Costs, Budget, Benefit, and Revenues in PLANTA project From DB 39.5.0

Description for versions < DB 39.5.0

Basic Data Entry

Information

• In order for costs and budgets to be planned and calculated in PLANTA project, different cost basic data (master data) must be created in the PLANTA software upfront (in addition to general master data like Persons, Users, Resources, which are generally essential for software operation, etc.)
• Cost master data include:
  • Conversion factors
  • Cost types
  • Cost type groups
  • Cost centers
  • Cost and revenue resources

Details

• Conversion Factors are required for the actual cost and effort calculation. As a result, the resource effort (load) is converted to monetary values.
  • Conversion factors are created in the Conversion Factors module and
  • are assigned to resources in the Resource Data Sheet module and/or in the Cost Types module.
    • The conversion factors of the resources entered in the Resource Data Sheet or Cost Types modules are immediately used for cost calculation during scheduling (provided that the respective resources are planned in the project).
    • Please note: If, for a resource, one conversion factor is entered directly on the resource and one on the cost type of the resource, both conversion factors take effect additively when costs are calculated. See also "Calculation (Costs and Revenues)".
• Cost types serve to group costs for a more clear representation in planning and analysis modules.
  • Cost types are created in the Cost Types module and
  • assigned to resources in the Resource Date Sheet module.
    • The cost type entered in the Resource Data Sheet module is a default cost type of the resource. It is copied to the resource assignment record when a resource is assigned to a task but can be changed on the resource assignment. Hence, the cost type on the resource assignment can deviate from the default cost type of the resource.
    • The cost type of the resource (caution: not the default cost type of the resource) is written in the individual load records by the scheduling upon their creation. However, it can be changed here as well. The cost type on the load is that which is used for calculation and distribution of costs (which the respective resource generates) to cost type groups in the Budget module.
• Cost type groups are additionally required in order to summarize cost types in bigger groups. In PLANTA project Standard, budget, cost, and effort planning and analysis take place in many user modules (e.g. in the Budget module) based on the cost type groups. Cost type groups are
  • created in the Cost Type Groups module and
  • assigned to the cost types in the Cost Types module.
• Cost Centers are neither required for calculation nor for a display of the costs but are used for cost evaluation anyway (see the Reporting chapter) as well as for Rights Control Cost centers are
  • created in the Cost Centers module and
  • assigned to resources in the Resource Data Sheet module, and to planning objects in the respective core data modules (Project Core Data, Proposal Core Data, Idea Core Data, Program Core Data).
• Cost and Revenue Resources are resources which are exclusively used for cost planning or revenue planning
  • Cost and revenue resources are resources which are not used for capacity planning but exclusively for assignment of costs/revenues to tasks. They can be used to record and allocate costs, e.g. material costs, rent, external services or revenues, e.g. to record and assign sales revenues.

Planning

• Costs and revenues
  • PLANTA project distinguishes between initially planned costs (planned costs), actually incurred costs (actual costs), and remaining costs (remaining costs).
  • There are two modules for cost planning and control: Schedule and Budget, whereas each of these modules offers a fundamentally different representation of costs.
    • In the Schedule module, costs are mapped by project structure, i.e. per level: project, task, resource assignment, load.
    • In the Budget module, costs are displayed grouped by cost type groups.
  • In cost and revenue planning you can choose between two options: automatic or manual. The options can be selected via the settings of a model parameter. In PLANTA Standard, automatic cost calculation is preset.
    • Automatic option: Here, resources and their effort are planned in the Schedule module. Resources on the other hand dispose of conversion factors (defined in master data) for the monetary conversion of effort. If you calculate the schedule of a project in the Schedule module, the effort planned on resources are converted to costs on the basis of the conversion factors and subsequently they will be displayed in the Schedule and Budget modules. See the Calculation section.
      • Besides person resources, the costs of which are converted via the planned effort, PLANTA project also provides special cost and revenue resources which can be used to directly record costs or revenues on the tasks. Since such resources always use conversion factor 1, the effort allocated to these resources is also their respective costs or revenues.
    • Manual option: The recording of costs (planned costs) and their adjustment as the project advances (remaining costs) are done manually in the Budget module.
  • Actual costs and revenues
    • In the automatic option, actual costs and revenues result from the recording of hours worked of the person resource in the Time Recording module, which are also converted monetarily with the help of conversion factors. There are special modules for cost and revenue resources which have no reported hours worked (Cost Posting and Revenues Posting), in which the actual load of the cost or revenue resources (which is also converted to costs or revenues via conversion factor 1) is recorded manually.
    • In the manual option, all actual costs and revenues are recorded manually in the Budget module.
• Budget
  • Budget is only planned in the Budget module. Since the Budget module also shows costs, they can be used as a basis for budget planning. In budget, requested and approved values are distinguished.
• Benefit
  • In the Project Core Data module, both planned and actual (achieved) benefit values are recorded manually per year. They are also displayed in the Budget module, in which the value summarized across all years is displayed in addition.

Notes

• The %-allocation of budgets and costs to cost centers (DT819 Project/cost centers) in the Project Core Data is not part of the actual cost and budget planning. Primarily, they serve to allocate costs when exporting to ERP systems.
• The %-allocation of budgets and costs to systems (DT819 Project/systems) in the Project Core Data is not part of the actual cost and budget planning.

See also: Tutorial: Budget Planning

Calculation

Requirements

• In order for costs in PLANTA project to be calculated automatically, the following settings must be made in the Model and Model Parameters module:
  • The manual cost recording parameter is to be deactivated
  • The Schedule calc. with costs parameter is to be set to "1"

Information

• If the above mentioned settings are made, costs and revenues are taken into account in the calculation of the schedule of a project (by clicking on the calculation button in the toolbar) or in the replanning of costs and revenues.
• Costs and revenues are calculated on the basis of the planned effort of the resources and their conversion factors. The calculated values are written in DT472 Load and saved. The values stored here are the foundation for the summarization of the values
  • both to resource assignment (DT466), task (DT463), and project (DT461) level. This summarization is done as part of the calculation of the schedule of a project.
  • and to the cost types and cost type groups DT281, DT861, and DT282. This summarization is done by another mechanism (cost calculation and budget calculation) which runs subsequent to schedule calculation and can even be initiated independent of schedule calculation. For further information, please refer to the Overview: Calculation and Summarization matrix chapter.

Calculation of the cost values in DT472 when calculating the schedule

Summarization and Display

Costs and Revenues

Information

• The calculated cost and revenue values from DT472 Load are processed as follows:
  • in the Schedule module,
    • Summarization
      • The cost values calculated in DT472 are summarized to the resource assignment (DT466), then to the task (DT463), and subsequently to the project (DT461). As a result, costs and revenues are saved in the same columns in DT472 and 466 (cost columns), while in DT463 and 461 they are saved in different columns (costs in cost columns and revenues in revenue columns).
      • Additionally, cost values are summarized along the project structure, from the lowest subproject via further subprojects to the main project level.
    • Layout objects
      • On load and resource assignment levels, both costs and revenues are displayed. According to the resources, you can see whether they are costs or revenues.
      • On task and project level, only costs are displayed (however, they are in W9 by default and must be displayed by the user if required). Revenues (revenue columns) are not contained in the Schedule module on these levels by default. However, they can be incorporated in the customizing if necessary.
  • In the Budget module
    • Summarization
      • On the basis of the cost type of the load records the cost values calculated in DT472 are summarized to the respective cost type group in DT282 Project/year/CTGr with time relation (yearly tranches) and then to the project cost type groups (DT281 Project/cost type group) and subsequently to the project total value.
        • For the summarization of costs to cost type groups and their display in the Budget module, the cost type of the load records is applicable. For more information on this, see Create and Assign Cost Types.
      • The revenue values calculated in DT472 are summarized to DT861 with the time relation.
      • Additionally, cost values are summarized along the project structure, from the lowest subproject via further subprojects to main project level.
    • Layout objects
      • Costs and revenues are displayed independent of one another.
      • Both costs and revenues have a total level (DT281 for costs and 861 for revenues) and a yearly tranche level (DT282 for costs and 861 for revenues).
        • On each of these levels, costs are displayed per cost type group; for revenues there is no division into cost type groups.
      • Both cost and revenue columns are contained twice in the Budget module: once for the values of the individual projects and once for the values of the project structure (project + all of its subprojects).
        • From the existence/non-existence of the addition ((without SP) = without subprojects) next to the column heading, you can see whether they are values of the individual project or the values of the whole project structure.

Notes

• Normally, the project values in DTs 461 and 281/861 (in Schedule and Budget) coincide.
• If certain values in DT461 deviate from those in DT281, this may have the following reasons:
  • The master data was not created or changed correctly, e.g. if a cost type group was deactivated after costs have been posted for it but the corresponding cost types were not put on.
  • The MAN load profile is used incorrectly for one or more planned resources. Further information.

Budget

Information

• The budget is only entered and displayed in the Budget module.

Benefit

Information

• The Planned benefit and Achieved benefit values are summarized from the Project Core Data module to the Budget module in the Benefit and revenues area. In the Budget module, the benefit values cannot be edited.

Overview: Calculation and Summarization Matrix

Module	Button	Scheduling	Cost calculation	Budget calculation	Calculation of benefit and revenues	Calculation of risks and opportunities	Miscellaneous
Schedule (Project)	Scheduling in the toolbar or the menu item of the same name	+	+	-	+	+
Schedule (Program)	Scheduling in the toolbar or the menu item of the same name	+	+	-	+	+
Budget (Project)	Recalculate	+	+	+	+	-
Budget (Program)	Recalculate	+	+	+	-	-
Status (Project)	Create baseline, Create status report, Create final report	+	+	+	+	+
Status (Program)	Create baseline, Create status report, Create final report	+	-	+	-	+
Portfolio	Update portfolio	-	+	+	+	+
Edit Portfolio Period	Update portfolio	-	+	+	+	+
Status (Portfolio)	Create status report						Summarization project status reports
Replanning	Replanning Replanning incl. portfolios	+ +	+ + on PF yearly tranches	+ +	+ +	+ +

Explanations on the individual calculation types:

Reports and Analyses

Information

• Analysis modules for budget, costs, and revenues are accessible via
  • the Cost Overviews panel and
  • the Cost Reports and Effort Reports modules.
• Some analyses are also contained in the Info Board module.