How the budget works
Each material is priced separately, in the pack the supplier actually sells: a 30 L bag, a 40 L bag or bulk per cubic metre. The page rounds bags up per material, so 1,012 L of garden mix is 34 × 30 L bags or 26 × 40 L bags. Items such as sleepers, posts and brackets are priced each.
A supplier's total is the sum of every line plus that supplier's delivery fee. If any price or the delivery fee is blank, the total stays Incomplete and the missing lines are listed. A blank box is never treated as $0; type 0 only when the item really is free.
When totals are compared
- At least two quotes must be complete.
- You confirm the quotes are for equivalent products. A cheaper total for a different mix or thinner timber is not a saving.
- The complete quotes state the same GST basis (all include GST, or all exclude it).
The result is the lowest of the complete quotes you entered, not the cheapest price on the market. Equal totals are shown as equal, with no winner.
Buying from more than one supplier
The split order adds each used supplier's delivery fee once, plus any extra charge it makes for a smaller order. In the example, garden mix from B ($255) and timber and fittings from A ($222) with both delivery fees ($75 + $90) and no extra charges comes to $642, more than buying everything from A ($569), because the second delivery cancels the cheaper soil. Until you enter each supplier's smaller-order charge (0 if none), the split stays incomplete. Prices that include GST are never added to prices that exclude it.
Project budget questions
Why does a blank price not count as zero?
A missing delivery fee or price would make that supplier look cheaper than it is. The total stays incomplete until every price is entered. If something really is free, type 0.
Does the budget convert AUD to NZD?
No. All quotes are in the currency you choose. Changing the currency clears the prices so an AUD quote is never read as NZD.
Is the timber count a structural design?
No. The sleeper calculator gives a cut list for a simple garden bed. Retaining walls, tall beds and beds on slopes need their own design and may need approval.
Method
- Bag counts round up per material: bags = ⌈litres ÷ bag size⌉. Bulk lines use cubic metres = litres ÷ 1,000.
- Line totals are rounded to the cent; a supplier total is the sum of its lines and its delivery fee.
- The example suppliers and prices are fictional and are not market prices.
Written by DueRiva · Last reviewed 3 October 2026 · Report an error