Budgets & Billing

Overview

Budget tracking in SimplyManage helps you monitor project costs, prevent overruns, and ensure profitability. Set budgets based on hours or monetary amounts and track progress in real-time.

Budget Types

SimplyManage supports two budget types:

Hours Budget

Set a total number of hours allocated to the project. As time is tracked, remaining hours decrease. Best for:

• Fixed-scope projects
• Internal projects without billing
• Resource allocation planning

Cost Budget

Set a monetary budget. Costs are calculated based on hourly rates and tracked time. Best for:

• Client billing projects
• Projects with varying team rates
• Financial reporting

Setting a Budget

To set or modify a project budget:

1. Navigate to Projects and select your project
2. Click Edit Project or go to the Budget tab
3. Enter the budget type and amount
4. Optionally set budget alert thresholds
5. Click Save

Billing Rates

Billing rates determine how tracked time translates to cost:

Project Rate

Default hourly rate for all time tracked to the project. Set in project settings.

Member-Specific Rate

Override rates for specific team members. Useful when senior and junior team members have different rates.

Task Rate

Override rate for specific tasks. Useful for different work types within the same project.

Monitoring Budget Progress

Track your budget status in several places:

Project Dashboard

• Visual progress bar showing budget consumption
• Percentage complete
• Remaining budget (hours or cost)
• Projected overage warnings

Project List

• Budget status indicators on each project
• Color coding: Green (on track), Yellow (warning), Red (over budget)

Budget Alerts

Set up automatic notifications when budget thresholds are reached:

1. In project settings, go to Budget Alerts
2. Set threshold percentages (e.g., 75%, 90%, 100%)
3. Choose who receives alerts (project manager, team, admin)
4. Click Save

Budget Reports

Generate detailed budget reports:

• Budget vs. Actual - Compare planned vs. spent
• Burn rate - How fast budget is being consumed
• Forecasting - Projected completion and overruns
• Team breakdown - Who is consuming budget

Learn more about reports →

Handling Over-Budget Projects

When a project exceeds budget:

• Visual warnings appear in the project view
• Time tracking continues (unless restricted by admin)
• Over-budget entries are flagged in reports
• Consider requesting budget increase from the client

Related Topics

• Creating Projects
• Billing Rates
• Reports & Analytics