# Project Hours vs Budget, Checked Every Monday

Source: https://maito.app/workflows/track-hours-against-the-budget

Each week Maito pulls hours from your time tracker, compares them with project budgets and posts the projects at risk in Slack, with the cost of the overrun.

See when a project is about to go over its budget.

Client delivery · [Consulting](https://maito.app/workflows/industry/consulting) · On a schedule · Updated October 19, 2026

Works with

-   Slack
-   Email
-   [Airtable](https://maito.app/workflows/tool/airtable)
-   Microsoft 365

## How do you track project hours against the budget?

To track project hours against the budget, tell Maito where hours and budgets live and when to report. Each week Maito pulls hours from your time tracker, compares them with the budgets, estimates how far each project will run over at the current pace, and posts the at-risk projects.

## How it's done today

Overruns are found at invoicing.

## What Maito does

1.  Pull logged hours
2.  Compare with the budget
3.  Flag projects at risk

## Example

Loop run: Monday 8:00 AM · Weekly budget check

**Maito** (8:00 AM):

Two of 9 projects are at risk.

**Atlas (Globex):** 85% of budget used, about 40% of work left. At the current burn of 210 hours a week, it finishes roughly $58,000 over.  
**Cobalt (Initech):** 71% used, 55% of work left. Watch it, not urgent.

The other 7 are within 10 points.

**The catch:** Airtable still shows Atlas at $240,000, but the Sept 14 change order raised it to $260,000. I used $260,000. Without it Atlas would look 4 points worse.

From Harvest hours through Sunday and the Airtable budgets.

**Greg** (8:21 AM):

what would it take to get Atlas back inside the budget?

**Maito** (8:23 AM):

Three options for you to weigh: cut one analyst from week 3 (saves about $31,000), drop the regional deep-dive (about $22,000), or ask Globex for a change order. Atlas's scope is in the SOW in Drive. Your call.

## How to set it up

On a schedule Track hours against the budget

Ask your agent

“Every Monday at 8am, pull last week's hours from Harvest, compare them with the budgets in our Airtable projects table, and post any project that's at risk in #partners.”

Connect spreadsheet

-   Airtable
-   Microsoft 365

Use time tracking

-   Harvest
-   Toggl

No MCP server needed. Ask your agent to save a skill with the steps, then add the login or API key in Settings → Vault.

Not connected yet? Your agent sends you a link to sign in.

## What it won't do

The forecast assumes work continues at the current pace and uses scope from documents, so treat it as an early warning rather than a final number. It doesn't change budgets or bill clients.

## Questions

### Which tools does it use?

Hours from a time tracker such as Harvest or Toggl, which connects with a login or API key in the Vault, and budgets from Airtable or Microsoft 365.

### What if a budget is out of date?

It tells you when the sheet and another source disagree, such as a change order, and says which figure it used.

### Can it suggest fixes?

Yes. Ask in the thread and it lists options with rough savings. You decide.

## More client delivery workflows

-   [Draft a proposal from past wins Start each proposal from your best past proposals, case studies and rates. Client delivery · When you ask Works with Box.](https://maito.app/workflows/draft-a-proposal-from-past-wins)
-   [Synthesize research into a memo Turn piles of sources and interviews into a memo with references. Client delivery · When you ask Works with Box.](https://maito.app/workflows/synthesize-research-into-a-memo)
-   [Summarize stakeholder interviews Turn interview notes into themes and quotes for the client readout. Client delivery · When you ask Works with Box.](https://maito.app/workflows/summarize-stakeholder-interviews)
-   [Weekly client status report Each Friday, a status report for every client project. Client delivery · On a schedule Works with Linear, Asana, Box.](https://maito.app/workflows/weekly-client-status-report)
-   [Find who has done this before Find the colleague and past project that match a new client's problem. Client delivery · When you ask Works with Box.](https://maito.app/workflows/find-who-has-done-this-before)
-   [Turn meeting notes into client follow-ups After client meetings, send a recap and log actions. Client delivery · When something happens Works with Granola, Fireflies, Gmail, Microsoft 365, Linear, Asana.](https://maito.app/workflows/turn-meeting-notes-into-client-follow-ups)

[See all workflows](https://maito.app/workflows)

## Put your AI teammate to work.

Set it up in minutes. Start with this one, and let it earn the next one.

[Put Maito to work](https://maito.app/login?returnTo=%2Fworkflows%2Ftrack-hours-against-the-budget)[Book a demo](mailto:support@maito.app?subject=Maito%20demo)