The budget control
The budget control feature can be used on a project, a project group, a projects list or a customer.
A budget control enables you to perform the following main actions:
- Track labor activities
- Track a project's progress
- Track budget items (distribution of costs and products)
- Track, correct and analyze the remaining tasks
- Calculate a gross or end margin

To create and use a budget control, the following management rule must be activated:
- CTRL_BUD_AFF to manage and customize budget plan templates
Then, the following DMFs must be enabled:
- 060124 PROJECT BUDGET CONTROL - VIEW
- 060125 PROJECT BUDGET CONTROL - TIME SPENT DETAILS
- 060126 PROJECT BUDGET CONTROL - MODIFY / REVIEW
- 060127 PROJECT BUDGET CONTROL - PRINT
- 060153 PROJECT BUDGET CONTROL - VALUE TIME AT DIRECT COST
- 060156 PROJECT BUDGET CONTROL - REMAINING TO DO BY PROJECT
- 060157 PROJECT BUDGET CONTROL - BUDGET BY PROJECT
- 060161 PROJECT BUDGET CONTROL - REMAINING TO DO BY PHASE
- 060162 PROJECT BUDGET CONTROL - BUDGET BY PHASE
You can create multiple budget controls that can be published in xls or pdf formats. However, it is recommended to only set up a single budget control, especially if it is used to store budget values and remaining tasks.

1 | Go to Tools > Setup > General setup > Project > Budget plan (items) > |
2 | Enter a code and a label to add a new budget control. |
3 | Click on |
4 | Apply the following procedures, in the correct order, then save: |

1 | Enter the item's code, that will be used to write formulas (if necessary). |
2 | Enter the label that will be displayed in the project's budget control. |
3 | In the Sign field, enter 1 or -1, depending on the sign you want to display in front of a data. This sign is used during calculation, in case a subtotal or a total is added. |
4 | In the drop-down list, select the line type to display: |
- Total (the sum of all sub-totals)
- Sub-total (the sum of indicated items)
- Accounting item: retrieves all the desired management objects
- Calculated item
- Percentage
- Formula
5 | In the drop-down list, select the job type to display: |
- Product
- Expense
- Labor quantity
- Labor valuation
- Product quantity
- Quantity of expenses
6 | Under Item subtotal, enter the item that will contain the sub-total of all the lines. |
7 | Under Formula, enter each item's formula. |
8 | Indicate the validation manager, meaning the person in charge of validating the line (or item). |

This tab enables you to set up the budget control, and specifically to hide or show the columns displayed by default, as well as the columns that will be available for publishing in xls or pdf formats.
Field | Description |
---|---|
Calculation section | |
Authorize the use of formulas on "Accounting item" type items | Enables you to use formulas on a type of item that does not have an associated formula. |
Recalculate sum items at the end of processing | Enables you to check the calculation at the end of the process. |
Calculate column formulas before item formulas | Enables you to first calculate column formulas then item formulas, that will replace the column formulas if there is an interaction. |
Restart calculation at the end of processing | Enables you to check the calculations. |
Take into account the validation date of supplier and customer orders | Enables you to indicate whether the order will be displayed as validated in the data related to the budget control at the closing date, even if the object was validated afterwards. |
To be valuated with the generic employee | Enables you to assign a value to a generic employee. |
Input section | |
Authorize the input of negative remaining tasks | Enables you to enter remaining tasks in negative numbers. |
View section | |
Force display in Day/Time | Enables you to choose the default view. |

1 | Go to Tools > Setup > General setup > Project > Budget plan (columns) > |
2 | Choose the budget control and double-click to fill in columns. |
3 | Click on |
4 | Apply the following procedures in the correct order: |

1 | Enter the code (2 characters) that will be used to write formulas. |
2 | Enter the label that will be displayed in the budget control. |
3 | Enter the following information in Column type: |
- Formula: enables you to make column-based calculations. The order of the columns must be followed. For example: C1 + C2 = C3
- Line parameter-based calculation: the calculation is done based on the line type.
- Enter amount: column in which you will be able to directly enter a value from the budget control. This budget control will be automatically updated after data input. These columns are displayed in blue.
- Input in percentage: same as the previous type, but in percentages.
- Description: column in which a description can be added.
You can decide whether to display this column or not. Indeed, you must not necessarily display a column to be able to use it for calculations.

This tab enables you to check the objects that you want to use when calculating the items of a column.
1 | Set up an item with the accounting type and a product line type. |
2 | Set up a column with the line parameter-based calculation type. |
3 | Under Products, calculate all signed quotations. As such, the box where the item and the column cross will retrieve all signed quotations. |
4 | Be careful to enter the correct time periods to retrieve the relevant management objects and to value the labor. |
5 | In the Formula field, use the code field that you have previously set up. |
6 | Save. |

Akuiteo gives you the possibility to create item and column formulas.
To do so, the fields of the Item and Label fields are used. An option is a data displayed above the budget control, indicating the cross between a column and an item.
Item
Calculating the margin
Item formulas enable you to calculate totals and subtotals. For example, you want to calculate a sub-total titled MARGIN.
For each item, add the MARGIN item in the Item subtotal. This name will be used for the Sub-total item type.
For example, when setting up the AC item, MARGIN was entered in the Item subtotal field. This means the MARGIN item will be the sum of all the items with a subtotal labeled as "MARGIN".
To calculate the margin, you can also use a Formula line type. In this case, you must directly insert the formula in the relevant field.
Calculating margin rates
You can calculate rates, for example a margin rate. There are two ways to calculate a rate:
1 | Create an item with the Percentage type. |
2 | Enter the numerator in the second box under Item subtotal. |
3 | Enter the denominator in the third box under Item subtotal. |
or
1 | Create an item with the Formula type. |
2 | Enter the calculation in the Formula field, based on the Item field. |
Condition-based calculation
The budget control also enables you to make condition-based calculations. For example, you can do the calculation in the item if the columns match with the actual amount or the updated forecast, but return zero if the column matches with the forecast.
Column formula
Additions and subtractions
You can make calculations between the various columns by keeping the order: C1 + C2 = C3 and not: C1 + C3 = C2.
For example, you want to calculate the updated forecast, i.e. the sum of the actual and the forecast.
1 | Under the General tab, fill in the updated forecast column of the Formula type. |
2 | Write the formula in the dedicated field. |
Condition-based calculation
As with the items, you can enter conditioned formulas for columns.
if(codePoste.equals) for an item
if(colonne.equals) for a column
Options
Set up the options in the budget control setup for items, in the Options tab. The option links up the item and the column.
The option enables you to showcase a data. Options are displayed above the budget control. You can set up an alert message if the option is negative.


To access the budget control from a project:
- Go to Edit > Dashboard > Budget control by project;
- Click on
> Budget control by project.
To access the budget control from a project search:
- Click on
> Budget control by project.
To directly display the budget control from the toolbar:
- Go to Edit > Preferences > General > Project > Actions and check Budget control.
The results will vary depending on the selected closing date.

From the budget control lines, double-click on the relevant items and check that the reported data are correct.
This detail displays all the management objects used for this item, such as all the supplier invoices with the dates, the amount, the description, the third-parties, the product families, the project and the account as well as the pre-tax amount. This information will enable you to check the consistency in the budget control.
The procedure is the same when dealing with the forecast.
By right-clicking directly in the table, you can export the budget control to Excel.

The budget column is part of the default columns that are displayed in the budget control.
To do so, go to Setup and uncheck the Budget box.
It is recommended to enter the initial budget to be able to make calculations.
E.g. see the budget progress as compared to the actual and forecast budget. To do so, you have to add a new column with the formula type, that will enable you to see when the budget is exceeded:
- Code: EB
- Label: Exceeds budget
This formula must be used when dealing with provisional data.
To modify a budget control:
1 | Modify the budget control and double-click on a line to modify it. |
2 | Enter the budget in the window that opens. |
The columns that can be modified are displayed in blue in the budget control.

Management rules and prerequisites
You must enter a remaining task in the management rule only if Akuiteo does not have enough data to calculate a forecast column.
Entering the budget and the remaining tasks enables you to carry out a comprehensive budget control while managing the data of both the current (M) and the previous (M-1) months.
History-related data are static and cannot be modified. As such, you can easily manage the remaining tasks of the current month.
If the remaining tasks must be managed, you must enable the AFF_MEMO_ARRETE.
The company's closing
From the project search screen, go to Edit > Company closing (the AFF_MEMO_ARRETE control must be activated).
This feature enables you to log the current remaining tasks until the closing date. By default, this date is the last day of the previous month. As such, you will be able to enter the remaining tasks for the current month.
All the remaining tasks available on the projects in progress until this date will therefore be logged in the remaining tasks n-1.
Updating the budget and remaining tasks
From the budget control, click on the arrow on the right of the icon in the menu bar to display different update options.
Depending on the setup of the budget control regarding the input of the budget and the remaining tasks, you can choose the type of update you want to perform. This option enables you to first enter the budget, then the remaining tasks.
Item visibility for the input of budgets and remaining tasks
In the item setup, a visibility option is added for the input of budgets and remaining tasks. Check this option to allow the input of budgets and remaining tasks when using the related update feature for this item. Otherwise, you will not be able to enter any amount in the items' input columns.
New columns
In the item setup, you can add standard columns.
All these columns (n-1) correspond to data from the previous period, that have already been logged (if you log your data at each end of the month, then the remaining tasks (n-1) correspond to those of the previous month).
Column visibility for the input of budgets and remaining tasks
In the column setup > General tab, several options are added to define whether to hide the columns when updating budgets and remaining tasks (that is to say when entering amounts). By default, all columns are hidden, except for input columns.
New periods
In the column setup > Management objects tab, several options are available for Periods.
You must check the relevant periods so the column can retrieve the corresponding data for each item.

Examples of items to set up
In the expert setup, all the boxes related to standard columns are checked, except for the budget.
Code | Label | Line type | Job type | Sign | Associated values/Formulas | Columns description/Formulas |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SA | Sales | Accounting item | Product | 1 | Item subtotal: MARGIN | |
LP | Labor | Labor position valued | Labor valuation | -1 | Item subtotal: MARGIN | |
PM | Purchases | Accounting item | Expense | -1 | Item subtotal: MARGIN | |
MARGIN | Margin | Sub-total or Formula | Product | 1 | retour=MARGIN=SA-LP-PM | If you use the Item subtotal field, then you do not need to enter a formula. |
MRA | Margin rate | Formula | Product | 1 | retour=pourcentage(MARGIN,SA); | You can also calculate the margin rate using the 2nd and 3rd fields of the Item subtotal that enable you to divide a numerator by a denominator (enter the items' codes). |
Examples of columns to set up
Code | Label | Line type | Associated values/Formulas | Columns description/Formulas |
---|---|---|---|---|
AC | Actual | Line parameter-based calculation | ||
FC | Forecast | Line parameter-based calculation | ||
UF | Updated forecast | Formula | retour=UF=AC+FC | |
EB | Exceeds budget | Formula | retour=EB=budget-AC-FC | If you use the remaining tasks, you must add the column in the expert setup, and add the following calculation in the EB column: retour=EB=budget-AC-resteafaire |