Please note that this article shows Next Projects's budget module with the dimensions Activity and Location enabled. If these are not available in your database, contact Next for more information or click here to order.
Next Project allows you to create, edit, and follow up on your production budget for a project. The budget is divided into a cost and revenue tab, where costs can be broken down by the dimensions Account, Activity, and Location.
Budget tab
Columns
In the budget tab, there are several columns that work as follows:
|
Column Name |
Description |
|
Info note |
Ability to make a note on the row you are on, e.g., for internal information. |
|
Account Number |
Account number for the cost. An account number from Next's chart of accounts. Can be matched with another account through the Calculation import. This is a mandatory dimension. |
|
Account Name |
Description of the account number. |
|
Activity |
An optional dimension for cost. Used to break down and group costs. Can be added through Imports manually on projects or from the standard activity register. |
|
Location |
An optional dimension for cost. Used to break down and group costs. Can be added through Imports manually on projects or from the standard activity register. |
|
Tender estimate |
The original estimated cost for this project. Cannot be changed after creation. |
|
Adjustment |
Adjustment to the original estimate. Adjustments can be made manually by changing this column in the production budget quantity or unit cost. |
|
Production Budget |
Production Budget Calculated Cost + adjustment. This is the budget you work with in the forecast. |
|
Code |
A code describing the resource. |
|
Description |
Text describing this specific budget line. |
|
Account Type |
Category describing the type of account used. Can be set in the chart of accounts. |
|
Quantity |
Quantity of resource. |
|
Unit |
Unit of resource. |
|
Unit cost |
Unit cost. Cost per each unit. |
|
Note |
Additional information about this budget line. Searchable via filter. |
|
Changed by |
Who made the last change to the budgeted account. |
|
Changed |
Date of the last account change in the budget. |
Toolbar
In the toolbar under the budget tab, there are several buttons (as seen in the image above):
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New (+): Create a new row in the budget – adds a row where you can enter a calculation item.
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Save: Saves changes.
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Delete: Remove one or several rows from the budget.
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Revision: Dropdown menu to switch between different budget revisions.
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Add budget row: Add a budget line with the possibility to fetch resources from the price list or hourly rates.
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Edit budget row: Edit a budget line with the possibility to fetch resources from the price list or hourly rates.
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Create budget from: Two options: Excel/Data Creates a budget from supported file formats (See more under the import section) Calculation import that supports specific files from supported calculation software providers.
-
Merge rows: Merge selected rows to the smallest common denominator and update that row with user input. Often used to lower the level of detail when purchasing a service instead of performing it yourself.
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Change log: Logs every change in the budget from creation to update, including the deletion of rows. Full traceability at the row level, including the date and time down to the minute when the change occurred.
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Missing in Budget: A dialogue that shows you potential errors in your budget. Shows data from Next Project that cannot be linked to a corresponding budget line.
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Compilation: A dialogue that summarizes data in your budget. Shows aggregated views of resources, accounts, or activities. Gives you the opportunity to update specific data.
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Create procurement: Create purchase posts or purchase rows on existing purchases.
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Activities/Location: Project register of available activity and location codes.
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Print: Print a PDF report.
Creating a budget
Enter your budget in the Budget tab. Here you can add budget lines manually with an account and an estimated cost. However, we recommend that you import the budget from a spreadsheet. You can import spreadsheets from Wikells and BidCon or via Excel. In Wikells there is an export option to Next Project and in BidCon there is an option to export Resource Data (.SKV).
Don't forget to enter a budget on both the Cost tab and the Revenue tab!
Importing Budget from File
You can import calculations from Wikells and BidCon or via Excel. In Wikells and BidCon, there's an export option to Next Project.
Excel/Data
Through the Excel import, you can bring a budget from virtually any calculation program by entering exported data from the calculation system into an Excel file. The file should contain only one type of data per column, but otherwise, Next Project handles the import file regardless of naming and column order.
For an even simpler import, there's a template to download on the first page of the import.
Supported file formats for the import are XLS(X), CSV, TSV, XML, and JSON.
The prerequisite for being able to import an Excel file is that the Account Number and Project Number are set up in Next Project. As long as you have that, you can read a file from virtually any program via the Excel import:
To read a file, drag and drop, or alternatively choose a file from the explorer to upload in the dialogue.
If the file contains several sheets, select the sheets to be imported. Then choose which row in the file contains headings that will be used in the next step to match data in the file against Next Project.
If the Next Project template is used, the columns have been matched automatically. Next will try to match the columns even in other files; if any column lacks matching, it can be done manually at this step.
For some columns, it's also possible to match data in the file against specific data in Next Project, for example, Account, Unit, and activity. It's not mandatory to match every account against a corresponding account in Next. However, it's recommended to do it at this step or to cancel the import and update the basic data in the file or Next.
After the matching step, the user can review entries. Here, you have the opportunity to edit your import data similarly to Excel. Next Project will also inform you of any errors preventing the system from reading the data. Here, you can directly correct errors. If a "Massive error" message appears, it indicates there are many incorrect rows in the data to be imported. The recommendation is to cancel the import, identify the source of error, correct it, and then try the import again.
The Project Card
Once the budget is entered into Next Project, the project card will be updated with budgeted values. See the Budget line in the box to the right in the image below:
Budgeting hours
To budget hours, the line in the budget must fulfil the following requirements:
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The account needs to have the attribute Work in the Chart of accounts (Admin > Accounting > Chart of accounts)
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The unit must be hours
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There must be a quantity
If all three requirements are met, the budgeted hours will be displayed in the Forecast module under the column Current budget - Budget hours.
Activity and Location
After completing the import, Next Project will add imported dimensions under the project register for Activities/Locations. Here, more dimensions can be manually added or retrieved from the company's standard registry.
Budget Revisions
It is possible to create new revisions of a budget in Next and only the latest budget is editable. The latest budget is what the Forecast module will use as reference. It is also possible to lock the latest budget revision with the Lock button.
A budget revision can have a name and a comment. Each revision also shows when it was created and revised as well as by whom.
Admin
Account Mapping/Calculation Import
In Admin > Integrations > Import of calculation, it is possible to create various mappings for calculation files. The mapping to be used is chosen in the import process. It consists of Accounts, Professional roles, and Special accounts.
Accounts
-
Account No (calculation system): Can occur once.
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Account in Next (in Next Project): Account in Next Project's Chart of accounts. Can occur multiple times.
Professional roles
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Role (calculation system): Job code in the calculation system.
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Professional role in Next (in Next Project): Code in the Hourly rates register.
Special Accounts
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Account type: Account for labor used if a role cannot be matched.
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Account in Next (in Next Project): An account in Next Project's Chart of accounts.
Registers
Registers are essential for standardizing the codes and names used within the system for activities, locations, and account types. These registers provide a foundation for categorizing financial transactions and project-related activities.
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Activity (Admin > Accounting): Standard registry for activity codes and names.
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Location (Admin > Accounting): Standard registry for location codes and names.
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Account Type (Admin > Settings > Types): Naming of account types used in the calculation import for summarizing rows and displayed in the budget.
Permissions
Below you will find a description for various permissions associated with module and administrative functionalities within Next Project. These permissions are crucial for defining user permissions and ensuring secure and efficient project management.
Module Permissions
|
Name |
Comment |
|
Booked cost/revenue - Change Activity/Location |
Grants the user permission to edit the columns Activity and Location |
|
Budget |
Grants the user permission to manage the Budget module |
|
Budget - Lock budget revision |
Allows the user to Lock and Unlock a Budget revision |
|
Procurement |
Grants the user the permission to create procurement entries and lines via the Budget module |
|
Forecast |
Allows the user to create, edit, lock, and delete forecasts |
Administrative Permissions
|
Name |
Comment |
|
Activity-based budget and forecasting |
Activates the columns Activity and Location in Next |
|
Administer activity |
Grants the user access to the Activity registry |
|
Administer location |
Grants the user access to the Location registry |
Project Setup and Reporting
The dimensions of Activity and Location are found on all rows generating a cost (order lines, hours, and booked costs), just like the account dimension. These dimensions are also present in the Procurement module and e-Invoice.
Unlike the dimension Account, these dimensions (Activity and Location) are rarely found in financial systems. To facilitate our users' work and allocate costs on the dimensions of Activity and Location, Next has built a solution where a cost is automatically booked to an Activity and/or Location if this is set up on a Work order or a Deviation Order.
If Work orders and Deviation Orders are already being transferred to the financial system, it suffices to set up the dimensions on the Work order, and cost lines will automatically be booked to its Activity and/or Location per default. This can manually be changed on each respective order line.
Other Settings
It is possible to determine a specific account where Deviation Orders' revenue is to be shown in the Forecast. This setting is called PrognosisRevenueAccount.
News – latest updates from release notes
Summary of changes and improvements retrieved from Next Project's release notes.
2026
May 2026
- We have made adjustments to improve performance in cases where you have many activities and modes in your database
April 2026
- Activity and Mode have been added to Accounting cost/Int – Revenue and are displayed in the same way as in Accounting cost/Int – Costs. The columns are hidden at release and can be enabled via Show/Hide columns
March 2026
- It is now possible to change activity and mode on posted costs, posted hours and order lines even after they have been invoiced, provided the user has the correct permissions
- The section Continue started activities on the home page in the mobile app has been clarified. Categories, such as Work Orders and Time Sheet, have been added. If an activity applies to the Master Agreement, the project name is now displayed instead of the word Master Agreement, making it easier to identify which project the activity belongs to
- The Activity and Mode fields in Posting in e-Invoice are now displayed correctly and no longer have any display errors
February 2026
- Added support for selecting "SortingNumber" as a mode when importing Wikell file in budget, which automatically applies it to budget lines and makes it possible to create new modes if they don't already exist
- Activities are now sorted by activity number on customer invoices created from Payment Plan
Previous updates
2025
December 2025
- An invoice with tax deduction for ROT or Green Technology can now not be locked unless it contains either a property name OR the housing cooperative number + apartment number
November 2025
- In the new mobile app, it is now possible to change activity and mode on work order lines. When a time entry is changed, related items will inherit these values from the time entry
October 2025
- When copying time, location and activity will be displayed according to the copied entry
September 2025
- Now displays work order information also in edit mode in Time Sheet
- Before summer, the ability to display calculated quantities on order lines was released. Now adjusted slightly so that calculated quantity is displayed more clearly and not just in edit mode
August 2025
- Fixed an error where items from a checklist in a work order in a certain mode could be displayed incorrectly in the checklist in ÄTA
June 2025
- Fixed a visual bug where the button to clear activity and mode was displayed in the wrong place
May 2025
- Fixed so that "Order Contact" cannot be changed in payment plan after final invoice has been sent. Everything else is only in read only mode, but through the button with dots you could previously incorrectly access changing contact
March 2025
- Fixed issue with column widths that in certain modes did not match the headers in the project overview
- Activity and Mode are now visible and information is retrieved when registering time from work order when creating time
February 2025
- Made available reporting of Activity and Mode when reporting time when working with budget
2024
October 2024
- You can now filter Activity and Mode with the selection "not equal to"
August 2024
- In budget, a column for Account Description has been added and Mode, for those who have Activity-based budget and forecast enabled, has been added to the dropdown list in the Summary
June 2024
- Contract amount can now be adjusted via a new field, Adjustment. The Adjustment field will be enabled for editing when a new revision of the payment plan is created and there is at least one invoice linked to the payment plan. The field can only be updated once per revision. When the adjustment value is updated, the diff value will correspond to the adjustment amount. At this point, the user needs to adjust the payment value in existing activities or add a new activity so that the payment can be adjusted to the new total contract amount (Contract amount + Adjustment). More information can be found on Helpdesk
April 2024
- There is now an option to create activities from budget in the payment plan for those who have enabled Activity-based budget & forecast in your Next Project
February 2024
- We have added a column for account number in Payment Plan, the account is used when the activity is invoiced