Construction financial tracking
Job profit. Cash in hand.Keep the difference clear.
Review project budgets, expenses, client collections, and vendor payments together. Understand what each number tells you before making the next financial decision.
Explore the job financialsOak Street renovation
Project financialsContract less forecast cost
Client collections less vendor payments
- Contract value
- $100,000
- Budgeted cost
- $70,000
- Committed expenses
- $68,000
- Client money collected
- $15,000
- Vendors paid
- $20,000
The job can be profitable while more money has gone out than come in.
The numbers behind each job
Clear records for the work you price, commit to, bill, and pay.
Budgeted cost
Use cost-bearing invoice line items as the project budget.
Client invoices
Organize line items and milestone payments for the work you bill.
Separate money in and out
Track client collections separately from vendor and subcontractor payments.
Projected margin
Compare contract value with forecast cost, including unfinished work.
Committed expenses
Keep awarded bid, selection, and manually recorded expenses with the job.
Your bookkeeping process
Use job-level records alongside your existing ledger, tax, and payroll tools.
Read the job from two useful angles
Commitments show exposure. The forecast keeps unfinished work in the picture.
Cost control
Know what is committed before it is paid
The budget sets the plan. Expenses record the work and materials you have committed to. Vendor payments show what you have actually paid against those expenses.
- Keep cost categories and expense details together
- Compare budgeted costs with commitments
- Review vendor payments allocated to each expense
Kitchen remodel
Budgeted
$145,000
Committed
$144,100
Paid
$108,000
Project margin
Leave room for the work still to finish
A low recorded expense total does not mean a job has suddenly become more profitable. Unfinished items reserve at least their budget in the forecast, keeping the remaining work in view.
- Compare the contract with forecast project cost
- Review cost changes while the work is underway
- Keep completed and unfinished work distinct
Residential remodel
Unfinished items reserve at least their budget.
Job financials and your books, with a clear role for each
Use Kaliun for project decisions alongside your accounting process.
- Budgeted costs, expenses, and vendor payments
- Invoices, milestone balances, and collections
- Contract value, projected margin, and current cash position
Construction accounting and job financial questions
What does Kaliun track for construction accounting?
Kaliun provides job-level financial tracking: invoice-backed budgets, committed expenses, vendor payments, client collections, and projected margin. It supports your project decisions alongside a separate general-ledger, tax, and payroll process.
What is the difference between budgeted, committed, and paid cost?
Budgeted cost comes from cost-bearing invoice line items. Committed cost comes from project expenses, including expenses created from awarded bids and selections. Paid cost records payments allocated to those expenses. A commitment is not the same as a completed payment.
Why can a profitable job have a negative cash position?
Profit compares contract value with forecast project cost. Cash position compares client money collected with payments made to vendors and subcontractors. You may pay expenses before collecting the next client draw, even while the job remains profitable.
Does collecting a client payment change project profit?
A completed collection changes money received and the outstanding client balance. It does not change the contract value or the underlying cost forecast by itself. Keep client collections separate from payments to suppliers.
How do change orders affect the budget?
Active change-order invoices contribute to contract value and cost-bearing budget line items. Draft and cancelled change orders are excluded. Expenses created for the changed work determine committed cost; the change-order amount is not automatically a vendor commitment.
Does Kaliun integrate with QuickBooks or Xero?
QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, and Xero synchronization are not currently available. Keep your existing bookkeeping, tax, and payroll process. Kaliun keeps project budgets, expenses, invoices, and payment records together for job-level oversight.
Does Kaliun predict future cash flow?
The financial view shows the current position, including collections, vendor payments, outstanding client balances, and unpaid commitments. This is not a forecast of future bank balances based on payment patterns.
Can clients pay invoices online?
Clients can review invoices through their portal and pay by card or ACH when Stripe is connected. A payment that is still processing is distinct from completed funds.
How should I compare construction financial software?
Start with the questions your team needs to answer: what is budgeted, what has been committed, what is paid, and what remains to collect. Review those workflows in a demo and check the pricing page for the current subscription terms.