Budget And Forecast Snapshots User Guide

These are the key features:

Create Ad Hoc or Project Status Snapshots

The Create Snapshot window in the Project level Budget tool contains these options to create snapshots. To learn more about snapshots, see Create a Snapshot from the Budget Tool.

Create and Manage Financial Periods for Project Status Snapshots (Beta)

Financial periods for project status snapshots align snapshots with structured reporting cycles, such as calendar months or custom accounting periods. Once enabled, administrators can set up and manage financial periods, allowing users to assign open periods to new or updated snapshots from the Budget tool. Project teams can filter snapshots by period under the 'Project Status Snapshots' tab of the Budget tool, as well as filter snapshots and perform period-over-period variance analysis within the Project Status Snapshots tool. See Enable Financial Periods for Project Status Snapshots.

View Historical Project Status Snapshots

The Project Status Snapshots tab in the Budget tool allows your team to view all project snapshots in one place. This includes the snapshot's name, a description (if entered), and its status in your workflow. The table also includes a date and time stamp showing when it was created and the creator's user name.

Manage the Review Workflow for Project Status Snapshots

For teams with a formal process for reviewing project status snapshots, users can conveniently click the drop-down menus in the Status column to indicate the snapshot's status. This is helpful for teams who review snapshots regularly (i.e., weekly, monthly, and so on). Users can change the status of a snapshot line item in the Project Status Snapshots tab in the Project level Budget tool or with the Company level Project Status Snapshots tool.

Configure Columns

Users can click Configure to choose which columns to show and hide. Once configured to show, users can drag-and-drop the table's columns to any location in the table. For example, if users want to see whether a budget line item is over or under its projected value, move the Projected over Under column to the left side of the table. If users want to see the estimated cost of the budget line item at completion, move the Estimated Cost at Completion column to the left.

Users can configure the columns to show/hide in the Project Status Snapshots tab in the Budget tool or with the new Company-level Project Status Snapshots tool.

Create and Manage Custom Statuses for Project Status Snapshots

Users can create and manage custom statuses for project status snapshots to align project tracking with internal procedures. This feature provides greater flexibility by moving beyond standard "Under Review" and "Approved" options. It enables tailored processes that match your organization’s specific budget review stages. See Create a Custom Status for Project Status Snapshots.

• Tailored Tracking: Create up to 50 color-coded custom statuses in the Company level Admin tool for quick visual identification.

• Status Mapping: Link custom statuses to standard color-coded status types, such as Open (Grey), Pending (Yellow), Closed (Green), and Void (Red) in the Company level Admin tool to maintain data integrity across your budget.

• Default Status: Set a custom status as the default status for new project status snapshots in the Company level Admin tool to standardize reporting across all projects.

• Status Application: Apply custom statuses to project status snapshots in the Project Level Budget tool and the Company level Project Status Snapshots tool so that your budget management workflows reflect your organization's requirements for forecasting and reporting.

• Granular Visibility: Use the Company level Project Status Snapshots tool to filter all your projects' project status snapshots by custom statuses, providing deeper insight into the forecast stage across your portfolio.

Analyze Budget Variance Between Project Status Snapshots

To analyze budget variance, click the Variance icon in the data table's column headers. This expands the selected column group to show the line item's current value, previous value, and variance. This eliminates the need to calculate variance in third-party spreadsheets.

Export Project Status Snapshots

Users can click Export to download the list snapshots in the Project Snapshots tab to a Comma Separated Values (CSV) file format for offline access.

Monitor and Review Snapshots Across Projects

The Company level Project Status Snapshots tool transforms how your teams monitor and review snapshots by consolidating all of your project's status snapshots in a single location. Access to the tool is controlled by the company permission templates that an administrator configures for your team. This lets your team save valuable time by eliminating the need to distribute project snapshots by alternate means, such as email. Users also no longer need to post PDF copies and manage copies in an outside information silo.

Manage Company Level Access Permissions with Permission Templates

Company-level permission templates are the best way to control who can create or view snapshots with the Company level Project Status Snapshots tool. An administrator can then manage access based on user roles and responsibilities.

Control Access to the Company Level Project Status Snapshots Tool

In a company permissions template's Financial Management section, the default permission setting is None. You can only configure access to Read Only or Standard; Admin level permissions are unavailable for the Project Status Snapshots tool.

Adjusting Permission Settings:

• To allow users to view all project status snapshots, choose 'Read Only' level permissions.

• To allow users to change the status of a project status snapshot or export a snapshot list, choose 'Standard'

  level permissions.