Kitchen remodel budget spreadsheet in Excel, built line by line

A kitchen budget works when every line has a Budget you set first and a Committed amount you enter as each quote is accepted. Here is a $40,000 example, the layout to rebuild it and the formulas behind it.

General information only, not financial, construction or legal advice. Contingency, holdback and payment-split percentages are your own inputs, and payment and deposit rules vary by contract and by state or province; check yours. Figures cited from other sources are dated where they appear.

The short version

A kitchen remodel budget spreadsheet is one row per scope line (cabinets, installation, appliances, countertops, flooring), a Budget column you set first, and a Committed column you fill in as each quote is accepted. The gap between the two tells you where you stand months before the last invoice. This guide builds a $40,000 kitchen that way, with the formulas, so you can rebuild it in an empty workbook.

Step 1: split the total into lines

Start with the total, then give each line a share. The shares below are this example's own inputs, not an industry benchmark: this example allocates 29% to cabinetry, and your quotes decide yours. Percentages in this guide are rounded to one decimal where they are not whole numbers.

Cabinetry is 29% of $40,000, which is $11,600. The five lines add to 77%, or $30,800, and the other 23%, $9,200, is left open on purpose for lighting, paint, demolition and haul-away, and whatever you have not priced yet. Decide your contingency percentage before you spend that open amount. If you type 10% as a placeholder, the pool is $4,000 and $5,200 of the open $9,200 is left for unpriced lines. Ten percent is only an example input; the sheet applies whatever you type.

The formulas

A layout to rebuild: total in B1, contingency % in B2, headers in row 4 (A Line ID, B Item, C Category, D Share, E Budget, F Committed, G Remaining, H Flag, I Overrun), lines in rows 5 to 9.

B1  Total budget        40000
B2  Contingency %       10%          (your input)

E5  Budget              =ROUND($B$1*D5, 0)
G5  Remaining           =E5-F5
H5  Flag                =IF(F5=0,"Not committed",IF(F5>E5,"Over budget","OK"))
I5  Overrun             =MAX(0, F5-E5)

Allocated share         =SUM(D5:D9)                  77%
Allocated dollars       =SUM(E5:E9)                  30,800
Not yet allocated       =B1-SUM(E5:E9)               9,200
One category            =SUMIFS($E$5:$E$9,$C$5:$C$9,"Cabinetry")    11,600
Contingency pool        =B1*B2                       4,000
Contingency used        =SUM(I5:I9)
Contingency left        =B1*B2-SUM(I5:I9)

Keep the Budget as you first set it and put the quote in the Committed column. If you overwrite the Budget with the quote, the line can never show an overrun.

Step 2: enter quotes as they are accepted

Say the cabinet quote is accepted at $12,400, and nothing else has been quoted yet.

The cabinets are $800 over their line, which is 6.9% of that line's Budget ($800 divided by $11,600). Contingency used is $800, so with the 10% placeholder pool of $4,000, $3,200 is left. The $18,400 total already nets the $800 overrun against the four open lines. The point of the sheet is timing: you see the overrun the day you accept the quote, while the other four lines can still change.

For the quote-versus-paid side, see budget, committed and paid in one sheet. For how the pool is spent down, see the contingency tracker guide.

Checks before you rely on it

• Same spelling everywhere. SUMIFS matches category text exactly, so "Cabinets" and "Cabinetry" are two categories. Use a dropdown list. Then check that the category totals add to the grand total: =SUM(category totals)-SUM(E5:E9) should be 0.
• Allowances. If a quote carries an allowance for something you pick later, such as a sink or lighting, note it in the Item text. That Committed amount is provisional until you choose.
• Comparable quotes. Two cabinet quotes can differ because one leaves out installation. The bid comparison guide covers flagging blank scope lines before a quote becomes Committed.
• Share cell typed as a whole number. Typing 29 instead of 29% makes that line's Budget 100 times too large. The Allocated share cell would read 2,948% instead of 77%, which catches it.

When the kitchen is more than one room

If the remodel also touches a pantry or dining area, add a Room column and total by room. The budget by room guide shows the SUMIFS for that. A bathroom remodel has its own pool question, covered in the bathroom budget guide.

What this does not do

This is a planning tool, not financial, construction or legal advice. It does not price your kitchen or know what things cost where you live. The 29/17/14/10/7 split is one example of how to divide a total; the contingency percentage, any holdback and your payment splits are your inputs, and nothing here recommends a number. It tracks money you enter, and it says nothing about taxes or about whether a contract term is allowed where you live. The Hexloom Renovation Budget Tracker puts this layout, with quotes, change orders and payments, in one Excel file.

More renovation budget guides

• Renovation cost overrun percentage calculator: the formula and a worked example
• Renovation contingency tracker: how much contingency is left
• Renovation change order tracker: a spreadsheet for homeowners
• Renovation budget spreadsheet: track committed vs paid
• Renovation budget by room spreadsheet: SUMIFS per room, with an overrun flag
• DIY renovation expense tracker spreadsheet: receipts by room and category
• Contractor payment schedule template for homeowners in Excel
• Contractor bid comparison spreadsheet for homeowners
• Bathroom remodel budget spreadsheet in Excel: how much is really left