Built from the roadmap
Add Planner items and goals to a budget. Each line keeps a link back to the work it pays for.
IT budgets clients approve, then track against invoices
Approved IT budgets compared with what clients were invoiced
MSP team view
Clients see every planned cost, line by line, before the invoice arrives. Once a budget is approved, MSPortal matches invoices from ConnectWise, Autotask or HaloPSA to each line and shows how much is left.
Used by MSPs including
What changes for your clients
The problem
Clients approve a budget in a spreadsheet and never see how spending tracked against it
In MSPortal
Approval locks the budget as a baseline. The Actuals tab matches synced invoices from ConnectWise Manage, Autotask or HaloPSA to budget lines and shows the variance.
The outcome: Clients see whether they are over or under budget, and which invoices made the difference
The problem
Clients get a budget that doesn't match the projects you recommended
In MSPortal
Add Planner items and strategic goals to the budget in one click, carrying over their costs, categories and dates
The outcome: The budget and the roadmap describe the same plan
The problem
Clients learn about license increases and renewals when the invoice arrives
In MSPortal
Import Microsoft 365 seats at your catalog prices, copy recurring costs from last year's budget, and add renewal work planned in Planner
The outcome: Recurring and renewal costs are in the budget before the bill shows up
“In Impactful MSP, the operators who grow fastest are the ones who can turn a QBR into a strategic conversation instead of a status update. MSPortal is the tool I point them to — multi-year roadmaps, client-facing budgets, and AI reporting that make their value impossible to overlook. Members are landing larger, longer engagements because the platform gives clients a reason to plan and invest ahead rather than just react. It's the rare product built by an operator who actually gets the business.”
What's included
MSP team view
Fast imports
Bring in lines from Excel, last year's budget, your product catalog or Microsoft 365 licensing, then review them before saving.
MSP team view
Approved baseline
Approval locks the budget and gives each line a reference your team can add to PSA invoices. Duplicate the budget to start a revision.
Five-year forecast
Project each category up to five years ahead with growth rates and overrides, starting from budget totals or Planner costs.
Budget against actual
Clients see budgeted, actual and unallocated spend, the variance, and which invoices matched each line.
Monthly schedule and exports
The monthly breakdown shows when each cost lands. Export the budget to PDF or Excel for a leadership meeting.
At a glance
- Clients review every line's cost and status before approving the plan
- Actuals compare the approved budget with invoices from ConnectWise Manage, Autotask or HaloPSA
- Planner items, goals and Microsoft 365 licenses flow into the budget without retyping
- Five-year forecasts by category, with growth rates and overrides
How do budgets connect to the Planner roadmap?
In the budget editor, the Planner Items and Strategic Goals panels list planned work for the budget's year. Select + to add an item's costs as budget lines, check them and save. Each line keeps its link to the Planner item. Later changes in Planner don't rewrite an approved budget.
How does tracking against invoices work?
After a budget is approved, the Actuals tab reads customer invoices synced from ConnectWise Manage, Autotask or HaloPSA for the budget's fiscal year. Invoices match to lines through linked projects, products or the reference on each line. Spend that doesn't match stays in Unallocated for your team to assign. The overall variance compares against all of the company's invoiced spend, so read a project-only budget line by line.
Can clients see and approve budgets?
Yes. Clients with budget access see each line's cost, category and status, the monthly breakdown and, with invoice access, the Actuals tab. You choose which client roles can approve a budget.
What happens when a budget is approved?
The budget locks. Quantities, prices, categories and line statuses become read-only, and each line gets a reference for invoice matching. Approval can't be undone, so to revise the plan, duplicate the budget and work on the copy.
Explore related features
See how it would work for your clients.
Book a 30-minute demo with our team, or try it yourself.