income and expenses on the project you name. The Budget tab stays in the spreadsheet, because Vaizy calculates those totals itself.

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