> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.buildertek.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.buildertek.com/index-4/utilizing-funds.md).

# Utilizing Funds

Once funds have been reserved for a project, the next step is to utilize those funds against actual project costs.

> **Note:** Depending on your BuilderTek configuration, you may be able to utilize funds directly from cost modules without first reserving them to a project.

Reserving funds establishes how much funding has been committed to a project. Utilization records how that funding is actually applied to the costs incurred during the project.

BuilderTek provides multiple ways to manage this process, giving your team flexibility based on how your costs are structured and how funding needs to be applied.

## Three Ways to Utilize Funds

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

## Cost-Level Funding

Cost-Level Funding allows you to fund an entire cost record at once.

![](/files/256bd05837f962d09b42219a345912199b280698)

![](/files/8f6850c54dc6444b7f7d9fc4e54a6094e0feb67c)

For example, if an Expense Record contains several expense lines and you want to fund all of them from the same Funding Transaction, you can select the complete Expense Record and utilize the reserved funds against it.

This approach is useful when the entire cost record belongs to the same funding source and does not require line-by-line funding.

Cost-level funding can be used with the major cost modules in BuilderTek:

* Expenses
* Payable Invoices
* Contractor Invoices
* Service Requests
  {% endstep %}

{% step %}

## Cost-Line-Level Funding

Cost-Line-Level Funding gives you more granular control over how funds are utilized.

![](/files/d5913b2421fa853bb2759fd95d6cd1fb9f34054d)

Instead of funding an entire cost record, you can select an individual line and apply funding specifically to that cost.

This is useful when:

* Different lines need to be funded from different Funding Transactions.
* A Funding Transaction does not have enough available funds to cover the entire cost.
* Only part of a cost needs to be funded at a particular time.
* You need to track funding at the individual cost level.

For example, an Expense Record may contain multiple lines for materials, transportation, and other project expenses. You can fund each line separately and use different Funding Transactions where required.

BuilderTek also allows partial funding, so the amount utilized does not necessarily have to equal the full amount of the cost line.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

## Project-Level / Holistic Funding

The third approach is to manage utilization directly from the Project Funding screen.

![](/files/fb154081dcd70976e1c5f6892769b886264d32d8)

Instead of opening individual cost records one by one, you can manage multiple costs from the Project's Funding view.

This provides a broader, project-level approach to funding and allows your team to select and fund costs directly from the consolidated Project Funding screen.

This approach is particularly useful when you want to review multiple costs together and manage funding without moving between different cost records.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.buildertek.com/index-4/utilizing-funds.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.