Budgeting in BigTime

Every project in BigTime can have a budget attached to it. In fact, BigTime supports three different types of budgets. Different industries will use those budget types in different combinations, and there's an entire chapter dedicated to creating and maintaining budgets in BigTime.

Are Project Budgets Required?

You aren't required to enter any budgeting data for your projects. You may also decide to create budgets on some projects and not on others. Every firm is different, and budgeting is one of the first areas of the system that many of our customers have questions about. So, here are a couple of things to keep in mind as you explore this area of the system.

• The most popular type of budget is an "estimate" budget. Within that format, you enter a set of phases or tasks (called "budget items") into your project's dashboard. You can create an estimate based on hours, dollars or both for every project. Project estimates are a blank slate, and you can copy them from project to project or re-invent the budget each time a new project is created. It's up to you.
• Your budgets don't need to be complicated. Many customers create a single line item in their budgets for "professional fees" and that's it! If you're just looking for a way to track the overall budget for a project, then this one-line estimate is the way to accomplish that goal.

Estimates vs. Task Lists

Each new fee-based budget item you add to the system has a corresponding task in the project's task list. So, when you create an estimate in BigTime, you're also creating a task list. Typically, however, task lists are a lot more detailed than your budgets will be. That's because most firms use task lists to manage internally, and budgets to report on a project externally.

That leads to a good rule of thumb for using a budget vs. a project plan (or a task list). If you're managing a client-facing set of phases or milestones, then use the estimate page. If you're managing tasks that are meant for internal consumption (e.g. - to be used by your staff, but not reviewed by your client), then a task list is typically better suited for that work.

If You Aren't Sure, Start with Estimates.

If you're not sure which one to use, then start out with a project estimate. If the estimate doesn't give you enough detail, then you can always switch to using task lists and project plans. Going the other direction (e.g. - switching from a detailed task list to an estimate-based budget) is more difficult.