CBS – Cost Breakdown Structure

Introduction

Cost Breakdown Structure (CBS) is a visual and intuitive tool in Easy8 for tracking and managing project finances. It enhances financial visibility across projects and tasks by integrating budget data directly into the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). This feature is especially useful during the planning phase, budget creation, and financial monitoring throughout a project's lifecycle.

To use CBS, both the WBS and Budgets plugins must be installed and activated on the project.

Target Audience

Administrator

What CBS Is and How It Works

CBS allows you to display project and task-level financials such as:

Profit (real or planned)
Incomes (real or planned)
Costs (total, planned, or actual)
Personnel costs (based on time spent and hourly rates)

This data is visually represented in the WBS mind map, giving you an immediate overview of where your money is being earned or spent.

How It Works

Go to your project’s WBS view
Click the “Budgets” button in the toolbar
Instantly see finances for each task and subproject

Interactive Features and Visual Aids

Clicking on budget values in project nodes opens a project-level budget overview in a pop-up
Clicking on task-level values opens detailed task budget information

From these pop-ups, you can:

View all budget entries
Create new incomes or expenses
Review personnel costs

Legend and Visual Indicators

Use the color-coded legend to quickly assess:
- Positive budget balance (green)
- Neutral (grey)
- Negative balance (red)
Change currency display instantly
Choose what financial data to show: profit, incomes, costs (planned/real)

Display Options and Aggregation

Use “Display settings” (top-left corner) to toggle:
- Whether parent tasks show only their own budgets
- Or show cumulative values including subtasks
You can also print the WBS mind map with financial data included

Setup and Permissions

Enable CBS Functionality

To use CBS, ensure the following:

WBS and Budgets plugins are installed and active
In the project:
```
Project Settings → Controls → Budget settings → Other settings
```
Enable “Budgets for tasks” to avoid errors like "Budgets for tasks are not allowed"

Optional global setting:

Administration → Budgets → Other settings

Assign Proper Permissions

CBS requires access to budget data. Make sure the appropriate roles have:

Administration → Roles and permissions → [Select Role] → Budgets

Conclusion

CBS adds strong financial insight to your Easy8 projects by combining budgeting with task visualization. Whether you're planning a project or tracking financial performance, CBS helps you quickly understand and act on cost and profit dynamics. It’s easy to activate, flexible in display, and provides a user-friendly overview of your project’s financial health.