Budget Codes overview

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Overview

Budget Codes allow you to standardize and configure detailed project segments, like cost codes and cost types, to gain better control and visibility into your project financials. These segments ensure you can break down complex projects with comprehensive views into every cost category across every phase.

Note: Depending on your account's configuration, you might see one or more of the following:

  • Items and Pricing instead of Pricebook.

  • Customer instead of Homeowner.

  • Procurement instead of Inventory.

The names are different, but everything works the same way. For more, see Commercial Personalization Platform - FAQ.


Who uses this feature

  • Administrators, office employees, managers, accountants, bookkeepers, dispatchers, and customer service representatives (CSRs)

  • Primarily for Residential Construction and Commercial Construction business types

Feature configuration

  • Account configuration is required to use this feature. Please contact Technical Support for details.

Things to know

  • All budget segment codes and descriptions must be unique.

  • Only project estimates can be imported into the project plan.

  • The Cost Codes settings screen was previously named Work Breakdown Structure. If you search Settings for "work breakdown structure," ServiceTitan still finds Cost Codes.

  • To see Cost Codes in Settings, you need the View and edit Cost Codes settings and View and edit an individual Project Cost Codes settings permissions to access cost codes settings. Owners and Admins have it by default.

Create budget code segments

By default, ServiceTitan creates three segments: Cost Code, Cost Type, and Phase. Cost Code and Cost Type are required and always part of your budget code structure. Phase is turned off until you enable it. For more, see Enable and rearrange budget code segments. To create new segments:

  1. Go to the top toolbar and click Settings A simple icon representing a settings gear..

  2. In the side panel, go to Operations > Cost Codes.

  3. Click Create Segment. Cost Codes settings screen showing segments, items, and options to create a new segment.

  4. Enter a name for the segment and click Create. Create Segment dialog with a Name field and a Create button.

  5. In the Segments list, click the name of the segment you created.

  6. Click Create "Segment Name." Buttons for downloading, importing, and creating a department in a user interface.

  7. Enter a Code and Description.

  8. When finished, click Save. Form to create a department with code and description fields, including a save button.

  9. Repeat steps 6-8 until your segment has every budget code it needs.

Import budget codes using Excel templates

Instead of creating each individual budget code in a segment manually in ServiceTitan, you can download the Excel template, fill it out, and then upload it. To use Excel templates:

  1. Go to the top toolbar and click Settings A simple icon representing a settings gear..

  2. In the side panel, go to Operations > Cost Codes.

  3. Create a new segment or click an existing one to edit it.

  4. Click Download Template to download a blank Excel spreadsheet. Table displaying department codes and descriptions with a download template button highlighted.

  5. Open and fill out the Excel sheet on your device by entering a Code and Description for each budget code. Spreadsheet showing codes and descriptions for HVAC and plumbing services.

  6. (Optional) If you're importing cost codes, add child codes to the sheet by naming them "Parent code-Child code." Add a description for each child code as normal. Table displaying electrical codes and their descriptions for maintenance and commissioning.

  7. Save any changes you make to the sheet.

  8. When finished, go back to ServiceTitan and click Import.

  9. Select the Excel file you just saved. Table displaying department codes, descriptions, and action buttons for management tasks.

Create cost codes

By default, ServiceTitan creates Cost Code as a segment. To create cost codes within that segment:

  1. Go to the top toolbar and click Settings A simple icon representing a settings gear..

  2. In the side panel, go to Operations > Cost Codes.

  3. Click Cost Code. Table displaying segments with cost codes, items, and created by information.

  4. To create a new parent cost code, click Create Cost Code. Buttons for downloading a template, importing, and creating a cost code are displayed.

  5. Enter a Code and Description for the cost code.

  6. When finished, click Save. Form to create a cost code for HVAC with save and cancel options.

  7. To add a child cost code, go to the Actions column and click Add . User interface showing HVAC status with an active indicator and edit option.

    Note: Only the Cost Code segment can have child codes, and they can be one level deep.

  8. Enter a Code and Description for the child cost code.

  9. When finished, click Save.

  10. Repeat steps 4-9 until all cost codes are created.

Create cost types

By default, ServiceTitan creates Cost Type as a segment. To create cost types within that segment:

  1. Go to the top toolbar and click Settings A simple icon representing a settings gear..

  2. In the side panel, go to Operations > Cost Codes.

  3. Click Cost Type. Table displaying segments with cost codes, types, and their item counts.

  4. To create a new cost type, click Create Cost Type. Buttons for downloading a template, importing data, and creating a cost type.

  5. Enter a Code and Description for the cost type.

  6. Select one of the following Cost Categories from the dropdown:

    • None

    • Material

    • Labor

    • Equipment

    • Subcontract

    • Overhead

    • Other

  7. When finished, click Save. Form to create a cost type with fields for code, description, and category.

  8. Repeat steps 4-7 until all cost types are created.

Enable and rearrange budget code segments

To edit the structure of your budget codes:

  1. Go to the top toolbar and click Settings A simple icon representing a settings gear..

  2. In the side panel, go to Operations > Cost Codes.

  3. Click the Budget Code tab. User interface displaying the Cost Codes settings screen with budget code and edit options.

    Tip: You can also access this screen by clicking Edit.

  4. Click the checkbox for each segment to enable or disable them. Settings for project budget codes with options for cost code, type, department, and phase.

    Note: Cost Code and Cost Type cannot be disabled.

  5. Click, hold, and drag any enabled segment to rearrange the order of your budget codes.

    Note: Any changes made here do not impact existing projects.

Assign cost codes and cost types to your Pricebook items

After you have cost codes and cost types set up, you can assign them to the services, materials, and equipment in your Pricebook using the Budget Code dropdown. For more information on editing items in the Pricebook, see Edit pricebook items and Import and export your pricebook.

Form fields for selecting budget code and cost type in a financial application.

Assign cost types to GL accounts

You can assign a cost type directly on the GL account to ensure job cost is captured and categorized properly if no budget code is assigned to a Pricebook item.

To assign a cost type to a GL account:

  1. On the top toolbar, click Settings A simple icon representing a settings gear..

  2. In the side panel, click Accounting > General Ledger Accounts.

  3. In the General Ledger Accounts settings screen, find the GL account you want to assign a cost type to.

  4. Click the Action> Edit.

  5. On the Edit GL Account screen, select a Cost Type from the dropdown.

  6. When finished, click Save.

Editing GL account details including account number, type, and description fields.

Use budget codes in projects

Change the budget code structure for a project

The Budget Code Structure set in settings automatically applies to any new projects, but you can also edit this structure for each project individually. To edit the budget code structure for a project:

  1. Open the project.

  2. Click Project Budget Code Structure A simple icon representing a settings gear.. User clicks on settings icon in project details section for actions menu.

  3. Click the checkbox for each segment to enable or disable them. User selects 'Phase' in the project budget code structure interface.

    Note: Cost Code and Cost Type cannot be disabled.

  4. Click, hold, and drag any enabled segment to rearrange the order of your budget codes.

  5. When finished, click Save.

Budget codes in project jobs

Once you have your budget codes set up, you can manually assign them to any job that is attached to a project. To use budget codes in jobs:

  1. Go to the Jobs & Appointments section of your desired project.

  2. Open the job you want to add budget codes to.

  3. Click Edit Job. A user clicks the edit icon in the Job Actions menu for modifications.

  4. Select a budget code from the appropriate dropdown. Editing job details with budget code and prevailing wage job option.

    Note: The available budget segments depend on the budget code structure set for the job's project.

  5. When finished, click Save.

Budget codes in project estimates

Once you have your budget codes set up, you can manually assign them to line items in your project estimates. To use budget codes in project estimates:

  1. Go to the Estimate section of your desired project.

  2. For any line item that you want to have a budget code, click any section of the Budget Code column you want to edit.

  3. Select a budget code from the appropriate dropdown. Estimate items table showing labor hours, prices, and budget codes for project management.

  4. Repeat steps 1-3 until every line item that needs a budget code has one assigned.

Budget codes in Project Plans

As estimates are built and sold, their line items contain budget codes that can be imported into a project's plan for a detailed breakdown of the project's cost categories and phases. This can be done if you want your project plan to mirror your financials and budget code structure.

To use budget codes in project plans:

  1. Go to the Estimate section of your desired project.

  2. Review every sold estimate and ensure their line items have the correct budget codes assigned.

  3. Go to the Project Plan section of the project.

  4. Click Import from estimate. Project plan table showing tasks, budget codes, and an import option highlighted.

    Note: Only budget codes with a cost type that is using the Labor cost category can be imported into the project plan.

  5. Select which budget code segments you'd like to include from the dropdown. If you'd like to change the budget code order, see Change the budget code structure for a project. Selecting budget codes for a project plan, focusing on department options.

    Tip: If you don't want to import the full structure, start by importing the highest level segment and then assign jobs to each code as needed.

  6. When finished, click Add. Interface for importing budget codes into a project plan with selection options.

The Budget Code column is populated and each line item in the project is categorized by their corresponding code. For more information about project plans, see Project Plan overview.

Project plan table displaying budget codes, assigned tasks, and start dates for construction.

Update and remove budget code segments from a project plan

If any of your budget codes have been edited in ServiceTitan, click Update to apply those changes to the budget codes currently assigned to a project plan.

Buttons for editing segments and updating content in a user interface.

If you need to start over or if budget codes were added to a project by mistake, click Remove Segments and click Remove to confirm your choice. Doing so removes every budget code from the project plan.

User interface showing options to edit, remove segments, and export data.

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