The project budget: what it is and how it is built

What a project budget is

The project budget is the statement that sets out the whole cost of a scheme. It is not the same figure as the bill of quantities: the works are only part "A". Part "B" collects the sums at the client's disposal, that is, everything that is needed beyond the contractor.

The usual structure

A — Works: the value of the works to be tendered (from the priced bill of quantities) plus the health and safety costs, which are not subject to the tenderer's discount.
B — Sums at the client's disposal: professional fees (design, works supervision, health and safety coordination, final inspection), VAT on works and fees, contingencies, any daywork, connections to public utilities, surveys and investigations, statutory incentives and levies. In Italy the exact make-up follows D.Lgs. 36/2023 for public works, but the logic holds for private work as well: the client has to see the all-in cost.

The usual mistakes

Forgetting VAT (on an Italian public scheme it is a budget line of its own, not a detail); under-stating the contingencies; not updating the budget when the bill of quantities changes — the budget has to stay linked to the bill, not be retyped by hand every time.

How you do it with ComputoLab

In ComputoLab the project budget is built on top of the bill of quantities: works, health and safety and labour arrive on their own, you make up the client's sums with the lines you need, and when the bill changes the budget follows. It comes out as PDF or Excel from the Project documents tab.

Read also: How to prepare a bill of quantities · Interim valuations