If your company charges customers for projects, Project Insight can help you measure project profit by comparing project revenue against project costs.
Profit values are available on project reports and can be used to understand planned profit, target profit, forecasted profit, and actual profit. Different profit calculations are useful at different points in the project lifecycle.
What Project Profit Calculations Are Available?
Project Insight includes several profit measurements. Each one compares a revenue value against a cost value, but the calculation changes depending on whether you are looking at target, planned, forecasted, or actual project performance.
| Profit Measurement | Calculation | Common Use |
|---|---|---|
| Profit - Actual | Target Billable Total - Actual Total | Shows the actual profit made on the project. Most useful for fixed-price contracts after the project is 100% complete. |
| Profit - Forecasted | Target Billable Total - Work Estimate At Completion | Shows forecasted profit once the project is in execution mode. |
| Profit - Forecasted CPI | Target Billable Total - Work Estimate At Completion (CPI) | Shows forecasted profit while factoring in the project’s cost performance index. |
| Profit - Planned | Target Billable Total - Work Total | Shows expected profit based on the project plan. Commonly used for fixed-price contracts. |
| Profit - Project | Work Billable Total - Work Total | Shows planned profit based on the project schedule. Commonly used for time and materials projects. |
| Profit - Target | Target Billable Total - Target Total | Shows the profit target entered at the overall project level in the project add/edit screen. |
Profit - Actual
Calculation: Target Billable Total - Actual Total
Profit - Actual shows the actual profit made on the project. This measurement is most useful for fixed-price contracts and is most relevant when the project is 100% complete.
Profit - Forecasted
Calculation: Target Billable Total - Work Estimate At Completion
Profit - Forecasted shows the expected profit for the project once the project is in execution mode. It helps teams estimate where profit may land before the project is finished.
Profit - Forecasted CPI
Calculation: Target Billable Total - Work Estimate At Completion (CPI)
Profit - Forecasted CPI shows forecasted project profit while factoring in the project’s cost performance index. This can help teams understand how current project performance may affect final profit.
Profit - Planned
Calculation: Target Billable Total - Work Total
Profit - Planned shows the expected profit based on the project plan. This is commonly used for fixed-price contracts where the target billable amount is compared against the planned project cost.
Profit - Project
Calculation: Work Billable Total - Work Total
Profit - Project shows planned profit based on the project schedule. This is commonly used for time and materials projects, where billable work and planned work are both tied to the project schedule.
Profit - Target
Calculation: Target Billable Total - Target Total
Profit - Target shows the profit you are targeting at the overall project level. These values are entered in the project add/edit screen.
How Do These Profit Calculations Help?
Different profit calculations help teams look at project financial performance from different angles.
- Target profit shows what you intend to achieve at the project level.
- Planned profit shows what the project plan is expected to produce.
- Forecasted profit shows where the project may land based on current execution data.
- Actual profit shows what happened after the work is complete.
Together, these calculations help teams compare the financial plan to project execution and understand whether the project is performing as expected.
Common Questions
When should I use Profit - Actual?
Use Profit - Actual when the project is complete and you want to understand the actual profit made on the project.
When should I use Profit - Forecasted?
Use Profit - Forecasted while the project is in progress and you want to estimate the likely final profit based on current project data.
What is the difference between Profit - Planned and Profit - Project?
Profit - Planned compares the target billable total to the planned work total. Profit - Project compares the work billable total to the work total. Profit - Planned is commonly used for fixed-price contracts, while Profit - Project is commonly used for time and materials projects.
Where are profit numbers available?
Profit numbers are available on project reports.
In Short
Project profit calculations in Project Insight help teams compare revenue against cost at different points in the project lifecycle.
Use target, planned, forecasted, and actual profit values to understand what the project was expected to earn, what it may earn during execution, and what it ultimately earned once the work is complete.
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