Budget Management

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Overview

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Accessing Budget Management

• Production Menu → Budget
• Requires manager or admin permissions
• Available only at production level

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Budget Versions

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Creating a Budget

1. Click New Version button
2. Configure budget details:
   • Name: Descriptive name (e.g., “Initial Budget”, “Revised Q2”)
   • Currency: USD, EUR, GBP, etc.
   • Revision Number: Auto-incremented from previous versions
3. Click Create to save

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Version Management

• Latest Version: Default view shows most recent budget
• Version Selector: Dropdown to switch between versions
• Revisions: Versions numbered sequentially (v1, v2, v3…)
• Comparison: Compare different scenarios or track changes over time

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Editing Budgets

1. Select the budget version to edit
2. Click Edit Budget (pencil icon)
3. Modify name or currency
4. Save changes

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Deleting Budgets

1. Click Delete Budget (trash icon)
2. Type budget name to confirm
3. Confirm deletion

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Budget Structure

Budget
├── Department 1 (e.g., Modeling)
│   ├── Person A (Senior Artist)
│   ├── Person B (Lead)
│   └── Hardware Items
│   └── Software Licenses
├── Department 2 (e.g., Animation)
│   ├── Person C (Junior Animator)
│   └── Person D (Supervisor)
└── Department 3...

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Budget Entries

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Adding Budget Entries

1. Click Add Entry button or + in table header
2. Fill in entry details:
   • Person (optional): Specific team member or generic role
   • Department: Department assignment
   • Position: Artist, Lead, or Supervisor
   • Seniority: Junior, Mid, or Senior
   • Start Date: When this person joins the project
   • Duration: Number of months on the project
   • Daily Salary: Daily rate (or use salary scale)
3. Click Add to create entry

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Salary Calculation

// Monthly cost calculation
const monthlySalary = dailySalary * 20 // 20 working days per month
const totalCost = monthlySalary * monthsDuration

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Salary Scale Integration

• Organized by department, position, and seniority
• Auto-populates daily rate based on selection
• Can be overridden per entry
• Ensures consistency across similar roles

{
  'modeling-dept-id': {
    'artist': {
      'junior': 350,
      'mid': 450,
      'senior': 600
    },
    'lead': {
      'mid': 650,
      'senior': 800
    }
  }
}

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Generic Entries

• Leave Person field empty
• Represents planned headcount
• Useful for future hiring or TBD roles
• Example: “2x Junior Animators”

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Editing Budget Entries

1. Click Edit (pencil icon) on any entry row
2. Modify any field
3. Save changes
4. Costs recalculate automatically

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Deleting Budget Entries

1. Click Delete (trash icon) on entry row
2. Confirm deletion
3. Budget totals update immediately

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Month-by-Month Breakdown

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Time Periods

• Past Months: Months from production start to now (can compare to expenses)
• Current Month: Present month
• Future Months: Remaining months until production end

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Monthly Costs

• Base Monthly Cost: Daily salary × 20 days
• Exceptions: Override specific months (e.g., vacation, part-time)
• Cell Display: Shows cost for that month if person is active

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Cost Exceptions

1. Click on a month cell for a person
2. Enter custom amount
3. Saves automatically
4. Useful for:
   • Part-time months
   • Vacation adjustments
   • Ramp-up/ramp-down periods
   • Bonuses or special rates

// Entry with exceptions
{
  daily_salary: 500,
  months_duration: 6,
  start_date: '2024-01-01',
  exceptions: {
    '2024-02': 8000,  // Custom amount for February
    '2024-04': 0      // Unpaid leave in April
  }
}

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Hardware and Software Items

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Linked Items

• Hardware Items: Workstations, render farm, storage
• Software Licenses: Per-seat or department licenses
• Monthly costs allocated proportionally

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Cost Distribution

1. Monthly item cost split across all active personnel in the department
2. If person works that month, they get a share of the item cost
3. Total department item cost = sum of all personnel shares

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Showing/Hiding Items

• Click Show Items button
• Items appear as separate rows under each department
• Included in totals when visible
• Hidden by default for cleaner view

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Expense Tracking

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Loading Expenses

1. Click Show Expenses button
2. System loads actual time spent from timesheets
3. Converts time to cost using person’s daily rate
4. Displays alongside budgeted amounts

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Expense Calculation

// Convert time to cost
const days = timeSpentMinutes / 60 / hoursPerDay
const cost = days * dailyRate

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Budget vs. Actual

• Budgeted: Planned monthly cost
• Done: Actual cost from production start to now
• Expenses: Actual time spent converted to cost
• Remaining: Budgeted cost from now to end

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Variance Analysis

• Compare expenses to done budget
• Overages highlighted (expenses > budget)
• Helps forecast final costs
• Adjust future budgets accordingly

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Budget Analytics

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Total Budget

• Sum of all departments
• Includes hardware/software if shown
• In selected currency

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Summary Stats

• X Departments: Number of departments with budget entries
• Y Entries: Total budget entries (personnel)
• Z Months: Production duration in months

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Cash Repartition (Pie Chart)

• Each department shown as pie slice
• Color-coded by department color
• Percentage of total budget
• Identify highest-cost departments

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Cash Evolution (Column Chart)

• X-axis: Months across production timeline
• Y-axis: Total cost for that month
• Visualize spending peaks and valleys
• Plan cash flow needs

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Export Options

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Export Budget

1. Click Export Budget button
2. Downloads file: budget_[production]_v[revision]_[name]_[currency].csv
3. Includes:
   • Department breakdown
   • Person entries with all details
   • Month-by-month costs
   • Totals and subtotals

Department,Person,Position,Seniority,2024-01,2024-02,...,Total
Modeling,John Smith,Artist,Senior,10000,10000,...,60000
Modeling,Jane Doe,Lead,Senior,12000,12000,...,72000
...

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Budget Workflows

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Initial Budget Creation

1. Set Production Dates
   • Define start and end dates
   • Determines month-by-month timeline
2. Create First Budget Version
   • Name: “Initial Budget” or “Proposal”
   • Set currency
3. Add Department Entries
   • Start with department heads and leads
   • Add artists based on planned headcount
   • Use generic entries for TBD hires
4. Set Salary Scale (if not already done)
   • Define rates per department/position/seniority
   • Ensures consistency
5. Review and Adjust
   • Check totals against client budget
   • Adjust headcount or rates as needed
   • Add hardware/software costs

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Tracking During Production

1. Enable Expense Tracking
   • Click Show Expenses
   • Review actual vs. budgeted costs
2. Monthly Reviews
   • Compare month’s expenses to budget
   • Identify variances early
   • Adjust future months if needed
3. Update Budget Versions
   • Create new version for significant changes
   • Track reasons for budget changes
   • Maintain audit trail

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Budget Revisions

1. Create New Version
   • Increment revision number
   • Descriptive name (e.g., “Post-Milestone-1”)
2. Adjust Entries
   • Add/remove personnel as team changes
   • Update durations based on schedule changes
   • Modify rates if needed
3. Compare Versions
   • Switch between versions to see differences
   • Export both for side-by-side comparison
   • Document reasons for changes

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Budget Best Practices

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Realistic Planning

• Base rates on actual salary data
• Account for ramp-up time (lower productivity initially)
• Include overhead (leads, supervisors, management)
• Factor in training and onboarding time

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Regular Monitoring

• Weekly: Quick check of current month expenses
• Monthly: Detailed variance analysis
• Quarterly: Budget revision and forecasting
• End of Production: Post-mortem for future budgets

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Accurate Time Tracking

• Ensure team logs time consistently
• Time logs must include correct person and task
• Review timesheet completeness before budget meetings

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Department Collaboration

• Share budget summaries with department leads
• Involve leads in budget planning
• Discuss variances and constraints
• Collaborative problem-solving for overages

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Integration with Other Features

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Schedule

• Personnel duration from schedule dates
• Task assignments determine who incurs costs
• Schedule delays directly impact budget

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Timesheets

• Actual time spent converted to costs
• Compare to budgeted time/cost
• Identify efficiency issues

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Quotas

• Higher quotas mean lower cost per deliverable
• Factor quota history into budget estimates
• Cost per frame/shot = Budget / Quota

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Technical Details

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Budget Data Model

// Budget
{
  id: 'uuid',
  project_id: 'uuid',
  name: 'Initial Budget',
  revision: 1,
  currency: 'USD',
  created_at: 'timestamp'
}

// Budget Entry
{
  id: 'uuid',
  budget_id: 'uuid',
  person_id: 'uuid', // nullable for generic entries
  department_id: 'uuid',
  position: 'artist' | 'lead' | 'supervisor',
  seniority: 'junior' | 'mid' | 'senior',
  start_date: '2024-01-01',
  months_duration: 6,
  daily_salary: 500,
  exceptions: {
    '2024-02': 8000
  }
}

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Cost Calculation

1. Load budget entries for selected version
2. Calculate monthly costs per entry
3. Aggregate by department
4. Add hardware/software costs if enabled
5. Load expenses from time spent if enabled
6. Return structured data for rendering

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Real-time Updates

• Changes from other users appear immediately
• Prevents conflicting edits
• Shows who’s viewing/editing

// Socket events
'budget:create' // New budget version created
'budget:update' // Budget edited
'budget:delete' // Budget deleted
'budget-entry:create' // Entry added
'budget-entry:update' // Entry modified
'budget-entry:delete' // Entry removed

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