Import an original budget into Procore from Excel
Have you ever re-keyed a four-hundred-line estimate into the Procore budget by hand?
The estimate is already in a spreadsheet. Paste it into a Procore-shaped sheet, add the missing cost codes to the project, and create the budget lines with amounts.
Procore’s Budget tool creates lines one at a time, and the estimate you are transcribing is already a spreadsheet. With an unlocked budget and Admin on the Budget tool, paste the rows into a sheet shaped like Procore’s own template, add any company cost codes the project is missing in one click, and create the lines with their amounts in batches of five hundred.
Check the two things Procore requires
You need Admin on the project’s Budget tool, and the budget must be unlocked. Procore only accepts original budget amounts before the budget is locked, and a Standard user’s amounts are silently stored as zero, so Sandspit refuses to import below Admin.
Set up the sheet
Open Budget Import in the task pane and click Set up budget import. Sandspit creates a Budget Line Items sheet using Procore’s own template columns, already filled with any budget lines the project has, plus dropdowns for sub job, cost code, cost type, and unit of measure.
Paste the estimate
Paste your rows under the pulled ones. For each line set Manual Calculation: TRUE and enter a Budget Amount, or FALSE and enter quantity, unit, and unit cost so the amount is calculated. The sheet reviews as you go and lists every row as ready or not ready.
Watch out: if a pasted row targets a budget code that already has a line, Sandspit refuses it rather than creating a duplicate. Edit the pulled row instead.
Add the cost codes the project is missing
Estimates use codes from the company list that were never added to this project. Those rows are flagged, and an amber card counts them. Click Add 14 codes to project. Sandspit copies them, with their parent codes, onto the project WBS in Procore. Missing budget codes for valid combinations are assembled automatically at import.
Watch out: adding a cost code to a project cannot be undone from Sandspit. Remove it in Procore if it was a mistake.
Sync in batches of up to 500
Clear the remaining not-ready rows, tick the reclassification confirmation if you moved any existing line to a different code, then click Sync. Rows come back as Created or Updated with a link to their Procore line. Refresh, then sync the next batch.
Why setting up a budget takes a day
The estimate arrives as a workbook from estimating or the ERP. The project’s WBS in Procore does not have half the cost codes on it yet. Someone adds the codes, then keys each line into the Budget tool, then discovers the cost type they picked is not assigned to that cost code, then keys it again.
None of that is judgment. It is data entry against a structure Procore already knows, which is exactly the kind of work a sheet with the right dropdowns removes.
What has to be true first
- The budget is unlocked. Procore accepts original budget amounts only before the lock.
- You have Admin on Budget. Standard cannot set the amounts, and Procore does not say so.
- The WBS is sub job, cost code, cost type. Projects with other required segments are set up in Procore.
Frequently asked
Can I import a budget that already has lines in Procore?
Yes, as long as it is still unlocked. Setup pulls every existing line into the sheet with a hidden link to its Procore record. New rows are created, edited pulled rows are updated, and nothing is duplicated.
Why does it need Admin rather than Standard?
Two reasons found in testing. Procore lets a Standard user create the line but stores the original budget amount as zero without an error, and Standard cannot read the budget lock status. Sandspit gates the whole tool on Admin so an import cannot silently land as zeros.
What about the budget being locked?
Procore only accepts original budget amounts before the budget is locked by its first snapshot or approval. If the budget is locked, Sandspit stops before creating any sheet and tells you to unlock it. It rechecks on its own once you come back to the pane.
Does this handle budget modifications?
No. It writes the original budget only. Budget modifications and budget changes are separate Procore objects.
I only need the missing lines to exist, without amounts.
Use Budget Review instead. Its Missing lines panel adds every WBS line that is not yet in the budget at zero dollars in one action, and it works at Standard.
Procore Project Financials with an unlocked budget. Needs Admin on the Budget tool.
Step-by-step mechanics, every column, and every error message are in the documentation.
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