Budget actuals

An actual is an amount that has really been spent or received, for example a paid invoice. Actuals are assigned to budget items, and their total is the item’s Actual. An actual can also stay unassigned, in which case it only counts towards the project total and appears in the Unassigned row. All the project’s actuals are on the Budget tab, in the Actuals view (see Project budget). Actuals are added, changed and deleted by users with the Admin permission for the budget.

Adding an actual

1. On the Budget tab, go to the Actuals view and click Add actual. You can also add an actual from a budget item panel (the panel menu, Add actual) or from a task menu in the schedule.
2. In the Add actual window, enter the date and amount (in the budget currency) and, optionally, choose a budget item from the tree. The list offers items that have no sub-items.
3. Choose the type: Costs or Revenue. When an item is chosen, the type follows from it and is locked.
4. Fill in the actual attributes, if the organization has defined any, and optionally attach a file, such as a scanned invoice.
5. Save.

The type of an actual must match the type of the item: a cost can only be assigned to a cost item, and revenue to a revenue item. An amount can have at most two decimal places. Adding an actual is recorded in the item history.

Actuals list

The Actuals view lists all the project’s actuals in the columns Date, Debit (costs), Credit (revenue), Budget item and Type. The Filter button narrows the list by keyword, date range and amount range. The column configuration button lets you choose the visible columns. Click an actual to open it for editing (the Edit actual window); an actual with no item shows No link in the item column.

Importing actuals

Instead of typing actuals from an accounting system by hand, you can load them from a spreadsheet.

1. In the Actuals view, click Import, or choose Import actuals from the Settings menu.
2. Select the file in the Import actuals wizard.
3. For each column in the file, choose what it contains: Date, Debit, Credit, one of the actual attributes, or Skip. The Debit and Credit columns are required.
4. Check the preview. If there are mapping rules, the application suggests a budget item for each row.
5. Confirm the import. The message Imported actuals: {count} appears.

Amounts from the Debit column are imported as costs, and amounts from Credit as revenue.

Messages during import:

• Map the Debit and Credit columns — one of the required columns is not mapped,
• The mapping rules point to more than one budget item — the row matches the rules of several items; choose the item yourself or refine the rules.

Actuals mapping

Mapping rules tell the application which budget item an imported actual belongs to. They are useful when you load data from accounting regularly — for example, everything with “licence” in the description goes to the “Licences” item.

1. Click Settings above the budget and choose Actuals import mapping.
2. Click Add in the Actuals mapping window.
   
3. Choose the item in the Assign budget item field.
4. Add conditions with the New rule button: choose the amount or an actual attribute, an operator (for example Contains or Equal) and a value. The conditions of one rule are joined with and, so an actual must meet all of them.
5. Save the rule.

A rule needs at least one condition with a value, otherwise the message Add at least one condition with a value appears. A rule with no filled conditions matches no actual. An actual assigned by a rule takes the type of the item (cost or revenue). If a row matches the rules of several items, the application does not assign it. Rules apply only to items that are not group items; deleting an item deletes its rules, and so does turning an item into a group item.

Budget actual attributes

Actual attributes are extra fields that describe an actual, such as the invoice number, supplier or cost center. An organization administrator defines them: the main menu, System settings, the Budget tab, the Actuals card, the Actual attributes section, the New attribute button.

Defined attributes appear in the actual window, can be loaded during import and used in mapping rule conditions. The attribute types are the same as for item attributes (see Budget item attributes).

Deleting an actual

1. Open the actual from the actuals list or from the item panel.
2. Click Delete and confirm.

The item value and the project totals are recalculated immediately, and the deletion is recorded in the item history.

Note: a deleted actual cannot be restored.