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Help Billing, Cost & Revenue Managers

SmartBudget setup checklist

Certain data must be available in Polaris for SmartBudget to make useful calculations. Refer to the checklist below for settings you must configure before adding and committing a SmartBudget.

You’ll need Administrator permissions to configure these settings.
You can use our import tool or mass edit functionality to quickly and easily add or update roles, role assignments, direct cost values, and schedules.

Setting

Configure at

Notes

Assign the Cost & Billing Administrator default permission set to the user who will be setting up cost and role data, and adding and committing SmartBudgets

To assign sets to users:

Administration > Users > Roles & Permissions tab

This permission set is based on the Administrator type, and has SmartBudget access enabled, along with all of the other permissions required to set up and use SmartBudget

Ensure all needed billable roles exist

You can import roles.

Administration > Projects > Project Roles

At least one role must exist. You don’t need to assign rates.

Ensure you’ve selected Yes for the Billable field.

Ensure all users are assigned the appropriate primary role

You can import role assignments using the User import.

Resource Management > Roles field 

You can also view a user’s primary role on the main page of their user profile

Each billable role must be assigned to at least one user before you can add a SmartBudget.

You can assign roles to non-billable users, but it’s not required.

Enter all business costs for your organization

Administration > Company > Business Costs

This might include rent, utilities, insurance, office equipment and supplies, entertainment, travel expenses, etc.

Business costs are typically added as annual amounts.

Business costs will apply to any SmartBudget whose period overlaps the cost effective dates by at least one day. This establishes an amount per day rate, that the SmartBudget will apply to each day in the plan.

If a SmartBudget is created with no overlapping business costs, no business costs will be factored into that plan’s calculations.

Ensure all users have a direct cost assigned

Administration > Users > Billing & Cost tab

This value represents the employee’s total costs to your organization, excluding  costs covered under business costs. It typically includes salary, paid time off, cost of travel, etc., and is usually added as an annual amount.

Ensure this is set for all employees, not just billable ones.
The date range for direct cost must overlap with a SmartBudget period by at least one day, for each user, or the SmartBudget won’t generate.

Ensure all users are assigned an office schedule

You can assign schedules using User mass edit.

To create schedules:

Administration > Schedules > Office Schedules 

To assign them to users:

Administration > Users > Schedule tab

Scheduled hours are used to determine the hours used in cost calculations. If no schedule is in effect, the last hours per day value is used.

Schedule effective dates do not have to overlap with the plan period.

FAQs

Are all business costs required?

Yes, if you want the SmartBudget calculations to produce optimal goal rates. The less accurate and complete your cost data, the less optimal your calculated rates will be, so it’s advisable to input all relevant costs into the system.

Related links

Maximizing profit with SmartBudget
Adding and committing a SmartBudget
How SmartBudget billing rates are calculated
Setting up roles
Mass adding, updating, and deleting data using data import