Compare a Procore budget to last month’s snapshot in Excel
Have you ever exported the Procore budget at month end, pasted it beside last month’s, and remapped the columns just to see what moved?
Pull today’s budget and last month’s snapshot into Excel side by side, see what moved with one lookup, and add missing budget lines to Procore at $0.
To compare a Procore budget to last month’s snapshot, open the Sandspit extension in Excel and use Budget Review. Pick the budget view and the snapshot, and pull. Both land on their own sheets, so one lookup by budget code shows what moved. The same pane lists missing budget lines and adds them to Procore at $0.
Pull the budget with last month’s snapshot
Open the Sandspit extension in Excel and choose Budget Review. Pick the budget view, then pick last month’s snapshot under Compare against and click Pull budget. The Budget sheet gets every row the view returns, and the Snapshot sheet gets the same columns as of the snapshot.
Note: snapshots belong to a budget view, so pick the view first. If the snapshot you need doesn’t exist, click Create snapshot in Procore.
Line them up with one lookup by budget code
Add a sheet of your own for the comparison. Look up each budget code on both sheets, for example =XLOOKUP(A2,Budget!B:B,Budget!P:P) for today and the same against Snapshot! for last month, then subtract. Point the lookup at the columns your view uses, such as Estimated Cost at Completion.
Note: keep the comparison on its own sheet. A refresh rewrites the Budget and Snapshot sheets, so anything typed on them is lost, while lookups that point at them keep working.
Check the missing budget lines
Switch the pane to Missing lines. It lists the WBS lines the view returns that aren’t part of the project budget yet, each marked Not in project budget, with a count on the toggle.
Add them to the budget at $0
Click Select all, or tick the lines you want, then Add 12 budget lines at $0 and confirm. Each line is created in the Procore budget with an original budget amount of $0, and Sandspit re-pulls the budget.
Note: this needs Standard on the Budget tool. Lines without a complete cost code and cost type can’t be added and are counted separately.
Refresh next month
Next month, use Change budget view or snapshot to pick the new snapshot, or Refresh rows to re-pull. Your comparison sheet recalculates against the new rows.
Why month-end budget review takes so long
Seeing what moved means exporting the budget, finding last month’s export, pasting them side by side, and fixing the columns that don’t line up. Then the codes nobody budgeted turn up as gaps, and each one is another trip into the Budget tool.
What changes in Excel
- Both months in one workbook. The budget and the snapshot pull together, with the same columns.
- Your comparison, your columns. One lookup per side, built once, recalculated every refresh.
- Missing lines found for you. Select them and add them to Procore at $0 in one step.
Frequently asked
How do I compare a Procore budget to a snapshot in Excel?
Pull the budget view with Budget Review and choose the snapshot under Compare against. Both land on their own sheets with the same columns. Look up each budget code on both sheets with XLOOKUP and subtract.
Does Sandspit calculate the variance for me?
No. The snapshot lands beside the budget with the same shape, and the comparison is yours to build, so it can use the columns and grouping your team already reports on.
Can I take a snapshot from Excel?
Yes. Click Create snapshot in Procore, name it, and choose Ad Hoc or Project Status. Procore allows one snapshot per hour for each project and budget view.
What is a missing budget line?
A WBS line the selected budget view returns that has no budget line in the project budget yet. Adding it creates the line with an original budget amount of $0. To add lines with real amounts, use Original Budget import.
What permission do I need?
Read Only on the Budget tool to pull the budget and snapshots. Standard or Admin to create snapshots or add missing lines.
Should I use this or Pull from Procore for budget reporting?
Use Budget Review to compare against a snapshot and add missing lines. Use Pull from Procore for a budget table you build a report on, since it keeps columns you add beside it.
Procore Project Financials. Needs Read Only on the Budget tool to pull, and Standard to create snapshots or add missing lines.
Step-by-step mechanics, every column, and every error message are in the documentation.
