Budget
A project's budget — total budget and categories, positions with status and receipt, what flows in by itself, warnings, economics, hours account, client invoices with cancellation, CSV and monthly report.
The budget shows what a project may cost, what it already costs and what it brings in. Much flows in by itself — rental devices, locations, catering, consumption on the shooting day, costumes, contracts — the rest you record as positions. You see the tab with the read right for the budget; all amounts are in the project's currency.
Creating the budget
Create the budget asks for the Total budget and creates the seven standard categories — Cast fees, Crew, Equipment, Locations, Props, Post-production and Other —, each already planned with its share of the total budget. If the client named a budget frame in the briefing, it stands above, with To the briefing.
The overview
1 Total budget, Spent, remaining and the Burn rate per day, below them each category's share. 2 The warnings. The categories with plan, actual and risk follow further down.
The warnings tell you early where it gets tight: the total budget exceeded, a threshold reached, a category over budget, categories that together plan more than the total budget, positions without a link to a shooting day, person or contract, and positions in another currency — those do not count in the totals.
Categories
A category bundles positions under a planned amount. Its risk is On budget, Watch or critical; you filter by it. Per category you set the Responsibility, an Approval from threshold and the Cost center. New category adds another one.
Positions
You add a position in its category: open the category, Line item.
1 Description, amount and date. 2 The status. 3 Category and link. You attach the Invoice / receipt once the position exists.
A position's status is Planned, Committed, Paid or declined. A position refers to a shooting day, a person or a contract. You attach the receipt after saving; it is then stored revision-proof with a retention period in the media pool. Positions without a category stand together — Assign the first one starts with the first.
In the budget by themselves:
| From | What |
|---|---|
| Equipment | daily rate × quantity × rental days of a rental device |
| Locations | the daily rental per shooting day at the location |
| Catering | every order |
| Daily reports | consumption and unplanned spend on the shooting day |
| Looks | purchase, cleaning and alterations |
| Contracts | a contract's fee |
If the source changes, the position changes with it; if it is deleted, the position disappears.
Economics and hours account
Economics sets the order value against the spending: Margin, Revenue, Invoiced, billable and internal hours and the Value of the hours. For ongoing support, the Hours account keeps per month what is agreed, Carried over, Used, a Correction and the Remaining. Whether open hours carry over into the next month or lapse is set by the project. Correct remaining records what stays open after agreement with the client, with a note and a name.
Invoices
1 What is billable, net and gross. 2 Issue invoice. 3 What a complete invoice still needs — a tap leads to the place.
Only committed or paid positions go on an invoice. If something is still missing for a complete invoice — with the client, on the project or in the account — the app says what, and Issue invoice waits until it is there. Each issued invoice stands below with Download PDF, Send to customer and Cancel. The VAT follows the client: reverse charge with a check of the VAT ID through VIES, small business without VAT, or a client outside the EU. Issuing assigns the invoice number; it can only be undone by Cancel — that issues a cancellation invoice with a number of its own, and the positions become billable again.
Export
Export CSV downloads the categories with plan, actual and difference and below them all individual items. The Monthly report summarises a chosen month as a document.
What happens when …
| When … | then … |
|---|---|
| the total budget is exceeded | a critical warning with the amount stands at the top. |
| a position is in another currency | it does not count in the totals; the warning names how many there are. |
| you issue an invoice | its number is assigned; it can only be changed through a cancellation. |
| you cancel an invoice | a cancellation invoice with its own number is created, and the positions are billable again. |
| a rental device, an order or a contract is deleted | its position disappears from the budget. |
| you lack the read right for the budget | you do not see the tab. |