The contract budget

The contract budget is a project's cost report: one row per budget code, with columns from the original budget through committed and actual costs to the forecast final cost. Apart from the original budget, transfers and the forecast to complete, every figure comes from the project's cost contracts, variations, progress claims and direct costs.

In the project sidebar, under Contract Management, select Contracts, then the Budget tab. The budget has three tabs: Budget, History and Snapshots.

A budget code is a cost code and a cost type together, written as the two joined by a hyphen, for example 03-LAB.

• Cost codes describe the work, such as 01 Site Preparation, 02 Earthworks and 03 Concrete Works. They can have child codes.
• Cost types describe the kind of cost: SUB Subcontract, PRO Professional Services, LAB Labour, MAT Materials and EQP Equipment.

A schedule of values line, variation line, claim line or direct cost line counts in the budget when it carries a budget code that has a row in the budget. A line with no budget code, or a code with no budget row, doesn't count. Until the budget has any rows, the page shows rows built from the contracts' schedules of values.

1. Select Add Budget Item, then Create Budget Line Item.
2. Choose the cost code and cost type, then enter a Description and any Notes.
3. Select Save.

The new row starts at zero. Each budget code can have one row.

To enter its original budget, select the row's Original Budget Amount cell. Select Add line item for each part of the budget, enter its Description, Qty, Unit and Rate, then select Save Line Items.

To add many rows at once, select Bulk Upload, then Download CSV template. Fill it in, then upload it as a .csv or .xlsx file and select Upload Spreadsheet.

Read from left to right, the columns go from the original budget to the gain or loss.

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The total of the code's budget line items.

The net of the transfers into and out of the code.

Approved variation lines on cost contracts whose type is named Head Contract. These lines also count in Committed Costs.

Original Budget Amount, plus Budget Modifications, plus Approved HCV's.

Every schedule of values line on the project's cost contracts, whatever the contract's status, plus every approved variation line on them.

The claimed amounts on approved progress claim lines against cost contracts.

Variation lines on cost contracts' submitted variations, which are not yet approved or rejected.

Direct cost lines, except those whose status is set to be excluded from the budget.

What the code is forecast to cost from here. With Auto Complete on, the forecast is the Revised Budget less Committed Costs, never below zero, and the cell shows Auto. With it off, you enter the forecast as line items.

Committed Costs, plus Forecast to Complete, plus Direct Costs.

Revised Budget less Forecast Final Cost. A negative figure means the code is forecast to go over.

Select a figure in any column except Revised Budget, Forecast Final Cost and Gain/Loss to see the contracts, lines, variations, claims or costs it adds up.

To add a note to a code, select Add Note in its Notes column, then post it. View Notes shows the code's notes.

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1. Select the code's Forecast to Complete cell.
2. Turn Auto Complete on or off.
3. With it off, select Add Forecast Item for each part of the forecast and enter it.
4. Select Save Forecast.

1. Select Add Budget Item, then Create Budget Modification.
2. Choose the Source Budget Code and the Destination Budget Code.
3. Enter the Transfer Amount and Transfer Date, and optionally a Reference and a Note.
4. Select Record Transfer.

Teralo records a transfer as two entries, one out of the source and one into the destination, so the project's total budget doesn't change. A transfer larger than the source code has available is refused, with a message naming the amount available and the amount requested.

To transfer from one code, select its Budget Modifications cell, then Record transfer. The dialog opens with that code as the source.

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Turn on Budget Locked once the budget is agreed. While it is locked, budget items can't be added or edited and original budget line items can't be changed. Transfers, forecasts, notes and snapshots can still be recorded, and committed and actual costs keep changing as contracts and claims do.

1. Select Add Budget Item, then Create Snapshot.
2. Enter a Label and, optionally, a Description.
3. Select Create Snapshot.

A snapshot keeps each code's totals as they stood. To view one, choose it from the snapshot list beside Add Budget Item; select Return to Current Budget to go back.

To compare, select Compare and choose two of the current budget and your snapshots. Select Exit Comparison when you're done. The Snapshots tab lists every snapshot, with View and Delete.

The History tab lists changes to the budget with who made them and when: transfers, original budget changes, forecast changes, notes and new snapshots.

Open the row's three-dot menu and select Delete, then confirm. A code with costs or a forecast against it can't be deleted.

Direct costs are costs with no contract behind them, such as plant hire or a one-off invoice. They are on the Direct Costs tab of the contract register, and count in the budget's Direct Costs column.

To record one:

1. On the Direct Costs tab, select Create Direct Cost.
2. Enter its details: a description, type, status, vendor, invoice date and paid date.
3. Add its lines against budget codes, and any attachments.
4. Select Create Direct Cost.

The default statuses are Draft, Approved, Paid, Reconciled and Voided. Voided is excluded from the budget. A direct cost's Paid Date also places it in cashflow.

Bulk Upload reads up to 50 invoices at a time (PDF, PNG or JPEG) into direct costs. Their lines have no budget code, so they don't count in the budget until a code is added.

Budget codes are set up at organisation level. In the organisation sidebar, under Organisation Settings, select Tools, then Budget Codes. The page has two tabs:

• Cost Types: select Add Cost Type and enter its code and name.
• Cost Codes: select Add Cost Code and enter its Code, Name, Parent Code, Level, Order and Description.

A project created with Activate All Templates starts with every organisation code active. On a project, in the project sidebar, under Project Settings, select Tools, then Budget Codes, and use the Activate switches, Activate All or Deactivate All. A code that the project's records use can't be deactivated. Learn more about organisation level and project level.

Direct cost types and statuses are under Tools, then Contracts, on the Types & Statuses tabs.

Permission	Allows
Can manage contract budget	Everything on the Budget, History and Snapshots tabs
Can view direct costs	Seeing the Direct Costs tab
Can create direct costs	Recording direct costs
Can manage (edit, change status of) direct costs	Editing direct costs and changing their status
Can delete direct costs	Deleting direct costs

All five are host only: a guest granted one still can't see the budget or direct costs. A guest sees budget codes only on their own contract's schedule of values. Learn more about how permissions work.