Decks and fences are priced by the foot and built by the day. The lumber yard invoice is the biggest number on the job, it changes with the market, and the labor is a small crew for a week. Whether the job made money comes down to two things: did the material cost what you bid, and did the days match the plan.
Obra keeps each build as its own job, with the lumber invoice against the budget line and the labor by the day, so you know the answer before the client's final check clears.
Material by the line
Set up the budget the way you bid it: decking, framing, railing, fence material, concrete. When the lumber yard invoice comes in, it goes against the right line and the job's page shows the gap. The cost code guide has a list you can copy.
Prices that move
Composite and cedar prices change between the bid and the build. If your contract has a material price clause, the difference is a change order and the contract value moves with it. If it doesn't, the job's page still shows you the hit, so the next bid is right. The markup and margin guide helps you decide how much cushion to carry.
Rock, cable rail, and the property line
The three change orders below show up on almost every job. Write each one as a change order the day it comes up, with your markup, and get the signature before you rent the bigger auger or place the railing order. The change order guide is a five-minute read.
The margin on every build
At the end of the job, the page shows the contract, the total cost and the margin. Compare your decks against your fences and your pergolas. If you've been running this in a spreadsheet, the job costing spreadsheet guide shows what you were tracking and what Obra does for you.
What Obra isn't for a deck builder
Not a 3D design tool, not estimating software, not a customer portal. Obra is the money on each build, in English and Spanish, from receipts your crew already sends, exported clean to the accountant.