BudgetTrace

BudgetTrace is a web app (with a lightweight mobile companion) that turns messy government spending data into a searchable, comparable ledger tied to outcomes. It ingests federal, state, and local spending feeds where available, normalizes vendor names, program codes, and agencies, and lets users track how much is spent, with whom, and whether promised results happened. The product is not “transparency theater”: it focuses on a small set of high-value categories (procurement, grants, capital projects) and provides plain-language summaries, contract/grant timelines, change orders, and cost-overrun flags. Users can build watchlists for agencies, vendors, or districts, get alerts when spending spikes or contracts are amended, and export clean datasets for reporting. An AI layer helps classify line items, dedupe vendors, and generate citations-backed briefs, but the core value is reliable normalization and audit-friendly links to source documents.