You can track the progress on your projects by watching the actual time/expense spent. The Project Line information is rolled up to Project Phase and Project - and you can use the standard reporting (dashboard) facilities to create your reports.
In addition to just accumulating time/expenses, you can add more information to get also Earned Value Management (based on EIA-748) information.
Add Plan Information
In Project Line add
- Planned Effort
- Planned Start / End
This information is then rolled up to the Phase/Project.
For your resources, add cost/h information in the Resource tab.
Add Status Information
Maintain Progress on Project and Project Line independently:
- Ahead of Plan
- As Planned
- Behind Plan
- Critical
It is a general indicator and manually maintained. The information is also used in the Gantt chart.
In Project Line, enter the Percent Complete.
Alternatively (actually better), you can enter the Remaining Effort and the Percent Complete Estimate is calculated based on the Actual Effort entered so far. The Percent Complete Estimate is calculated based on Plan and Actual and optionally the remaining effort.
Example: Planned Effort = 100h, Actual Effort = 80h - resulting in Percent Complete Estimate = 80%.
If you enter Remaining Effort = 20, it remains at 80% - if the Remaining Effort = 80, the Percent Complete Estimate = 50%.
In Gantt, we use the Percent Complete if entered (>0) - otherwise the Percent Complete Estimate.
Entering/maintaining the Remaining Effort significantly increases the project status accuracy.
Instead of entering the Remaining Effort manually in the Project Line, you can capture the Remaining Effort in the Timesheet directly (Note that the last T&E Item (date) referencing the Project Line "wins"):
- Setup > Custom Settings - Manage: Accorto Settings
- Click Edit (or New in Default Organization Level Value section)
- Locate T&E Timesheet: Show Remaining and enter: yes
- Click Save
For Earned Value to be calculated correctly you need
- Planned Effort
- Actual Effort
- Resource Costs
- Percent Complete (entered directly or via Remaining Effort)
The information from the T&E Items is included in the Project info, once the T&E Item/Report is approved.
Project Budget
On Project Line you can enter the Planned Cost Budget. This is total of the resource hours multiplied by the resource cost per hour (based on resource pricing). If you need to budget also for expense amounts, create a custom field to track the expense part. The Planned Cost Budget is also summarized on Project Level.
After updating the current project information (see below), the Estimated Budget Amount is available and the calculations Current Budget Remaining (the amount) and Current Budget Used (percent). The Estimated Budget Amount is similar to the Estimated Cost Amount, but excludes Activity Types marked with Exclude from Project Budget. This allows to maintain a project budget without, e.g. travel time/expenses. The Estimated Budget Amount is the sum of hours for the project line multiplied by the resource costs per hour using resource pricing.
The Estimated Budget Amount, Current Budget Remaining and Current Budget Used are also available on Project Level.
Actual Project Information
The Project Line actual information is derived from approved Time+Expense Items. T+E Items need to be approved to be used in billing.
After the T+E Items are approved, the following information is automatically updated:
- Actual Effort, Actual Effort Billable, Actual Effort Non Billable
- Percent Complete
- Actual Expenses
Current Project Information
After executing the Recalculate Actuals process, the following Project Line information is updated:
- Current Effort, Current Effort Billable
- Estimated Cost Amount (hours * estimated cost rate)
- Estimated Billing Amount (fixed price or billable hours * estimated billing rate)
The Recalculate Actuals process also updates The Billing/Cost Rate of the Item, if the Project Lines are not Completed.
- Estimated Billing Effort (billable hours * estimated billing rate) - also for fixed price projects
- Estimated Margin [amount] (estimated billing amount - estimated cost amount)
- Estimated Margin Effort [amount] (estimated billing effort - estimated cost amount)
Updating Current Information
Ad hoc
- Pre-Billing - click button: Query or Start Batch
- Project - click link: Recalculate Actuals
- Project - Project Line Related List - select lines and click Recalculate Line Actuals
- Project Line - click link: Recalculate Line Actuals
If you do not see the links, add them to your Page Layout.
Scheduled
> Setup > Apex Classes - Schedule Apex
-- select Apex Class TEPreBillingUpdate
-- specify frequency and start/end
This updates Time+Expense Lines which are not invoiced and created within the last 90 days
Scenarios (Examples)
Usually only a subset of information is used, depending on the scenarios. Examples:
- Time & Material
- Time & Material, including travel, but the budget plan excludes travel time
- Fixed Price and you want to know how it would look like as Time & Material
You can hide the remaining fields.
In the examples below field with "=" indicate formulas "==" indicate calculations, e.g. via Recalculate Actuals - the
Fixed Unit Price
| Planned Effort | 20h | |
| Unit Price (Billing) | $100 | (overwrites Resource Prices)! |
| Planned Amount Total | = $2.000 | 20h * $100 (Priority: Fixed Charge - Unit Price - Planned Rate) * Planned Effort Billable |
Fixed Price
| Planned Effort | 20h | |
| Unit Price (Billing) | $100 | (ignored) |
| Fixed Charge Amount | $2.200 | (overwrites!) |
| Planned Amount Total | = $2.200 | (Priority: Fixed Charge - Unit Price - Planned Rate) |
Resource Price
| Planned Effort | 20h | |
| Unit Price (Billing) | empty | would otherwise be Fixed Unit Price scenario |
| Fixed Charge Amount | empty | would otherwise be Fixed Price scenario |
| Planned Average Rate | $110 | enter (if empty derived from Fixed Charge amount or Resource Price) |
| Planned Amount Total | = $2.200 | (Priority: Fixed Charge - Unit Price - Planned Rate) * Planned Effort Billable |
Budgeting (Cost)
| Planned Budget Services | $1000 | |
| Estimated Budget Services Amount | == $750 | Sum of all not excluded T+E Item Hours[17-2] * Estimated Cost Rate[50] (Recalculate Actual) |
| Current Budget Services Remaining | = $250 | (Planned Cost Budget - Estimated Budget Amount) |
| Current Budget Services Used | = 75% |
Planned/Actual Effort
| Planned Effort Billable | 18h | enter (defaults to Planned Effort if Billable) (used to calculate Planned Amount Total) |
| Planned Effort Non Billable | = 2h | (Planned Effort Billable - Planned Effort) |
| Actual Effort | == 10 | Sum of approved T+E Item hours (Recalculate Actual) |
| Actual Effort Billable | == 9 | Sum of approved T+E Item Billable Hours |
| Actual Effort Non Billable | = 1 | (Sum of approved T+E Item hours - Billable Hours) |
Current
| Current Effort | == 17h | Sum of all T+E Hours (in this example 10 of the 17 are approved) |
| Current Effort Billable | == 15h | Sum of all T+E Item Billable Hours (Recalculate Actual) |
| Current Effort Not Billable | = 2h | (Sum of all T+E Hours - Billable Hours) |
| Estimated Cost Amount | == $850 | Sum of all T+E Hours[17h] * Estimated Resource Cost Rate [$50] |
| Estimated Billing Effort | == $1650 | (if not fixed price, Sum of all T+E Billable Hours[15h] * T+E Item Estimated Billing Rate [$110]) |
| Estimated Billing Amount | = $1650 | (Fixed Charge Amount or Estimated Billing Effort) |
| Estimated Margin | = $800 | (Fixed Charge Amount or Estimated Billing Effort) - Estimated Cost Amount |
| Estimated Margin Effort | = $800 | Estimated Billing Effort - Estimated Cost Amount |
Expenses
| Planned Budget Expenses | 1000 | |
| Current Expenses | == 800 | Sum of Entered expenses (Recalculare Actual) |
| Actual Expenses | == 600 | Sum of Approved expenses (Recalculare Actual) |
| Current Budget Expenses Remaining | = 200 | Planned Budget Expenses - Current Expenses |