You can enter your project budget in Terial in two ways:
Upload a CSV (best if your budget already lives in a spreadsheet)
💡 A CSV is a simple spreadsheet file format where each row of data is on its own line and each column is separated by a comma. You can usually export a CSV from tools like Excel, Google Sheets, or your accounting software and upload it directly into Terial.
Build it manually ("From Scratch") inside Terial
Option A — Entering a Simple Budget (Manually, From Scratch)
Best for teams who want a fast, lightweight setup.
Not every team needs a detailed cost code structure. If you're early in your job-costing journey or want a simpler way to track a project, you can enter a 1–3 line budget directly inside Terial.
Common simple budget formats
You can choose any structure that matches how your team already thinks about job cost. Below are some examples:
Labor / Materials / Other
Labor / Materials / Equipment
One-line budget (Total Project Cost)
Tear-off / Install / Equipment
Field Labor / Materials
How to add a simple budget manually
Go to your project → Budget tab
Click From Scratch
Create a high-level parent cost code
Examples: "1000 - Labor", "2000 - Materials", "Other", etc.
💡 If you need to add in a cost code that doesn't already exist in your "Admin" section of Terial, you can still add that cost code "in context" as you create your budget.
4. Add one child row underneath each parent
This is where the budget value goes
Only the child-level cost code can have time cards attributed to them
5. Enter the dollar amount for each child (if using google sheets, use the "Automatic" number format)
6. Save
When to use this approach
You want to adopt job costing quickly
You don't maintain detailed cost codes yet
You prefer to focus on POs + delivery tracking
You want early visibility without changing your estimating process
Simple budgets still unlock:
Real-time committed vs actual visibility
Clear margin tracking
A structured workflow field + office can follow
A smooth path toward more detailed budgeting in the future
Option B — Create Your Detailed Budget From Scratch (Manual)
Best for teams who want a simple setup or don't maintain spreadsheets, but don't want to adapt their budget formatting to the necessary csv uploading format. Only takes about 10 minutes!
How to add a budget manually
Go to your project → Budget tab
Click From Scratch
3. Choose each parent cost code (a number followed by a brief description)
a. E.g. "1000 - Labor"
4. Add a unique child row under each parent cost code section (a number within range of the parent number, followed by a brief description)
E.g. under the parent cost code of "1000 - Labor", you may have the following child cost codes in your budget:
"1100 - Production labor regular"
"1200 - Production labor overtime"
"1300 - Production labor subcontracted"
etc.
5. Enter budget amounts for each child
6. Save
Budgets can be adjusted at any time!
Ready for something a bit more advanced?
Option C — Upload a Budget (CSV)
Best for teams with structured budgets or existing cost code lists.
Before you upload
Note: Your spreadsheet will need to be formatted in a particular way in order to properly accept your data.
You'll want to save a copy of the template, then copy and paste your budget information into the appropriate spreadsheet fields.
Please do not include any data in your spreadsheet outside of the designated, existing fields.
Use parent + child cost codes
Sample Parent Cost Code: "1000 - Labor"
Sample Child Cost Code: "1100 - Production labor"
Only child rows need budget values
Parent totals are automatically calculated in Terial
Only child cost codes can have time cards attributed to them
Rows that contain a parent code should leave the child cost code field blank, and vice versa
Sample Budget After Being Transferred Into Our CSV Template Uploadable Format:
How to upload
Go to your project → Budget tab
Click Upload CSV
Download the template you see on the resulting page (recommended)
Fill in the following columns (please refer to addition notes in the "before you upload" section:
Column A: Parent Cost Code Number
Column B: Parent Cost Code Name
Column C: Child Cost Code Number
Column D: Child Cost Code Name
Column E: Budget (this should only be filled out for child-level cost codes)
Upload your CSV
Review → Save
If any cost codes can't be matched to existing cost codes in Admin —> Cost Codes, Terial will show them so you can fix or create them.
NOTE: You'll want to create an initial list of production cost codes in Admin —> Cost Codes, to minimize instances where you upload a cost code for the first time, as cost code settings cannot presently be set from the csv upload (such as whether or not a given cost code should be of the "Production Labor" time-tracking type, of the "Production Materials" type (and thus allow materials to be tracked against this cost code on your project's "Materials" page), as well as the master "Production" cost code type, which allows a given cost code to be utilized on your Budget and/or Materials pages of projects at all).
Once all errors have been cleared, your budget should look something like this:
Tips
If your team is new to job costing, start with simple codes like:
Labor
Materials
Other
You can always expand your cost structure over time.
Questions/want to schedule some workshopping time with the Terial team on this?
Ready for the next steps?
Feedback or questions on the product? Email us at [email protected]