Budget-Allocation Sync is an optional feature in BQE CORE that keeps your project budget and resource allocations aligned. When enabled, changes made in one area, such as phase dates or allocated hours, are automatically reflected in the other. When disabled, budgets and allocations operate independently and must be updated separately. You must enable this option at the company level from Settings > Projects > General before it can be used on projects. A separate permission is required to enable project-level sync.
Overview
The decision to use Budget-Allocation Sync depends on how your company manages planning and execution. When sync is enabled, the budget and allocations represent a single, connected plan. Updates are applied across both automatically.
When sync is disabled, the budget and allocations serve different purposes. The budget acts as a fixed financial plan, while allocations can be adjusted during execution without changing the original budget.
Sync Enabled vs. Sync Disabled
| Sync Enabled | Sync Disabled |
| Eliminates duplicate entry. Changes to phase dates or resource hours are reflected in both areas automatically. | Supports advanced project management by keeping the budget as a fixed baseline while allocations change during execution. |
| Changes cascade across phases, budget, and resource allocation without manual updates. | Provides better separation of control using permissions for budget and resource allocation. |
| Recommended for companies new to budgeting or allocations. | Enables post-project analysis by preserving the original budget for comparison. |
| Works well when the budget and allocation are expected to evolve together. | Recommended for companies that require tighter budget control or variance tracking. |
Example:
Consider a project budgeted for 10 hours across two engineers.
Step 1: Define the budget
| Resource | Rate | Budgeted Hours | Budget Amount |
| Engineer 1 | $100/hour | 8 hours | $800 |
| Engineer 2 | $200/hour | 2 hours | $400 |
| Total | 10 hours | $1,200 |
Step 2: Update allocations during execution
Due to a staffing change, work is redistributed without modifying the original budget.
| Resource | Original Hours | Revised Hours |
| Engineer 1 | 8 hours | 6 hours |
| Engineer 2 | 2 hours | 4 hours |
Step 3: Analyze after project completion
Because sync is disabled, the budget remains unchanged and can be compared against actual work.
| Resource | Budgeted | Actual Hours | Variance |
| Engineer 1 | 8 hours/$800 | 6 hours/$600 | $200 under |
| Engineer 2 | 2 hours/$400 | 4 hours/$800 | $400 over |
If sync had been enabled, updating allocations would have overwritten the budget. This would remove the ability to compare planned versus actual performance. Keeping sync disabled preserves the original plan for analysis.
Approach
Most companies use one of the following approaches based on their workflow.
| Approach | Setup | Best For |
| No Syncing | Leave the sync budgets and allocations on projects setting disabled. | Companies that want the budget to remain a fixed baseline and track execution separately. |
| Sync until project start | Enable sync by default for new projects. Disable it when execution begins. | Companies that want faster setup but need to preserve budget during execution. |
| Sync full-time | Enable sync for all projects using company and project settings. | Companies that want a simple workflow without maintaining separate datasets. |
Use the following to determine the right approach:
- If you need to compare original budget against the actual execution, keep sync disabled or turn it off after planning.
- If you want the simplest setup, enable sync for the full project lifecycle.
- If different users manage budget and resource allocation, keeping them separate provides better control.
- If staffing changes frequently during execution, disabling sync preserves the original budget.
- If you are not currently using budget or resource allocation, enabling sync helps create and maintain both together.
Note: Regardless of whether sync is enabled or disabled:
- Contract Amount: the agreed project value remains unchanged
- Actuals (Time and Expenses): logged time and expenses are independent and are not affected by sync