> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://beebole.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Project budgets: billing, cost, and hours targets
> Set and track budgets on projects and subprojects in Beebole to monitor hours, costs, and billing against your targets and catch overruns early.
Beebole's budgets let you set targets for billing, costs, or hours on your projects and subprojects, and track progress against those targets in real time. Budgets help you spot overruns before they become problems.
Budgets are not included in every Beebole plan. Review your plan and add-ons on the [Subscription](/help/documentation/subscription) page.
***
## Budget types
Each budget on a project has three target fields:
| Field | What it tracks | Example |
| ------------------ | ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| **Billing amount** | Revenue target | "This project should generate €50,000" |
| **Cost amount** | Internal cost limit | "Don't spend more than €30,000 on this project" |
| **Hours** | Time allocation | "This project has a 500-hour cap" |
You can use any combination of these on the same budget.
***
## Setting up a budget
Navigate to [Projects](/help/documentation/projects) and click the project you want to budget.
In the project's detail panel, open the **Budgets** panel.
Click **Add**. Beebole creates the budget and opens it for editing.
Enter your targets in **Billing amount**, **Cost amount**, and **Hours**. Changes are saved automatically, and Beebole starts tracking progress against the budget immediately.
***
## Budget splits
For more detailed tracking, you can split a budget using its **Type** field:
* **Split by person** — Allocate a portion of the budget to each team member, with its own billing amount, cost amount, and hours.
* **Split by project** — Distribute the budget across projects from another category — for example, splitting a client's budget across activities.
* **No split** — One set of targets applies to the whole project.
Budget splits let you see not just whether the overall project is on track, but whether individual contributors or work streams are within their allocation.
***
## Monitoring budgets
Click **Reports** in the sidebar, then **Budget Status**, to track every budget in one place. The report shows a progress bar per project comparing the hours, billing, and cost actually logged against your targets, rolls subproject activity up the hierarchy, and flags budgets that are at risk or over budget. See [Reports](/help/documentation/reports) for the report's filters and export options.
Beebole also alerts you as a budget fills up:
* When consumption passes the alert threshold (80% by default), Beebole sends a notification and shows an alert badge on the budget's card in the **Budgets** panel.
* When consumption reaches 100%, you get another notification and an **Over budget** badge.
Both are controlled by the **Budget threshold alerts** setting — including its **When over budget** option — in the **Notifications** panel. See [Notifications](/help/documentation/notifications). To clear a triggered badge, click its **×** (**Reset alert**).
Beebole tracks budget consumption in real time, but does not block time entries when a budget is exceeded. Use reports to monitor progress and take action proactively.
***
## Related content
Create and configure the projects where budgets are set and tracked.
Define cost rates that feed into cost budget calculations.
View detailed budget progress, consumption, and variance in custom reports.
Configure billing rates used in billing budget tracking.
## Frequently asked questions
Budgets are set on individual projects or subprojects. The **Budget Status** report rolls subproject consumption up the project hierarchy for a higher-level view.
Yes. Beebole sends a notification when a budget passes its alert threshold (80% by default) and another when it goes over budget — enable them with the **Budget threshold alerts** and **When over budget** options in your notification settings. Alert badges also appear on the budget itself, and the **Budget Status** report flags at-risk and over-budget projects.
Yes. You can update budget amounts at any time. Historical tracking is preserved — the report will reflect the current target.
Yes. Expense amounts contribute to a project's budget consumption alongside time-based costs — controlled per expense type by its **Impacts budget** setting. See [Expenses](/help/documentation/expenses).