Project Budgets
Managing project budgets with WINPACCS
WINPACCS offers an excellent way of managing budgets and is specifically tailored to the requirements of development cooperation. The cloud solution allows staff in head offices and projects to work simultaneously on project budgets.
For many years, numerous aid organisations and consulting companies have been using WINPACCS to administer their project budgets all over the globe.
The software’s capacity to adjust flexibly to donors’ budget structures has proven popular. The option of drawing up budgets in various currencies and tracking their history are further important functions.
Managing budgets using WINPACCS is an indispensable function for many employees in financial departments of aid organisations.
The basis for financial planning and controlling of every project
Project budgets constitute the financial framework necessary for executing projects; they are also vital for internally approving projects and are the basis for drawing up contracts with funding agencies.
Over the course of a project they serve as a guideline for comparing plan/actual figures in the area of project controlling and are thus the basis for project managers to manage their projects financially.
Alongside total budgets that cover all the income/expenditure and the complete term of a project, there are also project budgets for sub-areas or limited periods during the project. The optimal way to draw up, administer and jointly process these different types of budgets is to use budget management systems specially developed to meet these requirements.
What should a project budget management tool in the area of development cooperation offer?
A project budget management function in development cooperation must take into account the special requirements of its area of application.
In many cases project budgets are drawn up in aid organisations’ head offices, but have to be applied in the field and, at times, adjusted. That’s why it is paramount that the centrally stored budget data is accessible to both sides – for instance through a cloud application.
Very often, project budgets are set up according to predefined donor structures or budget lines. This means that budget structuring is highly individualised and implementation must also be easy and user-friendly.
Another area where different requirements are apparent is in converting currencies. Funding agencies frequently have specific ideas about which conversion modes they prefer for showing postings in foreign currencies in their project budgets.
Functions
- Quantity budgets can be managed alongside monetary budgets.
- Copy function – a quick and easy way to draw up and modify similar budgets.
- Draft mode – generating and processing in a special mode with approval function.
- Tracking budget history – changes are comprehensible and can be compared over time.
- Confidential budget – access to sensitive data for selected users only.
- Budgets based on donor budget lines for assigning costs thereafter and plan/actual analysis for controlling purposes.
- Budgets based on main chart of accounts' or project chart of accounts' cost categories.
- Budgets based on cost category groups.
- Budgets for certain periods (individual months, certain year, entire project duration).
- Budgets for costs from several journals of a project (e.g. for costs in various currencies).
- Drawing up budgets in a foreign currency, your company currency or the donor’s accounting currency.
WINPACCS budget management is an ideal tool for us during the planning phase of a project, as the regulations of institutional donors are becoming increasingly complex. We can already incorporate downstream requirements into the planning phase of the budget, thus enabling us to produce all our reports easily, quickly and transparently at a later date. If the budget, the term or even the donor have to be adjusted, the changes are incorporated online and all those involved are informed immediately.
Timo Stegelmann
Deputy Managing Director, Help e.V.
Which user roles allow me to utilise the project budgets?
The Project Controller user role allows you to utilise project budgets.
Where can I find out more?
The following options are available for learning more about WINPACCS Project budgets:
- Join us at our next Information Day.
- Contact one of our experts with your questions.
- Take part in the WINPACCS for Project controllers seminar.
Any questions about our products?
Please contact our team with any questions about WINPACCS.
Call us.
We’re ready to take your call Mon-Fri 09:00–17:00.
+49 (0) 6441 7809-0
