The whole job, from the first figure to the last receipt.
Here is a renovation run in Cobblewood, in the order it happens, on an example kitchen. Every figure on this page is one a member types in. Nothing is estimated for you.
Step 1 of 7
Write down the total, and hold some of it back.
Begin with the most you are prepared to spend on the job, all in. Then set a contingency to one side: money nobody has spoken for yet, kept for the rot behind the tile or the wiring that is not to code.
Whatever remains is the room the line items have to fit inside. How much to hold back is your call; the contingency guide walks through the thinking.
- All in
- $42,000
- For the work itself
- $38,500
- Held back
- $3,500
Your numbers, written down. Not an estimate.
Step 2 of 7
Break the work into lines, and name the allowances.
Each trade or purchase gets its own line with its own figure. Where a finish is not chosen yet, the line is an allowance: a placeholder, like $4,800 for countertops before anyone has picked the slab.
Cobblewood marks every allowance, so you always know which figures are firm and which are still a guess. More on allowances
| Line | Kind | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| Cabinets | firm | $14,200 |
| Countertops | allowance | $4,800 |
| Electrical | firm | $3,900 |
| Plumbing | firm | $3,100 |
| Labor | firm | $9,600 |
| Demolition | firm | $1,800 |
| Permits | firm | $1,100 |
| Seven lines | $38,500 | |
Step 3 of 7
Type in each quote against the same lines.
When quotes arrive, enter each one line by line, including the lines a quote leaves out. Set side by side, differences in scope show up before differences in price.
In the example, the lowest quote is $6,200 under the others on paper, and blank on four of seven lines.
Your numbers, written down. Not an estimate.
Step 4 of 7
Log each payment on the line it pays for.
Four kinds of entry cover a whole job. Each one goes against a line, so every line always knows what it has used and what it has left.
You type these in yourself. Cobblewood has no link to a bank or a card, and it never pays anyone.
Deposit
Holds a trade's place in the schedule before work begins.
CabinetsMar 3$4,260
Progress payment
Goes out in stages as the work gets done.
LaborApr 21$4,320
Receipt
Anything you bought yourself, from fixtures to a box of screws.
PlumbingMay 8$1,550
Change order
A change to the agreed work, with its price. Kept in its own log on Plus.
CountertopsMay 12$1,400
Your numbers, written down. Not an estimate.
Step 5 of 7
When a line runs over, you hear about it plainly.
The moment an entry takes a line past its figure, Cobblewood flags that line in the app and sends you an email. Both say the same three things: which line, how far over, and how much contingency is left to absorb it.
No sirens and no red screens. You see the size of the problem early enough to pick a plainer sink or trim another line.
Countertops allowance
$4,800 figure$6,200 loggedover by $1,400
Covered by contingency: $2,100 of $3,500 still unspent.
- From
- Cobblewood
- Subject
- Kitchen: countertops went past the allowance
The change order you logged on May 12 took countertops to $6,200, which is $1,400 past the $4,800 allowance.
The contingency covers it. After this entry, $2,100 of the $3,500 remains.
Your numbers, written down. Not an estimate.
Step 6 of 7
Close the project, and keep the real numbers.
With the punch list done, close the project. The report sets each line's final cost against its figure, shows what the contingency paid for, and gives the bottom line in one place.
Free shows the report in the app. Plus exports it as a file to keep with the house papers.
- Planned
- $42,000
- Came in at
- $39,900
- From contingency
- $1,400
- Never spent
- $2,100
Kitchen, example
Step 7 of 7
Run it with a partner, on Plus.
Invite a partner to the project and you both work from the same lines. Either of you can log a receipt at the hardware store; the other sees it on the line and in the totals straight away.
You both see one set of flags and one final report, because you share one set of numbers.
| Logged by | Entry | Date | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| You | DepositCountertops | Apr 2 | $2,400 |
| Partner | Receipt: fixturesPlumbing | May 8 | $1,550 |
| You | Progress paymentLabor | May 9 | $960 |
| Partner | Change order: countertop edge and cutoutCountertops | May 12 | $1,400 |
Your numbers, written down. Not an estimate.
One project, seen four ways.
The app's own layout, built here in HTML with the example kitchen. Switch views to read the same job as a budget, a bid lineup, a log, and a finished report.
Use the tabs, or the arrow keys once a tab has focus. Figures match every other example on this site.
- Budget
- $42,000
- Logged so far
- $39,900
- Contingency left
- $2,100
| Line | Used | Logged | Figure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabinets | $14,200 | $14,200 | paid in full | |
| Countertopsallowance | $6,200 | $4,800 | $1,400 over | |
| Electrical | $3,900 | $3,900 | paid in full | |
| Plumbing | $3,100 | $3,100 | paid in full | |
| Labor | $9,600 | $9,600 | paid in full | |
| Demolition | $1,800 | $1,800 | paid in full | |
| Permits | $1,100 | $1,100 | paid in full | |
| Contingency | $1,400 used | $3,500 | $2,100 unspent |
Labor and trade quotes, entered against one set of lines. A blank board is a line the quote leaves out.
| Line | Bid 1 | Bid 2 | Bid 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demolition | $1,800 | $2,100 | left out |
| Electrical | $3,900 | $4,200 | $3,600 |
| Plumbing | $3,100 | $2,900 | $3,300 |
| Drywall and paint | $2,600 | $2,400 | left out |
| Carpentry and install | $9,600 | $10,200 | $9,900 |
| Permits | $1,100 | $1,100 | left out |
| Haul-away | $900 | $750 | left out |
| As quoted | $23,000 | $23,650 | $16,800 |
This page shows three. Plus holds up to five quotes in one lineup. Edit these figures on the bids page
| Date | Entry | On the line | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 20 | Receipt: permit fee | Permits | $1,100 |
| Feb 24 | Payment | Demolition | $1,800 |
| Mar 3 | Deposit | Cabinets | $4,260 |
| Mar 10 | Deposit | Electrical | $1,950 |
| Mar 10 | Deposit | Plumbing | $1,550 |
| Mar 17 | Progress payment | Labor | $4,320 |
| Apr 2 | Deposit | Countertops | $2,400 |
| Apr 14 | Progress payment | Cabinets | $7,100 |
| Apr 21 | Progress payment | Labor | $4,320 |
| Apr 30 | Balance on install | Countertops | $2,400 |
| May 6 | Final payment | Cabinets | $2,840 |
| May 7 | Progress payment | Electrical | $1,950 |
| May 8 | Receipt: fixtures | Plumbing | $1,550 |
| May 9 | Progress payment | Labor | $960 |
| May 12 | Change order: thicker edge, extra cutout | Countertops | $1,400 |
| 15 entries, all typed in by hand | $39,900 | ||
- Planned
- $42,000
- Came in at
- $39,900
- Contingency drawn
- $1,400
- Never spent
- $2,100
| Line | Final | Figure | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cabinets | $14,200 | $14,200 | even |
| Countertops | $6,200 | $4,800 | +$1,400 |
| Electrical | $3,900 | $3,900 | even |
| Plumbing | $3,100 | $3,100 | even |
| Labor | $9,600 | $9,600 | even |
| Demolition | $1,800 | $1,800 | even |
| Permits | $1,100 | $1,100 | even |
| All lines | $39,900 | $38,500 | +$1,400, from contingency |
Closed out May 30. Plus exports this report as a file.
Your numbers, written down. Not an estimate.
Run one room free. Add Plus when the job asks for it.
Free runs one active project: the total, the held-back contingency, every line item, and a log of payments and receipts. That is enough to take a single room from demolition to punch list.
Plus costs $7 a month or $60 a year. It adds what a bigger or shared job needs.
| Feature | Free | Plus, $7 a month or $60 a year |
|---|---|---|
| Active projects | One | Unlimited |
| Budget, contingency, line items | Yes | Yes |
| Payment and receipt log | Yes | Yes |
| Bids side by side | no | Up to five |
| Change-order log | no | Yes |
| Partner on the project | no | Yes |
| Exportable cost report | no | Yes |