Every budget in Productive is associated with specific start (obligatory) and end (optional) dates. These dates serve several purposes:
Revenue Reporting Date: The budget's start date marks when its revenue will be reported. For instance, if the budget starts in January 2024, all revenue related to it will be reported from that month onward.
Time Tracking Start Date: It also indicates the date from which individuals can commence tracking time against this budget. For instance, if a budget starts on January 30, 2024, any time logged against its services before this date will trigger an "Out-of-Range" error message.
Bookings in Resourcing: The start and end dates ensure that individuals can be booked for budget services only within the specified date range parameters. If an end date is defined, bookings can only be made within the range between the start and end dates. If there's no end date, only the start date is considered for booking purposes.
The "Out-of-Range" error we get in this instance doesn't imply that the budget doesn't exist; rather, it signifies that the budget's start date is set in the future. Consequently, work on this budget cannot commence until the specified start date arrives.
Adjusting the Budget Start Date
Budget Owners: Budget owners can directly adjust the budget's start date. Once modified, all users can begin tracking time from the updated start date onward.
Staff Members: Staff members need to request the budget owner to adjust the start date on their behalf.
End Date
Additionally, budgets can have end dates, indicating the last day on which time can be tracked against the budget's services.
In terms of revenue recognition models, especially when considering options related to fixed-price revenue recognition, the budget end date can play an important role. For more information on this, refer to this article.
Date Range in Recurring Budgets
In the case of recurring budgets, a date range is established.
For instance, if a budget recurs monthly, a new budget will be generated on each recurrence, each with its unique date range.
