Work with Budgets

Discover how to create and manage your project's budget using the Budget tab. You can configure and customize your budget, track expenses, and forecast completion costs. Gain greater control over your project's financials and stay on top of your budget throughout the project lifecycle.

Budget Tab Overview

  1. Click the icon to open the budget edit mode. There you can add a budget item and a subitem.
  2. See the charts for budget and cost trends.
  3. Click the budget name to open the flyout panel. In the flyout panel, you can edit a budget, see more details, create, and manage forecast distributions.
  4. Click the More menu to:
  5. Learn more about the five main sections of the Budget and Contract tables.
  6. Hover over the column's name to understand the logic behind them. Some of the values are also described in the Budget and Contract Tables article.
  7. Lock your original budget to avoid accidental change. Only project administrators can lock budget. Learn more about it in the Budget Settings article.
  8. Export a PDF or Excel report of your budget.
Tip: The Filter and Group tool may be helpful to create a more formatted report.
  1. The Filter and Group tool helps to arrange efficient views of your data and create clear and legible reports.
  2. See your saved views or create ones for quick access to budget data.
  3. Control column order and visibility with the icon.
Tip: Do you want to learn how to filter and group data in the Budget tool? See the Customize Cost Management Tables article.

Budget Edit Mode

Members with the Full Control permission for budgets can edit the budget. If the budget is locked, only project administrators are able to make edits. Once the original budget is locked, it cannot be undone. Some of the budget functionalities may be performed only with the budget in edit mode:

  1. Select Add to manually enter new budget items. For more information, see the Create a Budget article.
  2. Click Import to download a budget import template with helpful tips. Once downloaded and filled up, you can click this button again to import a finished budget Excel file. For more information, see the Create a Budget article.
  3. Within each budget item, select the pencil icon to edit the budget name.
  4. Click within the Quantity, Unit, Unit Cost, Amount, Input Qty, and Location columns to add or edit the information.
  5. Click the More menu to add or delete an item. For more information, see the Create a Budget article.
  6. You can either expand or collapse the list of items. You can determine if you want them to collapse to which level.
  7. By selecting one or more items, you can:
Note: There is no restriction on hierarchy levels. The totals from all child items are rolled up to the parent and divided by the parent quantity to provide a unit cost. This allows visibility into how the budget number was derived.

Add a Budget

To add a budget, see the Create a Budget article, where you'll find all the helpful tips and tricks.

Edit the Budget

The default budget view is a view-only version. To enter the Edit mode, click in the Budget tool.

You can edit the budget in several ways:

Click the Edit icon again to return to the default view-only state.

Transfer a Budget Item

After your budget is in place, you may need to transfer a budget item to a different budget. To do so:

  1. Click to open the budget in Edit mode.

  2. Enable the checkbox for a budget item.

  3. Click the More menu img on the parent budget item.

    Tip: You can also right-click the budget item to bring up the More menu.

  4. Choose the Budget Transfer option.

  5. In the From drop-down list, select the budget to transfer from.

  6. In the To drop-down list, select the budget to transfer to.

  7. Enter the amount to transfer.

  8. Leave the note.

  9. Click Save.

Tip: You can create a new budget during this operation by selecting Create new budget from dropdown list.

The transfer updates the Internal Adjustments column for each budget.

Note: The original amount of the Budget Payment Application is based on the main contract SOV, not the Budget overview. The timing of the internal budget transfer affects the main contract SOV amount:
Note: Transferring may not be available, once an account administrator locked this option with integration. See the Lock Fields and Actions with an Integrated ERP System to learn more.

Visualize Budget Data

By default, the budget data visualizations are hidden. When visible, you can see:

To turn on the visualizations:

  1. Click the chart icon on the Budget tab to display the visualizations.
  2. Hover your cursor over the visualizations to display more details.
  3. Click the chart icon again to hide the visualizations.

Create Contracts from the Budget Tab

You can create contracts from one or more budget items. To do so:

  1. Click in the Budget tool to open the budget in Edit mode.

  2. Select the checkbox next to the desired budgets.

  3. Click Create Contract.

  4. Use the radio button to:

    • Create a contract from each selected budget, making multiple contracts.
    • Create a single contract from the selected budgets.

  5. Select the budget code segments that you want to generate contract codes from.

  6. Click Create.

Create Change Order Transfers

You can transfer money internally and create a PCO. To do so:

  1. Click in the Budget tool to open the budget in Edit mode.
  2. Select the checkbox next to the budgets that you want to transfer money from.
  3. Click Change Order Transfer.
  4. Use the drop-down list to select the budget you intend to transfer the money to.
  5. Enter the amount.
  6. Click to add any other required transfers.
  7. Click Create PCO.
Tip: You can create a new budget during this operation by selecting Create new budget from dropdown list.

A Budget Transfer PCO appears with the estimated amount from your entry and subitems for each budget impacted.

Check Actual Cost in the Budget Summary

Approved and paid expenses automatically pull into the budget summary view. This gives you the ability to view actual cost breakdowns and make accurate forecast adjustments.

Select the Budget tool from the left navigation. You can see the cost breakdown in the Actual Cost column within the Budget tab. For more detailed information, you can open details panel by clicking the Budget Name.

To make a forecast adjustment, budget transfer, or change order transfer, click the More menu next to the budget item name and choose either:

Disable Cost Side on Selected Budget Lines

You can permanently disable the cost side on selected budget lines for items like contingencies, allowances, and fees that will not have any associated costs or will never be spent directly. This can be done by setting the scope field for specific budget line items to "Budget Only." To do that:

  1. Select the budget item in the Budget tab to open the flyout section.
  2. Under the Details section, select the Scope drop-down menu.
  3. Choose Budget Only.

The cost side of the budget overview will show as empty. No contract, actual cost, or cost change will then be able to be associated with it. The variance column will show the budget value without requiring any forecast adjustment to be made.

View Currency Gains and Losses within Budget Overview

Set up a foreign currency to see how system automatically pulls all cost activities into the budget overview and converts foreign currencies back to the project’s base currency. So, as actual expenses start rolling in, teams gain instant visibility into currency gain or loss on actual (realized) and projected (unrealized) costs.

Add Realized and Unrealized Currency Columns

You can add new columns in the Budget table to assess risk and create forecast adjustments:

  1. Go to the Settings tool, switch to the Budget tab.
  2. Select Budget overview columns and click Manage.
  3. Click Add new.
  4. Click Project value in the Click to add formula item section.

  1. On the right side, select a project value by scrolling down to the Currency Gain and Loss category.
  2. Select one of the new custom columns:
  1. Once added, return back to the Budget table and click the icon.
  2. Scroll down to the Cost category.
  3. Select new columns to be visible in the table.

Now, you'll see realized and unrealized currency gains and losses based on the selected exchange rate. Hover over the columns' names to see the details of the equations.

The value in the Unrealized Currency Gain or Loss column will be recalculated when the following values are changed:

When the cost payment application or expense is approved, the Actual Cost column's value will be recalculated as well.

Tip: You can display currency columns in the Contract table view as well.

Recalculate or Edit the Exchange Rate

Recalculating or editing exchange rates is done within the Forecast Exchange Rate column that you’ve turned on with the gear icon.

To edit the rate:

  1. Hover over the field and click Edit.

  1. In Edit Forecast Exchange Rates, click into the field to directly edit it. Or select Fetch from settings to use the rate within Settings.

  1. Click Save.

Create Forecast Adjustments

With all cost management activities automatically pulled into the overall budget summary, teams have clear visibility into cost impacts. With a few clicks, you can easily make necessary forecast adjustments to your budget and the changes are visible in the following columns in the budget table:

To make a forecast adjustment to a budget:

  1. Go to the Budget tab in Cost Management.
  2. Click the More menu next to a budget item.
  3. Select Forecast Adjustments.

  1. Click Add in the newly opened window. Or Add line item when there are already forecast adjustments items present.

The total adjustments appear in the Forecast Adjustments and Forecast Variance columns. The Forecast Cost to Complete and Forecast Final Cost now reflect the change.

Make Forecast Adjustments Based on Currency

To make a forecast adjustment based on currency gain or loss, click the More menu next to the budget item and select Forecast adjustment. Now, you can add an adjustment from:

Date Range Based Forecasting

In the Budget overview, members can forecast resources based on actual costs and future projections. Cost Management automatically calculates the difference between planned and actual costs, allowing members to either save the difference for unexpected expenses or generate forecast adjustments. This provides a clear record of how the current budget position was reached.

To use this feature, you need to set up time-based resources.

  1. In the Budget overview, select the three dots next to the budget name.

  2. Choose Edit Forecast Final Cost from the popup menu.

  3. The forecast method flyout panel appears at the bottom.

    Note: You can also click the Forecast Final Cost amount with the blue triangle and then select Edit at the bottom.

  4. Now select the Forecast method as Time-based resources.

  5. Add time-based resources by clicking the Add Resource button.

  6. Edit the name, start and end dates, ratio, quantity, unit (hour, day, week, month), and unit cost. The duration will be calculated based on the dates and working days settings.

    Note: If there are multiple resources, all resources must share the same unit. Changing the unit in one row will change it in all rows.

  7. Click Save.

    If the Forecast and Time-Based Variance are not the same, you will have the option to add a Forecast Adjustment or Adjust the Forecast Final Cost.

Lock and Unlock the Budget

After your budget is completed, a project administrator can lock the original budget to avoid accidental changes in the future. See the Budget Settings article for details.

Important: Once the budget is locked, it can't be unlocked. Only project administrators can edit original budget after it is locked.

Export a Budget Report

To create a formatted report of a budget:

  1. Select the Budget tool from the left navigation.

  2. Switch to the Budget tab.

  3. Click .

  4. Enter the report title and choose file format, PDF or Excel.

  5. Select whether you want a Cover page.

  6. Choose the currency in the Report Currency field. You'll see the editable field of the exchange rate. A default exchange rate will be used from project settings and will be based on the date when the Report Currency field was modified.

  7. Choose the report template:

    • Current View - includes all currently visible columns. Use this one to create a report for filtered budget table view or previously saved current views.

      Tip: When exporting a PDF or Excel budget report in Edit mode, the system will only export currently visible columns.

    • System Default View - includes system default columns in all groups.

    • Budget Report - includes only columns in the General and Budget section in the table view.

  8. Include optional details that should be visible in your report, such as internal budget transfers, forecast adjustments, or change orders.

  9. Click Run report.

Note: Generated report shows four levels of hierarchy regardless of number of groups. Use the Collapse to Level button to decide how many details you want to include in your report. When budget level is collapsed, backup line items are hidden.

You'll receive an email notification when your report is ready to download. You can also download it from the Report tool. To learn more about reports and available actions, see the About Reports article. See the Cost Reports article to review all available reports for Cost Management.

Generate Budget Report in Foreign Currency

Since the foreign currency setting is on, you can export reports of the Budget tables. Choose the currency in the Report Currency field. You'll see the editable field of the exchange rate. A default exchange rate will be used from project settings and will be based on the date when the Report Currency field was modified.

In the report cover, you'll see the Report Currency and Exchange Rate fields.

More Resources

Check the Learn ACC video course about the Budget tool.

Note: Register to access the course content.
Parent page: Budgets and Contracts