In-Depth: Economic Forecasting in Silverbucket

This document offers extensive information about economic forecasting in Silverbucket. The document is divided into four sections:

General
Views for reporting economic figures
Economic forecasting - Reports
Source of information - Parameters


General

Silverbucket's forecasting is based on allocations, hour reporting, price lists and budgeting.

All data is possible to edit in the user interface. Budgets, price lists, cost, invoices and the actual hours are also possible to import from a back-end system via an integration.

Views for Reporting Economic Figures


Project Details
Project's key numbers are editable through the Project's Dashboard

Several reports and views - which are introduced later in this guide - use these basic numbers and configurations:
  • Project type (invoiceable, absence, non-invoiceable)
  • Invoicing type (time and material, fixed, price ceiling)
  • Budget information in hours and EUR
  • Edit forecast prices is used for allocated hours
  • Price models are used for actual hours



Some of the project numbers are editable in the Project Numbers table. Others are automatically calculated:
  • Allocations (hours): Monthly sum of the allocations in a project
  • Allocations (EUR): Monthly sum of allocated hours * personal forecast price (PFP)
  • Allocations (EUR, costs): Monthly sum of personal allocated hours * user’s cost price (U1)
  • Allocations (EUR, profit): Revenue - Costs

  • Realization (hours): Monthly sum of actual hours of a project
  • Realization (EUR): Monthly sum of actual hours * hourly rate (via integration or PPL*)

  • Invoiced (EUR): Realized invoices sent for a project (can be delivered to SB via integration)
  • Uninvoiced (EUR): Calculation is based on a project invoicing type:
Time and material: realization (EUR) + allocations (EUR, revenue) + payment positions (EUR)
Fixed price: Payment positions (EUR)
Price ceiling: As time and material until the ceiling (total budget) is full 

Progress Numbers
The following economic figures are shown in the Progress Numbers section:




Economic Forecasting - Reports

Silverbucket's reports are available for you through the main navigation bar's Reports:

Budget Tracking by Projects
Compares projects' budget, actual hours and allocated hours

Basic data requirements and calculations:

“Income budget”: Requires project budget for project in monthly level (PM1)
“Realization”: Requires project pricing (PPL) or hourly rates via integration. Realization is based on pricing and reported hours.
“Reservations”: Requires forecast pricing (PFP). Reservations is based on forecast pricing and allocated hours.


Cash Flow
Shows projects' budget and invoicing forecasts.

Basic data requirements and calculations:

Cash flow reports the revenue estimates (the sum of uninvoiced and invoiced in project details view). It is important to note the different calculations of project invoicing types.

Graphical Cost Report

Realization, own personnel:
Monthly sum of personal actual hours * user’s cost price (U1) – for own personnel.

Realization, external:
Monthly sum of personal actual hours * user’s cost price (U1) – for externals.

Realization, other:
Monthly sum of other costs in the history (PM3)

Estimate, own personnel:
Monthly sum of personal allocated hours * user’s cost price (U1) – for own personnel.

Estimate, external:
 Monthly sum of personal allocated hours * user’s cost price (U1) – for externals.

Estimate, other:
Monthly sum of other costs in the future (PM3)

Total:
Sum of the fields above

Expense budget:
Project’s monthly expense budget (PM2)


Project Forecast Report
Forecast report of a single project (Projects > Project Filters > Select a project) reports reservation hours multiplied by person's forecast hourly rate.

Basic data requirements and calculations:

Forecast pricing (PFP).

*See the chapter “Source of information – parameters”.


Source of Information - Parameters

Sources of Pricing Information
In order to calculate the prices of actuals and allocations the system requires pricing information. A guide for pricing can also be found  here .


The Following Financial Data Can be Given for a Single Project:
Title
Parameter
Description
P1
Own Income Budget
Initial income budget for own personnel.

Editable in Silverbucket or delivered via integration
P2
External Income Budget
Initial income budget for external personnel.

Editable in Silverbucket or delivered via integration
P3
Other Income Budget
Initial income budget for other types of income

Editable in Silverbucket or delivered via integration
P4
Remaining Income Budget
Remaining income budget, not calculated automatically

Editable in Silverbucket or delivered via integration
P5
Own Hourly Budget
Own personnel's total hourly budget of a project

Editable in Silverbucket or delivered via integration
P6
External Hourly Budget
Externals' total hourly budget of a project

Editable in Silverbucket or delivered via integration


Project's Monthly Income and Expense Budget Can be Maintained in the Project's Dashboard:
Title
Parameter
Description
PM1
Monthly Income Budget
Project’s monthly income budget. No connection to project level income budget (P1, P2), but the sum of monthly income budgets can be copied to own income budget (P1).

Editable in Silverbucket, not available via integration.
PM2
Monthly Expense Budget
Project’s monthly expense budget. 

Editable in Silverbucket, not available via integration.



Project's Monthly Expenses and Payment Can be  Maintained in the Project's Dashboard:
Title
Parameter
Description
PM3
Monthly Fixed Expense
Project’s monthly expenses.

Editable in Silverbucket or delivered via integration.
PM4
Monthly Payment Positions
Project’s monthly payment positions. For projects with invoicing type 'time & material', used for extra invoicing. For projects with 'fixed' pricing, all the income of the project should be added as payment positions.  

Editable in Silverbucket or delivered via integration. If maintained in Silverbucket, all the payment positions are considered as uninvoiced.


Project Price Lists (PPL)
The price lists are used for calculating the income of the realized hours (= actual hours). The reported actuals are multiplied by the hourly price.

The project price lists can be maintained in the project's dashboard by clicking “Price models”.

Note: If the actuals are delivered via integration, the actual hourly rate can be delivered as well. In this case the project price lists are not needed.


Project Forecast Pricing (PFP)
The forecast pricing is used for calculating the income of the allocated hours. The allocated hours are multiplied by the hourly price.

When adding a person to the project team, the personal hourly rate defaults to person’s own forecast hourly rate (which can be modified in the administrative view).

Personal Finance Information
For each person, the following two financial parameters can be configured:
Title
Parameter
Description
U1
User's Cost Price
The hourly cost of the person.

Editable in Silverbucket or delivered via integration.
U2
User's Forecast Hourly Rate
User’s default invoicing hourly rate. Used by default, when a person is added to the project team.

Editable in Silverbucket or delivered via integration.