How do I track an allowance and its overage?

Budget the allowance as its own line, log the actual selection cost against it, and record any overage as a change order so the contract value adjusts. The budget-vs-actual view shows the gap per line.

Can the client see any of this?

Not the ledger. Obra's public project pages are for photos, milestones and updates; the money stays with your team. Clients get the change order you send them, not the cost behind it.

We do design and selections in Houzz Pro. Does Obra replace it?

No. Keep the design and selections tool; use Obra for the costs and collections per job. The two don't overlap much, which is the point.

Is Obra free to try on one bathroom?

Yes. The Free plan runs one active project with receipt scanning included, and every account starts with a Pro trial, no card required.

Obra for Kitchen and bath remodelers

Job costing for kitchen and bath remodelers: allowances, selections and the margin between them

Expense tracking for kitchen and bath contractors, where allowances, selections and lead-time deposits decide the margin. Sample bathroom budget and cost codes.

Start free See the sample budget

Kitchen and bath work is where the margin is made or lost on paper before the tile is set. The contract carries allowances; the client's selections land above them; the deposit for the cabinets goes out eight weeks before the cabinets do. A job can be on schedule, beautifully finished and two thousand dollars underwater, and the reason is usually one overage that was never written down.

Obra tracks each remodel as its own ledger, with the allowances budgeted per line, the actual selection costs logged against them, and the overage recorded as a change order that moves the contract value. Receipts from the tile setter, the plumber and the crew arrive by photo, email or WhatsApp and are confirmed by a person to the right job and category.

The allowance loop, made honest

Budget the allowance line: vanity and top, $3,800.
Log the selection when it's ordered: $6,100, receipt attached, cost code 05.
Write the change order for the $2,300 overage the same day, with the client's signature.
Watch the contract value rise to cover it and the margin stay where it was bid.

Skip step 3 and steps 1 and 2 still happen; they just happen to your profit. The change order guide is the five-minute version you can send from the driveway, and the change order pricing calculator makes sure the overage carries markup, not just cost.

Deposits are costs, too

A custom cabinet deposit is money gone. In Obra the deposit is a recorded cost the day it's paid, and the balance goes into the forecast review as remaining to spend, so the job's expected final cost includes the whole cabinet order from week one instead of pretending it's free until delivery. That's the difference between a mid-job margin you can trust and one that collapses at the end.

Where Obra stops

Design, 3D renderings, selection boards and the client portal belong to Houzz Pro, Buildern or a designer's own tools. Obra doesn't compete there. It runs the money on each job, in English and Spanish, from the receipts your crew already sends, and hands the accountant clean exports.

Sample budget

Primary bathroom remodel, 110 sq ft, Westlake Remodel

Line item	Budget
Demolition and disposal	$1,900
Plumbing rough and trim (sub)	$5,600
Electrical and lighting (sub)	$2,800
Tile: shower, floor, labor	$7,400
Vanity and top (allowance)	$3,800
Fixtures and glass (allowance)	$4,900
Drywall, paint, trim	$2,700
Permits	$500
Crew labor	$5,200
Direct cost budget	$34,800
Contract value	$49,500
Gross margin budgeted	$14,700

Illustrative figures in US dollars for a fictional project; use them to see the shape of the budget, not to price a job.

The cost codes this trade actually uses

01 Demolition
02 Plumbing
03 Electrical
04 Tile and waterproofing
05 Cabinets and vanities
06 Countertops
07 Fixtures, glass, hardware
08 Drywall, paint, trim
09 Permits
10 Crew labor
11 Deliveries and disposal

The change orders that eat the margin

The selection over the allowance: A $3,800 vanity allowance meets a $6,100 vanity. If the overage isn't written against the allowance before the order goes in, the client remembers the allowance and you remember the invoice.
The shower niche and the second valve: Small additions the tile setter can do in an hour cost you the setter's hour, the extra waterproofing and a return trip for the plumber. They add up to a change order or they add up to nothing.
Lead-time deposits on custom cabinets: Cabinets ordered eight weeks out and paid 50% down are a committed cost on the day of the deposit, not on delivery. Jobs that ignore that look rich for two months.

Questions people ask

How do I track an allowance and its overage?: Budget the allowance as its own line, log the actual selection cost against it, and record any overage as a change order so the contract value adjusts. The budget-vs-actual view shows the gap per line.
Can the client see any of this?: Not the ledger. Obra's public project pages are for photos, milestones and updates; the money stays with your team. Clients get the change order you send them, not the cost behind it.
We do design and selections in Houzz Pro. Does Obra replace it?: No. Keep the design and selections tool; use Obra for the costs and collections per job. The two don't overlap much, which is the point.
Is Obra free to try on one bathroom?: Yes. The Free plan runs one active project with receipt scanning included, and every account starts with a Pro trial, no card required.

Free download

Not ready for an app? Start with our free Excel template.

A ready-made spreadsheet to track costs and income per project — with categories and the totals already set up.