Project costing is the process of estimating, tracking, and managing all costs associated with a project. This includes direct costs (labour, materials, equipment, subcontractors) and indirect costs (overheads, permits, administrative expenses).
By integrating project costing data from Dashpivot into Excel via Flowsite, you can:
Centralise cost data – Store all project expenses in one organised Excel file
Improve accuracy – Eliminate manual entry and reduce errors
Track costs in real time – Monitor actual vs. budgeted spend instantly
Create custom reports – Build summaries, filters, and cost breakdowns
Detect variances early – Identify cost overruns and discrepancies quickly
Simplify cost coding – Filter by project, activity, or phase
Support forecasting – Use live data to estimate final project costs
Stay audit-ready – Maintain clear, traceable financial records
Project cost tracking
Project cost tracking involves monitoring all project expenses to ensure they stay within budget. This includes comparing actual costs against estimates, categorising spend, and identifying variances early.
Key features of this setup
1. Centralised cost breakdown
One master sheet for all actual costs by item, activity, or project
2. Custom filters
Filter data by:
Project
Work type
Cost code
Date
Budget status
3. Planned vs. actual summary
Automatically calculate totals, variances, and percentage of budget used
4. Cost charts and graphs
Visualise project performance with:
Planned vs. actual comparisons (bar/column charts)
Budget variance tracking
How to set up the integration
1. Connect Dashpivot to Flowsite
Log in to Flowsite.
Go to Connections.
Find Dashpivot and click Connect.
Enter your Dashpivot credentials and authenticate.
Confirm the connection appears in your Connections table.
Tip: Configure your Dashpivot data correctly to avoid errors in your Excel file.
See: How to Configure Dashpivot Data in Power Query Excel/Power BI via Flowsite
2. Create a flow
Select your Project Costing template in Dashpivot.
Choose Excel as the destination.
Set the recurring time in the Flow Editor (e.g. daily or weekly).
Enter the Template ID:
Open your template in Dashpivot
Copy the 24-digit string in the URL
Paste it into the Template ID field
Enter required fields: URL, username, and password.
Note: The hosted source password is only visible when generated. Save it securely. If lost, you can regenerate it.
Set the update frequency.
See also:
1. Mac - https://help.sitemate.com/en/articles/9359337-how-to-connect-microsoft-excel-to-flowsite-on-mac
2. Windows - https://help.sitemate.com/en/articles/11032854-how-to-connect-microsoft-excel-to-flowsite-on-windows
3. Configure your Excel file
Select or create the Excel file.
Structure columns (e.g. project, cost type, cost code, date, planned cost, actual cost).
4. Test the workflow
Submit a sample costing entry in Dashpivot.
Trigger the flow.
Confirm the data appears correctly in Excel.