Tracking Budgets in Projects
Projects have the ability to track Budgets. A Budget is for tracking your planned vs. actual expenses. Budgets rely on Cost Categories to link expenses with budget items.
Adding a Budget or Budget Template
From a Project, go to the 'Budget' tab. If you already added a Budget Template with the Project creation wizard, then you'll see the attached template appear on this page. If not, you can click on 'Add Budget' to add a new budget.
Budget Templates
If you want to pre-construct a commonly used Budget and then simply attach that pre-built Budget to a project, you can do so using a Budget Template. This prevents you from needing to build a Budget from scratch for each project. Budget Templates are built in Settings > Projects > Budget Templates (must be an Administrator to access Settings). Note that, since each line item in a budget template should have a unique cost category, you will probably also be adding multiple cost categories via Settings > Projects > Cost Categories
Editing Existing Cost Categories in Settings
Note that editing Cost Categories in Settings will change those cost category items wherever they exist in the database. If you have been using a cost category and delete or change it, that change will ripple through all existing instances of that category item.
After you add a budget, you can edit the name, status, description, and type of the budget by clicking on the 'edit' button next to the budget header. These fields can be useful if you're tracking many different budgets in many different projects.
Next, you can start adding Budget Items. A Budget Item is just a line in your budget. Each Budget Item needs a unique Cost Category so that it can be tied to one or more specific Expenses. Click on 'Add Budget item' to add a new line to your budget.
The Category (or Cost Category) is what classifies the line item in your budget. You can choose from the available list of items or, if you don't see a match, you can add a new one by clicking 'Add New'. You should have a unique cost category for every line item in your budget, so don't be shy about adding new, useful categories.
The Item Description is just a descriptive text field you can use to elaborate on the item. In most cases, it will match the item category.
Quantity is how many of the items you are budgeting for (typically 1).
Unit name allows you to specify the unit (usually 'Count' or 'Hours')
Unit cost is the projected cost of each unit. Landscape will do the math of multiplying the cost by the quantity to calculate the total cost of the item.
Keep adding budget items one by one until your budget is complete. Here is a screenshot of a typical easement acquisition budget (note that the numbers are arbitrary):
'What about just general expenses?'
You may choose to be less specific in your budget. It's fine to have a cost category of 'General', but keep in mind that you'll only want to track this as a single Budget Item (not multiple lines).
Cost Categories
Cost categories are built in Settings > Projects > Cost Categories (you must be an administrator to access Settings). Categories are classified into Category Groups. Typical Category Groups include 'Transaction Costs'; 'Capital Costs'; 'Stewardship Costs'. While some Category Groups might have many Cost Categories, others might just have one. 'Purchase Price', for example, may be the only Cost Category in 'Capital Costs':
Adding Expenses ('Actual')
As your project progresses, you'll want to track the money you actually spend on the various items in your budget to make sure you're on track. Click on a Budget Item to open the details pane. At the bottom, you'll see the section for adding 'Actual Expenses'. Click 'Add Expense' to add an expense.
The Description is usually just the same name as the Budget Item. The total cost of the expense will equal the Quantity (usually 1) times the Unit cost.
After an expense is added, you have the option of linking it to a work item. From the expense editor pane, click on the drop down menu next to 'Linked Work Item' to choose the correct work item. Note that expenses can also be added directly to work items within a Project. As long as the Cost Category of the expense matches the Budget Line Item Cost Category, the budget will track it appropri
After an expense is added to a Budget Item, the numbers on the budget will change to show you how that expense relates to the budget. The numbers will also be reflected in the Budget tracker at the top of the page, with the total expenses being displayed as 'Actual'.
All expenses tied to a record can be seen from the work tab by clicking on the expenses button.