Within Productive, the Resource Planner within the Resourcing tab is your go-to tool for making big-picture time allocations across your team.
Ever wondered who's tackling which project and for how long? What if someone needs to swap in last minute? The Resource Planner has you covered, not just for today but for the next days, weeks, and even months—keeping you in the know without the stress.
Its key features include:
Clear visibility on who is assigned to each service and for how long.
Integration of sick leave, vacations, and off-time into your scheduling.
Efficient distribution of workload to prevent burnout.
Streamlined time tracking, where every scheduled event automatically becomes a time-tracking suggestion.
No need for external tools like Hub Planner or Float; the Resource Planner is included in Productive at no extra cost.
Acts as a foundation for future forecasting and prognosis, allowing you to anticipate revenue and profit for the upcoming 3, 6, or 12 months.
Important: Tasks vs. Services
In Productive, tasks and services serve distinct roles:
Services are tied to time tracking and scheduling. They’re the foundation of budgets or sales deals, and their names appear on invoices sent to clients.
Tasks are used for organizing detailed project work and collaboration within the team or project.
Here’s how they work together:
Budgets and Invoices: You create a budget based on the services you’re providing. Time tracked on these services is reflected on the invoice sent to your client.
Scheduling in Resource Planner: Time is scheduled for services (not tasks), and bookings are assigned to team members.
Tasks as a Complement: While tasks can be added to projects and assigned to team members for granular work management, they are optional. Time can be tracked via tasks, but it must always align with a service, which remains higher in the hierarchy. If your services are well-defined, tasks may not be necessary.
In the Resource Planner, you have three main layouts (or perspectives) to choose from:
People
Projects
Time Off
Each option serves a specific purpose in organizing and managing resources effectively. Let's take a look at each below!
Resource Planner > People
When you select People from the dropdown, you'll notice all your employees listed on the left, allowing you to ensure optimal utilization of your teammates and prevent over or underworking them.
Learn how to book people on budgets and deals from the People perspective here!
Resource Planner > Projects
When selecting Projects from the dropdown, your data is grouped by project rather than person, making it easier to organize and plan the work needed to deliver a project.
Learn how to book people on budgets and deals from the Projects perspective here!
Resource Planner > Time Off
The Time Off section prioritizes time-off categories, simplifying the process of booking people for time off in just a few clicks.
Here's how to add time-off bookings in the Resource Planner.
Tip: Placeholders
Whether you're using the People or Projects perspective in the Resource Planner, consider using Placeholders when planning upcoming projects or hiring new team members.
Placeholders allow you to add bookings for individuals not currently on your team, similar to how you would book existing teammates.
