Learn how to create budgets using Productive's Simple Budget Editor which lets you add services and billing types to your budgets quickly and efficiently.
Enabling the Simple Budget Editor
To use the Simple Budget Editor, check the box at the bottom of the Budget wizard during budget creation.
The default status of this checkbox depends on your settings in Settings > Budget.
If the "Advanced mode" toggle is ON, the Simple Budget Editor checkbox will be unchecked by default.
If the toggle is OFF, the Simple Budget Editor checkbox will be checked by default.
Regardless of the toggle setting, you can manually adjust the checkbox as needed!
Budget type options
In the Simple Budget Editor, the initial step is choosing the budget type, with three options available: Time and Materials, Fixed Price, and Non-billable.
Time and Materials
The Time and Materials billing corresponds to the "Actuals" billing type, where invoicing is based on actual work (hours and expenses) logged in Productive.
Find out more about this budget type here.
Fixed Price
The Fixed price billing type lets you define the precise billing amount for the client while still allowing time tracking against budget services.
Find out more about this budget type here.
Non-billable
The Non-billable option is perfect for tracking work and hours not intended for client billing, incurring costs without generating revenue.
Find out more about this budget type here.
Services
In the services section, you can choose the specific services to include in your budget.
Based on your budget type, selected billable rates, and budget totals, the services screen adjusts to allow you to assign team members to services, add new services to the budget, or allocate non-billable hours, among other options, as needed.
Expenses budget
In the expenses budget section, you can account for any expenses related to your budget, whether or not they are billable to your client.
Filling in the information here creates a separate category in your budget intended specifically for tracking expenses, meaning that no time can be logged against the services there (and people cannot be booked on them in Resourcing).
You have three options for expense billing types:
Time and Materials billing type expense
With this option, you can invoice expenses as they occur and are logged in Productive, allowing you to have a larger expense budget while only invoicing for actual expenses.
Fixed billing type expense
This option allows you to bill a fixed (pre-set) amount for each expense, regardless of the number or amount of expenses logged.
Non-billable expense type
Selecting this option indicates that the expense is not billable to the client. It remains as an additional cost in the budget, with no further billing or invoicing options.