Allocate Funds from Estimate to Scheduled Tasks

Modified on Thu, 10 Jul at 5:50 AM

The Estimate module helps you connect your project schedule to the budget, making it easier to assign costs and track spending. By linking tasks to estimate line items, you can manage project finances more smoothly and stay ahead of risks.

Tasks automatically inherit cost codes and allocated amounts by tying tasks to estimate line items.
Allows to monitor expenditures with respect to planned cost at the task level in real-time and detect potential overruns early.
Lay the groundwork for faster, more accurate Schedule of Values (SOV) creation.

You can flexibly assign amounts to individual leaf-level tasks in your WBS-based schedule, based on the nature of each task. The Estimate module supports progressive allocation of funds, allowing a single estimate line item to be split across multiple tasks.

Amounts can be assigned in several ways to capture a fraction of the total estimate:

By specifying a portion of the work quantity – useful for quantity-driven tasks.
By entering effort hours – ideal for labor-intensive activities.
By directly assigning a monetary value – for fixed-cost or lump-sum items.

Prerequisites: Ensure that:
An estimate with the list of work items and their planned cost amounts are uploaded to the project and locked.
Required tasks, subtasks and activities are added to the contractor schedule and publised

To assign estimate to individual schedule items

Ensure that you're in the Project Estimates Allocation screen. If not:
- Click the app launcherand select 'Finance' from the project management console
- Click 'Estimates' on top, then select 'Allocate Estimate' on the left

The screen shows the project estimate with the following columns:

Task Code - The cost code of the line item. Typically, this is the standard code for the task or deliverable as per CSI Master Format. If your company uses a custom coding system, the corresponding code is shown.
Task Name - The label of the work/task item
Division Code - The code denoting the division under which the work falls. Applies to CSI codes only.
Division Name - The name of the division or section related to the work. Applies to CSI codes only. For custom codes, the task name is shown.
Total Estimate - The total planned amount for the item
Remaining Estimate - The estimate amount remaining after allotment to relevant schedule items. This value is dynamically calculated on every fractional allotment of funds from this estimate line item to a task item.
Remaining Quantity - The estimated quantity of work remaining after allotment to relevant schedule items. This value is dynamically calculated on every fractional allotment of funds from this estimate line item to a task item.
Unit of Measure - Units by which the amount of work done is measured
Remaining Effort Hours - The number of labor hours still available for assignment after allocation to relevant schedule tasks. This value is dynamically recalculated with each incremental distribution of effort hours from this estimate line item to a task item.
Rate Per hour - The standard labor cost assigned for each hour of work under this estimate line item
Remaining Labor Cost - The portion of the labor estimate that remains after allocation to associated schedule items. This value is dynamically updated with each incremental assignment of labor costs from this estimate line item to a task item.
Remaining Material Cost - The portion of the material estimate still available after allotment to relevant schedule tasks. This value is automatically recalculated upon each partial allocation of material costs from this estimate line item.
Remaining Equipment Cost - The estimated equipment cost that remains unassigned after allocation to applicable schedule items. It is recalculated dynamically with every partial allocation from this estimate line item to a task.
Remaining Subcontractor Cost - The portion of the subcontractor amount still unutilized after allocation to specific schedule tasks. This value updates dynamically with each fractional assignment from this line item.
Remaining Other Cost - The remaining amount from the ‘Other’ estimate category after allocations to related schedule tasks. This value is continuously updated as funds from this line item are incrementally assigned.
Remaining Overhead Cost - The leftover overhead amount following allotments to applicable schedule items. This value recalculates automatically upon every partial distribution from this line item.
Remaining Profit - The portion of projected profit still unassigned after allocations related to schedule items. This value is dynamically recalculated with each task-level allotment from this estimate line item.
Contractor - The subcontractor company to which the line item is assigned.

Search and filter options:

Use the 'Search' box located at the top left to find any project using any value from the table as search criteria
Right-click the column header and customize the display and order of the columns as you wish
The options at the top right allow you to filter the entries, and manage personalized and customized views of the table. Use the links below to learn more about these:

View Groups and Subtotals

You can get totals and subtotals of numerical data for any selected set of records by grouping and applying nested grouping. Use the icon at the top right to organize the data by column headers.
The system automatically aggregates relevant numerical values, giving a structured breakdown and a clear view of the grand total distribution. See Group and Organize Items in a List View for more details

Download as Excel Sheet

Click the button at the top right to save a local copy of the list in Excel format for sharing and record-keeping. See Download List Views and Logs in Excel Format for more details.

Select a line item to distribute funds from it to a task item by clicking the serial number

All applicable schedule items from the contractor schedule appear in the lower pane.

Enter the funds to be allocated to a task. You can assign the amount in four different ways:

1. Total Amount

Double-click inside the 'Allocation Amount' column in the row of the schedule item.
You can specify the total planned amount for the task using either of the following methods:

(i) Amount – Manually enter the total dollar amount estimated for the task.

The system proportionally deducts this amount from the relevant cost types in the estimate and applies it to the task.

(ii) Percentage – Enter the percentage of the estimate to be allocated to the task, using the percentage symbol (e.g., 60%).

The system calculates the corresponding dollar amount and deducts it proportionally from the estimate.

2. Custom Allocation by cost type

Double-click inside any of the cost type columns—Labor, Material, Equipment, etc.—in the row of the task item.
Manually enter specific dollar amounts for each applicable cost type.
Enter ‘0’ for cost types not relevant to the task.

Each value is deducted from its corresponding cost type in the estimate, with real-time updates to remaining balances.

3. Work Quantity

Double-click inside the 'Allocation Quantity' column in the row of the schedule item.
Enter the quantity of work associated with the task.

The system calculates and assigns proportional costs for each cost type and deducts them from the linked estimate line item.

4. Effort Hours Required

Double-click inside the 'Effort Hours' column in the row of the schedule item.
Enter the estimated number of effort hours needed for the task.

The system automatically calculates the corresponding cost and deducts it from the estimate, with immediate balance updates.

Repeat this process to assign funds to all relevant schedule items as needed.