Modified February 26, 2024
What is a Budget template and how do I create one?
A Budget Grid is the detailed budgeting of hours, roles and resources. It serves as the structure for project budgeting as well as the baseline for planning your resources. A Budget Grid template is simply a pre-defined budget structure that you can leverage when creating a quote(s) or project(s). Budget Grids are always related to a contract template. You can have multiple Budget templates related to one contract template (for example, for a different currency).
A budget template will save you time when building the same type of quotes or projects for contract templates. By creating a template, you can insert it in as many quotes and projects using the same contract layout.
To create a budget template, in the main menu, click the Gear icon:
Next, in the left-hand menu, select Templates and Budget Templates:
To create a template, click the Create button:
The New Budget Template dialog box appears:
The table below explains the fields to be filled out:
Field | Description |
Name | Leave this field blank as it will be automatically named based on the contract template you will select in the field below.
Note: You can always rename this after the template has been created. |
Contract template | Select the contract template for which you wish to base the budget template on. |
Currency | By default, your base (organisation) currency is selected, however, you can select a different currency that has been configured in the Currency settings.
Important: If you have projects in different currencies, you must have a budget template per currency. |
Click the Add button:
The following appears:
At the top of the screen, you will see the name of your budget template and below the date it was created. Whenever changes are made to this template, the date stamp will be updated.
The first time you create a template, you will find, in the middle of the page, an Add line button. If you need to modify an existing template later on, and add a new contract line for example, you can click the Add line in the top-right of the screen. For the first time, you can choose either buttons to click on.
Click one of the Add line buttons, the following pop-up window will appear:
Use the dropdown arrow to select one or multiple contract lines to create a budget from:
Note: Contract lines related to expenses are not available for budgeting.
Click Add.
All the selected contract lines will be pushed into the budget template:
For each contract line, you will now see the columns that build the budget template: Resource | Role | Rate, Description, Hours and Total amount. With a subtotal for hours and amount per line and a grand total at the bottom of the screen.
Your next step is to add budget lines for your roles and estimate the hours required for the role(s) to fulfil the deliverable for the duration of the project. To do so, click on the Add line button located below each contract line:
The Add/Edit resource dialog box will appear. In the Role field, select the role to be planned. Optionally, you can enter a description in the Description field and click Add:
You will see that the role, description and selling rate appears as a budget line:
Note: the standard rate will be picked up at the template level, however, you can modify the role at the project level.
For each budget line you have the option to:
enter in the Hours field the budgeted hours for the whole duration of the project. The Total amount will display the total value of the budgeted hours based on the role's selling rate (Hours x Selling rate).
or enter a budgeted amount in the Total amount field instead of hours. The hours will be calculated based on the selling rate of the role.
When this budget template is added to a project, the hours and roles can be pushed to resource planning and serve as a baseline to plan the hours across the months, weeks or days for the duration of the project.
Note: The budget hours can also remain empty in the template and when added to the quote or project, the hours can be budgeted there.
Edit a budget template
To change the role of a budget line, you need first to delete the line by clicking on the trash can at the far right of the line and then add a new line with the correct role.
To modify the name of your budget template, open the template and click on the template's name. The Edit budget template dialog box appears:
Modify the name and click Save.
Delete a budget template
To delete a template, click the Delete button:
You will be asked to confirm the deletion before you click the Proceed button.
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