A cabinet job is a big deposit, a long wait, and a week of install. The boxes are most of the cost and half of it is paid before anything is built. The margin is decided by what the client changes after the order, what the walls look like when the boxes arrive, and how many days the punch list takes.
Obra keeps each kitchen as its own job, with the deposit on the job the day you pay it, the boxes as an allowance, and shop labor apart from install labor, so you know what the kitchen made you before the last drawer pull goes on.
The deposit counts when you pay it
Log the deposit invoice when you pay it, not when the boxes ship. It shows in the job's recorded cost right away. Then review what's still left to spend, and Obra keeps the expected final cost current as the balance, the hardware and the labor come in. The committed costs guide explains why this matters when half the cost is paid before the job starts.
Boxes as an allowance
The cabinet allowance is the number most likely to move. Budget it on its own line, log the supplier invoices against it, and turn any upgrade into a change order once the client has agreed. The allowance overage guide shows the wording that keeps the client on your side.
Shop and install, apart
If you build custom pieces, give shop labor its own code. After a few kitchens you'll know whether the island you build is worth more than the one you'd buy. The cost code guide has a short list you can copy.
The wall, the hardware, the range
The three change orders below show up on most kitchens. Price each one the day it comes up, get the client's okay, then record it so the contract value moves with the work. The change order guide keeps the wording short.
What Obra isn't for a cabinet shop
Not design software, not a cut list, not shop scheduling. Obra is the money on each kitchen, in English and Spanish, from receipts your crew already sends, exported clean to the accountant.