Whether you're creating a budget from scratch, editing an existing one, or creating one from a template, the budget overview remains consistent.
For easier navigation, you'll notice that the main budget elements include:
Navigation pane: Contains sections for Feed, Services, Time, Invoices, Expenses, and Recurring budgets (all covered in the paragraphs below 👇).
Main budget settings: the budget start and end date, sharing options and quick notification settings, and the Budget sidebar which contains general budget information, details, project and email associations, client details, custom fields, and additional budget settings.
Budget editor: Allows setting up services, rates, billing types and units, your time-to-complete estimations, as well as defining time-tracking and booking restrictions.
Tip: You also have the option to create a budget using the Simple Budget Editor, a simplified version of the Budget creation wizard, which, after saving, leads to the same budget overview described below.
Budget navigation pane
The budget components in Productive have been divided into several tabs for easier navigation and data organization.
You'll find the tabs (Feed, Services, Time, Expenses, Invoices, Recurring) in the budget's navigation pane in the upper right portion of the screen.
Services
The Services tab provides a comprehensive overview of all budget components or services you've configured, including their price, quantity, and details regarding budget spending, such as logged hours and the total budget amount.
In addition to displaying basic budget information, such as service overviews, this tab also features sections for Budgeting and Profitability, facilitating easy monitoring of budget spending and profits.
Furthermore, you have the option to display or hide the forecast chart directly from the services screen by clicking on "Show forecast chart" in the upper right corner.
Additionally, you can efficiently add a time entry or expense using the three-dot menu located at the end of each service line item.
Feed
The Feed tab provides an overview of all activities within the budget.
From this tab, you can add comments, mention team members, attach files, and browse through updates using the filters.
Also, depending on your notification settings, you will be notified anytime you are mentioned or any updates or changes are made to the budget you have access to.
Time
The Time tab displays the logged time against services within the budget, along with the contributors.
For further details on time entries within a budget, please check out this article!
Expenses
The Expenses tab shows all expenses linked to the budget.
Note that, to add an expense, you will first need to create a service line item with its billing unit set as Piece.
Invoices
The Invoices tab contains invoices associated with the budget, offering options for adding fields, grouping, and filtering the amounts and services you need to bill for.
Recurring
The Recurring tab is used to manage retainer or maintenance projects.
For instructions on setting up a recurring budget, refer to this article.
