Budget Templates

Overview

Note: Help content (except videos) has been updated to reflect the UI/UX changes in BQE CORE.

Budgets are used to define cost and revenue benchmarks in a company. They are a good way to track the expected revenue or cost of a project against the actual. Unlike estimates, budgets are meant to be used internally by a company. You can have a budget for jobs, cash flow or marketing. It displays actual hours and money spent in real-time, so it is often reviewed by managers, principals and partners to see which line items are exceeding the allocated budget. The budget data can be inherited by task allocation, which gets inherited further by time and expenses.

You can import service and expense line items from budget templates into a project budget. You can also import custom fields from the template and its line items or you can create unique project budgets from scratch. When you import from budget templates to projects, the template details get copied to the budget of those projects.

Note: Project budgets can be created and accessed directly from the Projects > Budget screen. You can also import these project budgets into other projects. Check Projects for more details on that.    

Some of the main benefits of using budgets are:

• You can add budgets to projects and phases to run budgeted vs. actual reports. Comparing actual time and expenses against budgeted items helps you gauge the progress of a project and identify issues for immediate management attention.

• Budgets can prevent errors by limiting the time and expense entry against projects to only budgeted expense items, activity items and employees.

• Billers and accountants can use budgets as a starting point to create line item invoices and then use percent complete values of each line item to calculate overall earned value.
• You can auto generate purchase orders from budget line items linked to a vendor.
• You can restrict employees, expenses and activities to the budgeted items only while recording time and expenses.

Before creating a budget, consider the following points:

• Discuss the budget with your team members. Get their estimated hours and units.

• Research similar job or project costs in the industry.

• Add anticipated expenses to the budget.

• Add a contingency to the budget.

• Share the budget with the client and make it a part of the contract.

• If using groups, make sure that no two groups have the same items for budget reporting purposes.

• Assign individual items for budget comparison purposes.

If you follow a submit- approve workflow in your company for budgets, you must familiarize yourself with the icons used to indicate different workflow status in BQE CORE.

Icon	Status
	Forwarded
	Submitted
	Approved
	Rejected

Field Descriptions

How To

Create Budget Templates from Scratch

Create Budget Templates from Existing Templates

Edit Budget Templates

Add Custom Fields

Add Documents

Create Projects from Budget Templates

Create Invoices from Budget Templates

Convert Budget Templates to Estimates

Create POs from Budget Templates

Email Budget Templates

Download Budget Templates

Send Budget Templates for eSign

Submit Budget Templates

Approve Budget Templates

Batch Update Budget Templates

Show/Hide Columns in Grids

Export Budget Templates

View Reports

Apply Filters

Mark Screen as Favorite

Field Descriptions

Field Name	Field Description
Budget Templates > General >
Date	This is the Created On date for the budget template by default, but can be changed to any other date, such as budget due date. This can be used to track, filter and search budget templates by date.
Fee Schedule	You can assign fee schedule rates to a budget template by using the detail line items of an existing fee schedule to reproduce the budget  template details. This represents the budget fee schedule, which can be different from the project fee schedule.
Miscellaneous Amount	It represents an additional amount or any buffer amount on top of the budgeted services and expenses for any unplanned contingencies that might occur.
Total ( Budget Amounts)	It is calculated as the sum of Budgeted Activity + Budgeted Expense + Misc. amount.
Workflow History	Shows a history of the submission and approval details of a budget template.
Budget Templates > Services >
Resource	Resource could be an employee, an outside consultant or a contract employee.
Hours	Hours budgeted for the selected activity-employee combination. By default, the Budget Hours are the same as the Cost Hours. It provides managers with a powerful tool to keep their projects within budgeted hours.
Cost Rate	Cost Rate of a service/activity item. It is the per hour cost of service provided less any taxes. The cost rate is brought forward from Activity Items or can be entered here manually. Typically, this rate is used if you want to base your budgets on the cost to the company and not the billable value.
Cost Amount	Cost amount of the service item. It is calculated as (Hours x Cost Rate).
Bill Rate	Per hour bill rate assigned to a service item. The bill rate is brought forward from Activity Items or can be entered here manually.
% Complete	Percentage of the budget used up or completed for the service item. When you create an invoice using this budget template, it uses this percentage to calculate the total amount. You can enter a decimal value as well.
Tax 1/2/3	Up to three taxes can be assigned per service line item. They are summed and used to calculate the bill amount for the activity. Example: If activity GEN:TECH has a Tax 1 value of 5% and Tax 2 is 10%, when a time entry is made for GEN:TECH, 15% is added to the service amount billed.
Charge Amount	Total service charge amount being budgeted. It is automatically calculated as: [Hours x Bill Rate] x (1 + Tax 1 + Tax 2 + Tax 3)
Start Date	This is the start date attribute for the service line item of the budget template. When importing budgets into task allocation, this date becomes the allocation Start Date. The start and end dates are also used as filters for reporting purposes.
End Date	This is the end date attribute for the service line item of the budget template. When importing budgets into task allocation, this date becomes the allocation End Date. The start and end dates are also used as filters for reporting purposes.
Budget Templates > Services > Edit Budget Service Line > Custom Fields >
Add Custom Field	Allows you to record additional information about the service line item. Each line item can have unlimited number of custom fields.
Budget Templates > Expenses >
Resource	Resource could be an employee, an outside consultant or a contract employee.
Units	Quantity budgeted for the selected expense-employee combination. By default, the Budget Units are the same as the Cost Units. It provides managers with a powerful tool to keep their projects within budgeted values.
Cost Rate	This is the default per unit cost of the expense item less any markups and taxes for proper expense tracking. If the cost of an expense varies, this can be left blank. Then, when you log expenses, you can enter the actual cost there. It passes on to the Budget Cost Rate.
Cost Amount	Cost amount of the expense line item before markup and taxes. The per unit cost is multiplied by the units to compute this value. Cost Amount = Units x Cost Rate
Markup %	Percentage increase or decrease in the cost of an expense to determine the charge amount. If the markup percentage varies for an expense, leave this field blank and enter it when you log expenses. Do not enter the percentage as a decimal. Example: To increase the cost rate by 10.5%, enter 10.5, not 0.105.
Charge Amount	Total charge amount for the expense item. It is calculated as [Units x Cost Rate x (1 + MU %)] x (1 + Tax 1 + Tax 2 + Tax 3)]
% Complete	Percentage of the budget being used up or completed for the expense item. When you create an invoice using this budget template, it uses this percentage to calculate the total amount to be charged. You can enter a decimal value as well.
Tax 1/2/3	Up to three taxes can be assigned per expense line item. They are summed and used to calculate the bill amount for the expense. Example: If expense A has a Tax 1 value of 5% and Tax 2 is 10%, when an expense entry is made for A, 15% is added to the expense amount billed.
Start Date	This is the start date attribute for the expense line item of the budget template. When importing budgets into task allocation, this date becomes the allocation Start Date. The start and end dates are also used as filters for reporting purposes.
End Date	This is the end date attribute for the expense line item of the budget template. When importing budgets into task allocation, this date becomes the allocation End Date. The start and end dates of the budgets are also used as filters for reporting purposes.
Budget Templates > Expenses > Edit Budget Expense Line > Custom Fields >
Add Custom Field	Allows you to record additional information about the expense line item. Each line item can have up to 20 custom fields.
Budget Templates > Create Project >
Project ID	Projects are created with unique IDs. The ID appears on screens, in drop-down lists and in various reports and should be simple and short. The ID field can save up to 65 characters. CORE supports both numeric and alphanumeric IDs. If you prefer, you can set the Project ID format at the global level in Settings. There, you can specify a prefix, ID number and suffix for your project (you should add space or hyphen to separate them). The middle number is automatically incremented by one unit from the value entered. CORE then automatically pre-fills those IDs when you create new projects from this screen. You can also choose in Settings how the project name displays on screen and in various drop-downs.
Project Name	This is the descriptive name of the project. It can be long and detailed.
Manager	Person who manages the project. You can assign employees as well as vendors (contract employees and outside consultants) as project managers. CORE auto-fills the project manager with the same ID as the client manager, if you leave it blank.
Contract Type	It determines the billing arrangement of a project. Whether a project is billed per hour, lump sum, or not billed at all, it is a best practice to record time and expenses against it to take advantage of the project management features in CORE.
Contract Amount	This is the total consideration for the project (billable and non-billable Service Amount + non-billable Expense Amount). You can include or exclude billable expenses and taxes in this amount, depending on how you bill. Although contract amount is required for fixed-type contracts, it is a good practice to set it for hourly projects as well. The original contract value is saved for reference till you apply a new calculated contract amount. If the contract amount is changed after creating invoices, past invoices continue to use the original contract amount. Contract amount for a parent project can be allocated to its child projects using the % of Project value. Example: If the contract amount of a main or parent project, NET-001, is $100,000 and Phase A is 60% of the total project, then CORE assigns $60,000 to NET-001:A.
Project Fee Schedule	Allows you to override the default employee bill and cost rates with special fee schedule rates. Use for Budget Fee Schedule checkbox determines whether the budget for a new project should automatically use the same fee schedule as project. By default, when a new project is created, the budget automatically inherits the same fee schedule as the project. You can select a specific budget fee schedule from the drop-down menu when this option is unchecked. This represents the project fee schedule, which can be different from the budget fee schedule.
Budget Templates > Convert to Estimate >
Service Markup	It is the percentage by which CORE increases the hours for the service line items to determine the new amount for the estimate.
Expense Markup	It is the percentage by which CORE increases the markup percentage of the expense line items to determine the new cost amount for the estimate.
Budget Templates > Email > Compose Email >
To	You can send an email to multiple recipients and also copy them using the CC and BCC options. You can click on the Choose Contact icon to open the Address Book and select multiple individuals or groups to email. However, if you are using a trial version of CORE, it does not allow more than 3 distinct recipients at a time. For paid subscriptions, this limit is 50 recipients at a time.
Subject	Subject line of the email. You can also insert smart fields into it using the Add Smart Field option on the right.
Message	It can be entered and edited using the formatting toolbar.
Budget Templates > Submit Budget >
Submit To	You can submit budget templates to your manager or a specific person from the list.
Resource	This can be an employee or a vendor (contract employee or outside consultant). This option is available only if you choose Submit To: Specific.
Type	This represents the type of workflow assigned to the submitted budget templates, depending on the purpose of the submission. Billing and Payroll: if items are submitted for the purpose of billing the client as well as including them in the payroll of the employee. This option is selected by default. Billing: if items are submitted only for the purpose of billing the client Payroll: if items are submitted only for the payroll of the employee

 

Create Budget Templates from Scratch

To create a budget template from scratch, follow these steps:

1. Open the Budget Templates screen from the side menu > Projects menu > Templates & Tools. (Alternatively, you can open this screen from the Projects screen> Budget tab > More menu > View All Budget Templates or from the side menu > Settings > Projects.)
   
   
   
2. Click Create Budget Template on the top-right and select From Scratch.
3. On the Create Budget Template screen, enter the required information. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
   • Budget Template ID: unique ID for the budget template
   • Description
   • Date
   • Fee Schedule (budget fee schedule)
   • Miscellaneous Amount
4. Click Save & Done or Save & Add Another.
5. In the detail view, go to the Services tab.
   
   
   
   
6. Click Add and enter the required information in the top row of the grid. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
   • Resource: Resource could be an employee, an outside consultant or a contract employee. 
   • Activity
   • Hours: Hours budgeted for the selected activity-resource combination
   • Cost Rate: Cost Rate of a service/activity item
   • Bill Rate: Per hour bill rate assigned to a service item
   • Start/End Date
7. Click Done.
8. Similarly, go to the Expense tab and click Add. It displays as the Costs tab for the legal industry.
   
   
   
   
9. Enter the required information in the top row of the grid. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
   • Resource: Resource could be an employee, an outside consultant or a contract employee.
   • Expense: It is referred to as Cost in the legal industry.
   • Units: Quantity budgeted for the selected expense-resource combination
   • Cost Rate: per unit cost of the expense 
   • Markup%: Percentage increase or decrease in the cost of an expense 
   • Start/End Date
10. Click Done.

Create Budget Templates from Existing Templates

When you create budget templates from existing ones, most of the data gets cloned from the existing templates to the new ones, including custom fields of service and expense line items.

To create a new budget template from an existing one:

1. Open the Budget Templates screen from the side menu > Projects menu > Templates & Tools. (Alternatively, you can open this screen from the Projects screen> Budget tab > More menu > View All Budget Templates or from the side menu > Settings > Projects.)
2. Open the Budget Templates screen  Settings > Projects. (Alternatively, you can open it from the side menu > Projects > Manage Projects > Budget tab > More menu > View All Budget Templates.)
   
   
   
   
3. Click Create Budget Template on the top-right and select From Existing Budget Template.
4. On the Create from Existing Budget Template dialog, choose the budget template from which you want to create a new one.
5. Click Continue.
6. On the Create Budget Template screen, enter the required information. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
   • ID: unique ID for the budget
   • Description
   • Date
   • Fee Schedule (budget fee schedule)
   • Miscellaneous Amount
     
     
     
7. Click Save & Done or Save & Add Another.
8. In the detail view, go to the Services tab.
   
   
   
   
9. Click Add to enter more service items to the budget template. Else, click on a row to edit the information.
10. Click Done.

11. Similarly, go to the Expense tab to add or edit expense items (it is referred to as Costs in the legal industry). Check Field Descriptions above for details.

12. Click Done.

Edit Budget Templates

You can view, enter and edit budget template details in the detail mode. 

To edit a budget template:

1. Open the Budget Templates screen from the side menu > Projects menu > Templates & Tools. (Alternatively, you can open this screen from the Projects screen> Budget tab > More menu > View All Budget Templates or from the side menu > Settings > Projects.)
   
   
   
2. Select an existing budget template on the grid list and click   to select View Details.
3. In the detail view, go to the Services (or Expenses) tab.
   
   
   
   
4. Select a line item on the grid and click Detail on that row.
5. On the Edit Budget Service Line > General tab (or Expense Line > General tab), enter more details or make the desired changes.
   
   
   
   
6. Click Save & Done.
7. You can delete budget templates by selecting them in the list view and clicking Actions > Delete. Alternatively, you can use the row-action menu to delete them individually. If a budget template is in use, you are asked to confirm if you want to delete it; if you no longer require the template, you can make it inactive.

Add Custom Fields

Using custom fields, you can track extra characteristics and attributes of your budget templates. You can also add custom fields to the budget template line items, that is, services and expenses. You can have unlimited number of custom fields for a budget template or its line items. CORE allows you to customize these fields in the Custom Labels screen.

To add a custom field to a budget template, watch this video or follow these steps:

1. Open the Budget Templates screen from the side menu > Projects menu > Templates & Tools. (Alternatively, you can open this screen from the Projects screen> Budget tab > More menu > View All Budget Templates or from the side menu > Settings > Projects.)
   
   
   
2. Select a budget template on the grid and click   to select View Details.
3. In the detail view, go to the Custom Fields tab.
   
   
   
   
4. Click Add Custom Field and choose the type of field you want depending on the purpose, say Text Box.
5. On the Add Text Box dialog, enter the required information:
   • Name
   • Type
   • # of Characters
6. Check Show in List View if you want this field to appear under the Show/Hide Columns list and show up on the grid. Click Save.
7. Your custom field is added to the budget template. Enter a value and click Save & Done.

Similarly, you can add custom fields to the line items from the Services and Expenses tabs. You can also check the detailed video on managing custom fields in CORE.

Note: You can display a maximum of three custom fields on the list view per screen.

Add Documents

To add a document:

1. Open the Budget Templates screen from the side menu > Projects menu > Templates & Tools. (Alternatively, you can open this screen from the Projects screen> Budget tab > More menu > View All Budget Templates or from the side menu > Settings > Projects.)
   
   
   
2. Select a budget template on the grid and click   to select View Details.
3. In the detail view, go to the Documents tab and click Add.
   
   
   
   
4. On the Add Documents dialog, select the relevant tab, depending on the type of attachments.

   • Computer: To attach files stored on your computer, enter its Description and drag your file or click to browse to that location.

   • Hyperlink: To attach an external link, enter its Description and then insert the hyperlink.

   • Dropbox: To link files stored in your Dropbox account, enter its Description and then browse for it.

   • Google Drive: To link files stored in your Google Drive account, enter its Description and then browse for it.

   • OneDrive: To link files stored in your Microsoft OneDrive account, enter its Description and then browse for it.

   • Box: To link files stored in your Box account, enter its Description and then browse for it.

   • Resource Library: To link company resources, select the resource from the library. This option is available only with CORE CRM.

5. Click Add.

CORE pre-fills some of the information about the attached documents in the grid. You can send the documents to your clients, employees or other contacts for getting their digital or electronic signatures (eSignature via DocuSign) using the eSign option from the   row-action menu. CORE automatically adds the signed documents to the Documents folder of the entity (record) as separate attachments. You can also check the detailed video on managing documents in CORE.

Create Projects from Budget Templates

Typically, companies create projects and then create and assign budgets to them. On the contrary, you can create standalone budget templates first and then assign projects to them. CORE gives you the ability to create projects directly from existing budget templates.

To create a project from a budget template:

1. Open the Budget Templates screen from the side menu > Projects menu > Templates & Tools. (Alternatively, you can open this screen from the Projects screen> Budget tab > More menu > View All Budget Templates or from the side menu > Settings > Projects.)
   
   
   
2. Select a budget template on the grid for which you want to create a project and click   to select Create Project. You can also do this from the detail view > Actions menu.
3. On the Create Project screen, enter the required or missing information. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
   • Project ID: CORE supports both numeric and alphanumeric IDs.
     
   • Project Name
   • Client
   • Manager: Person who manages the project. 
   • Contract Type  
   • Contract Amount
   • Project Fee Schedule
     
     
     
     
4. Click Save & Done. The project is created and the budget template is assigned to it automatically.
5. In the detail view, add more information about the project on various tabs. You can see the budget details on the Budget tab. Check Projects for details.
6. When you have finished, click Save & Done.

Create Invoices from Budget Templates

You can create invoices based on the budget template data as well as the billing arrangement of the project. CORE allows you to create manual invoices from budget templates.

To create an invoice from a budget template:

1. Open the Budget Templates screen from the side menu > Projects menu > Templates & Tools. (Alternatively, you can open this screen from the Projects screen> Budget tab > More menu > View All Budget Templates or from the side menu > Settings > Projects.)
   
   
   
   
2. Select a budget template on the grid and click to select Create Invoice. You can also do this from the detail view > Actions menu.
3. On the Create Invoice dialog, select a project that you want to bill.
4. Click Continue. You are taken to the Create Invoice screen with the budget template data pre-filled.
   
   
   
   
5. Add more items or memo, if required.
6. Click Process and select Draft or Final.

Your invoice is created from the budget template.

Convert Budget Templates to Estimates

Typically, budgets are used for internal purposes and estimates are created for the clients.

To convert a budget template into an estimate:

1. Open the Budget Templates screen from the side menu > Projects menu > Templates & Tools. (Alternatively, you can open this screen from the Projects screen> Budget tab > More menu > View All Budget Templates or from the side menu > Settings > Projects.)
   
   
   
   
2. Select a budget template on the grid and click  to select Convert to Estimate. You can also do this from the detail view > Actions menu.
3. On the Convert to Estimate dialog, enter the required information for the new estimate. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
   • ID
   • Description
   • Service Markup: percentage 
   • Expense Markup: percentage

4. Click Save.

Create POs from Budget Templates

You can create purchase orders based on a budget template, provided it has been assigned to a project initially and includes vendor line items.

To create a PO from a budget template:

1. Open the Budget Templates screen from the side menu > Projects menu > Templates & Tools. (Alternatively, you can open this screen from the Projects screen> Budget tab > More menu > View All Budget Templates or from the side menu > Settings > Projects.)
   
   
   
   
2. Select a budget template on the grid and click to select Create Purchase Orders. You can also do this from the detail view > Actions menu.
3. On the Create Purchase Order dialog, select the required data:
   • Vendor ID
   • Client ID
   • Project ID

4. Click Create. You are taken to the Add Purchase Order screen with the budget template data pre-filled.
   
   
   
   

5. Click Add to add more line items to the PO, if required.
   Note: CORE uses the cost rates of the service items here and not the usual bill rates.
   

6. Click Save.

Your PO is created from the budget template.

Email Budget Templates

You might want to share the budget template with your managers, employees or clients via email. You can also batch email multiple budget templates.

To email a budget template, watch this video or follow these steps:

1. Open the Budget Templates screen from the side menu > Projects menu > Templates & Tools. (Alternatively, you can open this screen from the Projects screen> Budget tab > More menu > View All Budget Templates or from the side menu > Settings > Projects.)
   
   
   
2. In the list view, click  on a budget template row and select Email (Budget Details or Estimate). If you want to email multiple budget templates, select them on the grid and then click Actions > Batch Email instead.
   Note: You can email the budget template directly as an estimate without the need to generate an estimate first. 
3. On the Compose Email dialog, enter the required information. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
   • To
   • Subject
   • Message
     
     
     
     
4. Each selected budget template is attached as a separate file to this email. Click Add Attachments at the bottom to attach any document to the email. You can also drag-and-drop any file into the Compose Email window from your desktop or email program.
5. Click Send Message.

If the email is sent to an address that is no longer working, there is a bounce-back email sent to let you know about this. You can also check the detailed video on emailing in CORE.

Note: You cannot remove the default or system attachments. Only user-defined attachments can be added or removed. CORE restricts the file size of the attachments to 10 MB and sends the attachments as a single zipped file.

Download Budget Templates

You can download the details of the budget templates as a PDF file directly from the list view.

To download a budget template:

1. Open the Budget Templates screen from the side menu > Projects menu > Templates & Tools. (Alternatively, you can open this screen from the Projects screen> Budget tab > More menu > View All Budget Templates or from the side menu > Settings > Projects.)
   
   
   
2. In the list view, select the budget template on the grid whose details you want to download and click  to select Download PDF as Budget Details or Estimate.
   Note: You can download the budget template directly to the estimate PDF format without the need to generate an estimate first. 
3. It prompts you to save the PDF at the relevant location, say your Desktop. Click Save.

Send Budgets for eSign

You can send documents, budget templates and reports to your external clients, employees, or other contacts to be reviewed and signed electronically via DocuSign. For that, you must have first connected CORE to your company's DocuSign account via the Integrations screen. CORE automatically adds the signed documents to the Documents tab of the entity (record) as separate attachments.

To send a budget template for eSignature, watch this video or follow these steps:

1. Open the Budget Templates screen from the side menu > Projects menu > Templates & Tools. (Alternatively, you can open this screen from the Projects screen> Budget tab > More menu > View All Budget Templates or from the side menu > Settings > Projects.)
   
   
   
2. In the list view, select the budget template on the grid that you want to send and click  to select eSign. (This option is not available if your CORE account is not connected to a DocuSign account.) You can also send the budget template to DocuSign from the detail view using the Actions menu.
3. On the eSign - Email Details dialog, choose the To recipients or contacts to whom you want to send the budget template via DocuSign.
   
   
   
   
4. You can review and customize the email message, if needed. It is pre-filled with the email details from the Integrations > DocuSign Settings screen.
5. At the bottom, select your Save Options. You can specify where you want to save the signed copy of the document, say Company (as a company document), Associated Record (as a document of the record from which the eSign action was called) or Specific Record (as a document of an individual record of a specific entity). CORE remembers this selected location for the next time a document of that type is sent out for eSignatures.
6. Click the relevant option:
   • Send: Clicking the ‘Send’ button sends the document to all recipients. If multiple recipients are selected, each recipient receives a copy or version of the document to sign.
   • Send with Preview: If you choose to preview the document before sending, you are redirected to the DocuSign editor embedded in a new CORE tab. From there you can make adjustments to the DocuSign document like adding, removing, and rearranging tags throughout the document.
7. CORE displays the progress bar and opens the budget template in the Send for eSignature screen.
   
   
8. Here you can insert Standard Fields like Signature, Initials, Date Signed, Name, etc. into your document where needed.
9. You can take more actions on the document by selecting the relevant option from the Actions menu on the right.
10. Before sending, you can also preview the document by clicking Recipient Preview on the top-right. Else, click Continue to skip the preview.
11. Click Send to send the budget template to the recipients.

The document is then received as an email by the recipients (your contacts), who can then review and sign it electronically. The recipients also receive an email when the action is completed by them. DocuSign informs us via email if the document was reviewed, accepted or declined by the recipients and you can also view the eSign Status in the Documents list view, whether it has been delivered via DocuSign, viewed by the recipients, declined or completed by the recipients, etc. This column does not show up if you are not connected via the DocuSign integration. The signed documents are saved in the specified location. You can also check the detailed video on sending data for eSign in CORE.

Submit Budget Templates

As a part of the workflow, CORE allows you to submit the selected budget templates for approval using various options. When budget templates are submitted, the supervisor or manager gets notified about these submissions. You cannot submit entries or items that are already approved. In case of email notifications, CORE allows managers to quickly approve or reject the budget template items submitted by employees directly from the emails.

To submit a budget template for approval:

1. Open the Budget Templates screen from the side menu > Projects menu > Templates & Tools. (Alternatively, you can open this screen from the Projects screen> Budget tab > More menu > View All Budget Templates or from the side menu > Settings > Projects.)
   
   
   
   
2. Select a budget template on the grid that you want to submit and click Actions > Workflow > Submit.
3. On the Submit Budget Template dialog, enter the required information. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
   • Submit To
   • Resource: employee or vendor (contract employee or outside consultant). This option is available only if you choose Submit To: Specific.
   • Type
   • Memo
4. Click Submit.

After submitting the budget templates, you have an option to un-submit them by clicking Actions > Workflow > Unsubmit.

Approve Budget Templates

As a part of the workflow, CORE allows you to approve the budget templates submitted to you. Approving a budget template prevents modification by any user with limited security permissions. You can also reject the submitted budget templates for any reason. However, only submitted or forwarded budget templates can be rejected, not the approved ones. In case of email notifications, CORE allows managers to quickly approve or reject the budget template items submitted by employees directly from the emails.

To approve a budget template:

1. Open the Budget Templates screen from the side menu > Projects menu > Templates & Tools. (Alternatively, you can open this screen from the Projects screen> Budget tab > More menu > View All Budget Templates or from the side menu > Settings > Projects.)
   
   
   
   
2. Select a budget template on the grid that you want to review and click Actions > Workflow > Approve.
3. On the Approve Budget Template dialog, enter a memo, if needed.
4. Click Done.

After approving the budget templates, you have an option to un-approve them by clicking Actions > Workflow > Un-Approve.

Batch Update Budget Templates

Batch update allows you to edit multiple attributes of multiple budget templates at a time and reset the values to none if the field is not required. This process is irreversible

To update a budget template in a batch mode, watch this video or follow these steps:

1. Open the Budget Templates screen from the side menu > Projects menu > Templates & Tools. (Alternatively, you can open this screen from the Projects screen> Budget tab > More menu > View All Budget Templates or from the side menu > Settings > Projects.)
   
   
   
   
2. Select the budget templates on the grid that you want to update and click Actions > Batch Update.
3. On the Batch Update dialog, select the relevant fields and then enter new values for them.
4. Check the disclaimer at the bottom and click Update.
5. You can also batch update service and expense line items in the detail view by clicking Actions > Batch Update on the Services or Expenses tab. Then, on the Batch Update dialog, enter new dates and click Update.
   
   

You can also check the detailed video on batch updating records in CORE.

Show/Hide Columns in Grids

You can configure the fields or columns that appear on the grid in the list view. You can hide or show columns, and sort the order of columns according to your requirements.

To do so, watch this video or follow these steps:

1. Open the Budget Templates screen from the side menu > Projects menu > Templates & Tools. (Alternatively, you can open this screen from the Projects screen> Budget tab > More menu > View All Budget Templates or from the side menu > Settings > Projects.)
   
   
   
   
2. In the list view, click More > Show/Hide Columns on the action bar.
3. Select or un-select the column names in the drop-down list, say Status.
4. Next, click the column name you want to sort the data by, say Assigned.
5. Click once for ascending order (A-Z) and twice for descending order (Z-A).

Note: You can resize the column widths on the grid and then reset them, if needed (More > Reset Column Widths).

You can also check the detailed video on navigation and customizing grids in CORE.

Export Budgets

In CORE, you can export budget templates to the Comma Separated Values file format. CORE exports data from all available columns and not just the columns visible in the grid.

To export the budget templates to a .CSV file, watch this video or follow these steps:

1. Open the Budget Templates screen from the side menu > Projects menu > Templates & Tools. (Alternatively, you can open this screen from the Projects screen> Budget tab > More menu > View All Budget Templates or from the side menu > Settings > Projects.)
   
   
   
   
2. In the list view, click More > Export as CSV.
3. A .csv export file is created and saved on your system at the default download location, say your desktop. Click to open the spreadsheet.

You can also check the detailed video on exporting data in CORE.

View Reports

To view a report:

1. Open the Budget Templates screen from the side menu > Projects menu > Templates & Tools. (Alternatively, you can open this screen from the Projects screen> Budget tab > More menu > View All Budget Templates or from the side menu > Settings > Projects.)
   
   
   
   
2. In the list view, click More > View Reports.
3. Select a report from the Report List dialog. It opens in the viewer.
4. Preview the report and then choose to export or print it.

You can also check the detailed video on running and managing reports in CORE.

Apply Filters

To view selective data on the grid, watch this video or follow these steps:

1. Open the Budget Templates screen from the side menu > Projects menu > Templates & Tools. (Alternatively, you can open this screen from the Projects screen> Budget tab > More menu > View All Budget Templates or from the side menu > Settings > Projects.)
   
   
   
   
2. In the list view, click  on the right.
3. On the Filters panel, select a filter from the drop-down and specify individual records or range.
4. Click Add Filters to specify more filters.
5. When you have finished, click Apply Filter. You can see selective data now.
6. In the list view, you can remove the individual filters by clicking  on each. To disable applied filters temporarily or remove all filters, click  next to the Filters icon and select Disable Filters or Clear All, respectively.

You can also check the detailed video on applying filters in CORE.

Mark Screen as Favorite

You can mark or flag the most-often used and important screens in CORE as your favorites up to a maximum of ten. These favorite screens then display separately on the side menu under the Favorites list. You can manage all your favorite screens in CORE from User Settings.

To mark this screen as your favorite, watch this video or follow these steps:

1. Open the Budget Templates screen from the side menu > Projects menu > Templates & Tools. (Alternatively, you can open this screen from the Projects screen> Budget tab > More menu > View All Budget Templates or from the side menu > Settings > Projects.)
   
   
   
   
2. In the list view, click  on the top-right.
3. You can access this screen from the side menu under Favorites.

You can also check the detailed video on marking screens as favorite in CORE.