Budget categories: how to split renovation expenses
It's best to split renovation expenses so that each category shows where the money went and where you're over budget. The Doma app has four built-in budget categories: “Construction work”, “Finishing work”, “Building systems” and “Design and furniture”. They're enough for most renovations. Add your own category for a large separate purchase - windows and doors, the kitchen, appliances - or if you want to see the crew's labour and the materials separately. Five to eight categories are usually enough: any finer and the picture gets lost.
The built-in categories and what goes in them
Categories aren't renovation stages but large groups of money. Below is how to spread the route's stages across them. This is advice, not an app rule: the split is up to you.
- “Construction work” 🔨 - what changes the shell of the apartment: demolition, partitions, rough finishing, screed, waterproofing, waste removal and rough materials - mixes, blocks, primer.
- “Finishing work” 🎨 - what you see: skim coat and paint, wallpaper, tiles, flooring, the stretch ceiling, skirting boards and doors if you don't track them separately.
- “Building systems” ⚡ - everything that runs on water, power and air: plumbing and pipes, wiring and the panel, air conditioners, ventilation, underfloor heating, heating.
- “Design and furniture” 🛋️ - the designer's project and design supervision, furniture, the kitchen, decorative lighting, curtains, appliances.
If you're not sure where something goes, put it where you'll look for it. For example, light fittings go in “Building systems” if the cost of the electrical work matters to you, or in “Design and furniture” if the designer chose them.
When to add your own category
Your own category makes sense when the amount is large and you want to see it separately:
- “Windows and doors” - the app itself suggests this example;
- “Kitchen” - if it's made to order, it easily becomes the largest category;
- “Appliances” - fridge, cooker, washing machine;
- “Crew labour” and “Materials” - if you want to know what the crew costs. Then use the built-in categories for materials by section, and a separate category for paying the crew.
Don't split by room or by shop: “Bathroom”, “Bedroom”, “Building market” grow quickly but don't answer the question “where are we over budget”.
How to add and edit a category
- The “Budget” tab → “Expense categories” → “+ Add category”.
- Enter a name and pick an icon → “Add”.
- To edit a category, press and hold it → “Edit” - name and icon. This way you can rename a built-in one too, for example “Design and furniture” to “Furniture and appliances”.
- Only your own category can be deleted, and only when it has no expenses. Otherwise the app shows “This category has expenses”: first delete that category's expenses and, if needed, enter them again under another one.
You can't have two categories with the same name: “This category already exists”.
What the categories show
In the “Expense categories” block, each category has a bar showing its share of all expenses and the amount in thousands of roubles. Shares are counted from the total across all categories, so together they add up to one hundred percent. That way you can see which category is eating the budget.
An expense's category is chosen in the “Add expense” form - the “Budget category” field. If you scan a till receipt from a shop where you've bought before, the app picks the category of the earlier receipt from the same till and says “Category picked from an earlier receipt from this store”. You can change it in the same form.
Categories also go into exports: into the budget's Excel file, and into the property passport's “Finishes and materials” table, in the “Category” column.
Who sees and changes categories
The budget, and its categories with it, is visible to the owner and the designer. On someone else's property, the “Budget” tab is closed to the contractor and the foreman. More in Who can see the budget: what contractors and designers see.
Adding, renaming or deleting a category is visible to everyone who sees the budget: the property history (the bell on Home → “Property history”, the “Budget” filter) keeps lines like “added budget category” and “renamed budget category”. So it's clear who changed the split and when.
An example split
A new-build apartment, rough finish from the developer, renovation with a designer:
- “Construction work” - partitions, plaster, screed, waterproofing;
- “Finishing work” - tiles, paint, floors, the stretch ceiling;
- “Building systems” - plumbing, wiring, air conditioners;
- “Design and furniture” - project, supervision, furniture;
- your own “Kitchen” - a made-to-order kitchen with appliances;
- your own “Windows and doors” - the front door and interior doors.
Six categories, and each shows what the money went on.
Checklist
- Before the first purchases, decide how you'll split: by work section or “labour - materials”.
- The built-in categories are enough - don't add extra ones.
- Large separate purchases get their own category.
- Each expense goes straight into the right category.
- Once a month, look at the shares: where are you over budget.
How to log expenses and not lose receipts is in Tracking renovation expenses: how not to lose receipts. How to work out a budget before you start is in How to draw up a budget for an apartment renovation.