Keep a renovation on budget, from the first bid to the punch list.
Set a budget and a contingency, line up your bids, and log every payment against the line it belongs to. Cobblewood flags a line the moment it runs over, using only the numbers you enter.
Your numbers, written down. Not an estimate.
Set the budget, then split it into lines.
Start a project with its total. Set a contingency aside for what nobody can see behind the walls, then break the rest into line items: cabinets, countertops, electrical, labor, permits.
- Total budget
- $42,000
- Line items
- $38,500
- Contingency
- $3,500
Example kitchen
Cabinets$14,200Example
| Deposit | Mar 3 | $4,260 |
|---|---|---|
| Progress payment | Apr 14 | $7,100 |
| Final payment | May 6 | $2,840 |
Countertopsallowance $4,800, actual $6,200Example
| Deposit | Apr 2 | $2,400 |
|---|---|---|
| Balance on install | Apr 30 | $2,400 |
| Change order: thicker edge, extra cutout | May 12 | $1,400 |
Electrical$3,900Example
| Deposit | Mar 10 | $1,950 |
|---|---|---|
| Progress payment | May 7 | $1,950 |
Plumbing$3,100Example
| Deposit | Mar 10 | $1,550 |
|---|---|---|
| Receipt: fixtures | May 8 | $1,550 |
Labor$9,600Example
| Progress payment | Mar 17 | $4,320 |
|---|---|---|
| Progress payment | Apr 21 | $4,320 |
| Progress payment | May 9 | $960 |
Demolition$1,800Example
| Payment | Feb 24 | $1,800 |
|---|
Permits$1,100Example
| Receipt: permit fee | Feb 20 | $1,100 |
|---|
Your numbers, written down. Not an estimate.
Three bids, lined up line by line.
Bids that look far apart often cover different jobs. Enter each bid by line and Cobblewood sets them side by side, so a missing line shows up as bare wood.
Example: Bid 3 looks $6,200 lower, but it leaves out four of seven lines. Bids 1 and 2 are $650 apart once lined up.
Side-by-side comparison of up to five bids comes with Cobblewood Plus.
| Line | Bid 1 | Bid 2 | Bid 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demolition | $1,800 | $2,100 | not included |
| Electrical | $3,900 | $4,200 | $3,600 |
| Plumbing | $3,100 | $2,900 | $3,300 |
| Drywall and paint | $2,600 | $2,400 | not included |
| Carpentry and install | $9,600 | $10,200 | $9,900 |
| Permits | $1,100 | $1,100 | not included |
| Haul-away | $900 | $750 | not included |
| Total | $23,000 | $23,650 | $16,800 |
Labor and trade bids, example. Bids rarely use your budget's lines; lining them up is the point.
Your numbers, written down. Not an estimate.
Log every payment against its line.
Deposits, progress payments, receipts and change orders each go on the line they belong to. You enter them yourself. Cobblewood never connects to a bank and never moves money.
The tape along the top keeps count as the example kitchen fills in.
| Line | Entry | Date | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logged before May 6 | $31,200 | ||
| Cabinets | Final payment | May 6 | $2,840 |
| Electrical | Progress payment | May 7 | $1,950 |
| Plumbing | Receipt: fixtures | May 8 | $1,550 |
| Labor | Progress payment | May 9 | $960 |
| Line items, all logged | $38,500 | ||
Your numbers, written down. Not an estimate.
Hear about an overrun while there is still time.
When a line runs past its allowance, Cobblewood says which line, by how much, and what still covers it. The flag shows in the app and by email, the moment you log the entry.
Countertops are $1,400 over the allowance. Your contingency still covers it, with $2,100 left.
| Change order: thicker edge, extra cutout | May 12 | $1,400 |
|---|
Your numbers, written down. Not an estimate.
When the dust settles, see what it really cost.
Close out the project and Cobblewood writes up the final cost report: every line's budget next to what it cost, what the contingency covered, and what was left over.
The exportable final cost report comes with Cobblewood Plus.
- Budget
- $42,000
- Final cost
- $39,900
- Left in contingency
- $2,100
| Line | Budget | Actual | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cabinets | $14,200 | $14,200 | on budget |
| Countertops allowance | $4,800 | $6,200 | over by $1,400 |
| Electrical | $3,900 | $3,900 | on budget |
| Plumbing | $3,100 | $3,100 | on budget |
| Labor | $9,600 | $9,600 | on budget |
| Demolition | $1,800 | $1,800 | on budget |
| Permits | $1,100 | $1,100 | on budget |
| Line items | $38,500 | $39,900 | over by $1,400 |
| Contingency | $3,500 | $1,400 used | $2,100 left |
Your numbers, written down. Not an estimate.
What Cobblewood never does.
Three lines it will not cross, written down where you can hold it to them.
Refer contractors
Cobblewood never recommends, rates or matches contractors, and never vouches for a bid. You choose who does the work.
Offer financing
No loans, no lenders, no financing offers. Cobblewood is a budgeting tool, not a lender or an advisor.
Touch the money
No bank connections and no payments. You enter your own bids, payments and receipts; Cobblewood does the arithmetic.
Free for one project. Plus when the job grows.
Free tracks the spending. Plus helps you choose the contractor and keep the whole project honest.
Free
$0
Run one project start to finish.
- One active project
- Total budget and contingency
- Line items
- Payment and receipt log
Cobblewood Plus
$7 a month
or $60 a year
- Everything in Free
- Unlimited projects
- Side-by-side comparison of up to five bids
- Change-order log
- A shared project with a partner
- Exportable final cost report
Free costs nothing. Plus, if you choose it, bills $7 each month.
Plain guides for before the first bid.
Allowances, contingencies, change orders and bids, explained in plain words. No statistics, no sales pitch.
How to compare contractor bidsLine them up by scope before you look at the totals.
What a renovation contingency is forThe money set aside for what turns up behind the walls.
What an allowance isWhy a placeholder figure for finishes so often runs over.
What a change order isHow a change to the job gets priced and written down.
Start with one project, free.
Put down the budget you have and the bids you have in hand. Cobblewood keeps the lines, the log and the flag from there, measured twice and written down.
Your numbers, written down. Not an estimate.