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:

 

Toolbar

 

In the toolbar under the budget tab, there are several buttons (as seen in the image above):

• New (+): Create a new row in the budget – adds a row where you can enter a calculation item.

• Save: Saves changes.

• Delete: Remove one or several rows from the budget.

• Revision: Dropdown menu to switch between different budget revisions.

• Add budget row: Add a budget line with the possibility to fetch resources from the price list or hourly rates.

• Edit budget row: Edit a budget line with the possibility to fetch resources from the price list or hourly rates.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• Create procurement: Create purchase posts or purchase rows on existing purchases.

• Activities/Location: Project register of available activity and location codes.

• 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:

1. The account needs to have the attribute Work in the Chart of accounts (Admin > Accounting > Chart of accounts)

2. The unit must be hours

3. 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.

• Account in Next (in Next Project): Account in Next Project's Chart of accounts. Can occur multiple times.

Professional roles

• Role (calculation system): Job code in the calculation system.

• Professional role in Next (in Next Project): Code in the Hourly rates register.

Special Accounts

• Account type: Account for labor used if a role cannot be matched.

• 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.

• Activity (Admin > Accounting): Standard registry for activity codes and names.

• Location (Admin > Accounting): Standard registry for location codes and names.

• 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

 

Administrative Permissions

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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