Managing Budgets from Global to Project Level: A Complete Workflow

Introduction

This tutorial guides you through the complete process of managing budgets in Easy8. You will learn how to configure budgets globally, adjust settings at the project level, and monitor results through dashboards and reports. By following these steps, you ensure consistent budgeting, reporting accuracy, and proper data usage across your organization.

Prerequisites

Administrator access rights
Budgets module activated in Administration >> Plugins
Projects created with the Budgets module enabled

Target Audience

Administrator

Scenario Example

In this tutorial, you are setting up a company-wide budget policy and ensuring that project managers have the correct budget settings and views for their projects.

Steps

Step 1: Configure Global Budget Settings

Go to Global menu >> Administration >> Budgets.
Review and configure the following tabs:
- Rate hierarchy: Set the order in which the system uses rates (User > Activity > Role).
- Rates by role, activity, user: Define internal and external hourly rates.
- Other settings: Define how costs are calculated (VAT inclusion, planned rates, travel cost rules, etc.).
Save your settings.

Step 2: Activate Budgets in Projects and Adjust Project Budget Settings

Go to a project >> Project controls >> Settings.
Ensure the Budgets module is enabled.
Click on Budget settings.
Adjust project-specific rates, rules, and enable or disable budget features as needed.
Set the project-specific currency if different from global settings.

Step 3: Add Planned Budget Items to Project Budget

Open the project budget page.
Add planned incomes and expenses.
Use "New income" or "New expense" buttons.
Define if the entry is planned or real, and fill in the relevant details.
Save your items.

Step 4: Monitor and Manage Budget Items

Use the project budget statement and budget overview.
Check both planned and real incomes and expenses.
Use right-click options to copy or move planned items to real items.
Adjust real values manually or through time entries and invoicing.

Step 5: Monitor Global Budgets Overview

Go to Global menu >> Budgets statement.
Review Portfolio Overview to monitor all projects and their budget statuses.
Use filters, saved views, and columns customization to get relevant overviews.
Export data if needed (CSV, XLSX, PDF).

Step 6: Use Dashboards to Report Budgets

Use Business Dashboards or create your own dashboard.
Add widgets (charts, lists, KPIs) showing budgets data.
Customize widgets using filters and columns to show the necessary entities (planned incomes, real expenses, profits, etc.).
Use on-click graphs for detailed project navigation.

Conclusion

You have successfully configured budgets from the global level down to projects, added budget items, monitored performance, and created budget reports using dashboards and overviews.