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Leadership


PROJECT EXPENSE TRACKING: 6 WAYS TO TRACK PROJECT COSTS

by Jennifer Bridges  |  Feb 15, 2022
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Leadership


PROJECT EXPENSE TRACKING: 6 WAYS TO TRACK PROJECT COSTS

ProjectManager
by Jennifer Bridges | Feb 15, 2022

Track project expenses in real time with ProjectManager. Plan projects, manage
budgets and track progress with powerful features the whole team can use.

Get started for free

Projects cost money and therefore demand project expense tracking. Being able to
manage and track expenses is what keeps the project within a budget.
Stakeholders are not likely to consider the project a success if it costs them
too much. Remember the triple constraint: cost, scope and time. You have to
manage all three, giving and taking from one to the other.


WHAT IS A PROJECT EXPENSE?

A project expense is the cost of what you need to complete a project. You need
to cover all the expenses associated with your project before executing that
project. This occurs during the project planning phase when you’re developing a
project budget.

There are two main types of expenses that you need to know as you track your
project costs. They are direct expenses and indirect expenses. Direct expenses
for your project are those that are directly tied to the project, such as
specialized software, contractor hours, travel and meal expenses, mileage, etc.
Note that direct costs can be fixed or variable.

Indirect project costs are those that aren’t linked to the project. These
expenses still must be paid. They are important as often project managers will
overlook them when setting rates or creating bids for projects. Some examples of
indirect costs include rent, support staff salaries, utilities, software
licensing fees, advertising and promotion, office supplies, accounting and
lawyer fees, etc. Indirect costs can also be fixed or variable.

Using project management software offers you more transparency into how you’re
spending your project expenses. ProjectManager is cloud-based work and project
management software that tracks your costs in real time. Our live dashboard
requires no wasted time setting it up like some lightweight tools. It’s always
collecting project data, crunching the numbers and displaying six project
metrics including costs in easy-to-read graphs and charts. Get started with
ProjectManager today for free!

Track project costs and expenses in real time with ProjectManager’s dashboard.
Learn more


HOW TO TRACK PROJECT EXPENSES & COSTS

The last thing you want is to have your pay or bonus cut because you didn’t keep
to the project budget, as some have learned from experience. To avoid that,
let’s discuss six ways to track your project’s expenses.


1. ESTABLISH COST TRACKING SYSTEMS

The first rule is to have a system in place to deal with your expenses and have
the capacity to track them. This can be a robust project management software
with dynamic functionality or something more static like an Excel sheet.

Whatever you choose, you need at least some sort of format or log to collect
cost management data and identify who is spending what and when. Most project
managers use software equipped with a project dashboard that allows them to
check the overall status of a project.

Project management dashboards usually display cost, task and time tracking data.
Without such a system in place there’s no way to know where your money is going.

Related: Free Project Dashboard Template


2. PROVIDE ONLINE ACCESS

The next logical step is to have a system that is online. Being able to gain
access to your tracking system anywhere and at any time is more than just a
luxury. It has become an essential part of any project management plan.

You or your team might be working in the field or off-site somewhere. An online
tool gives you access to the system, so you can add expenses there and then.
Waiting until you’re back in the office means it’s more likely that something
will fall through the cracks.


3. IDENTIFY BUDGET ITEMS

A project tracking system is important, but it’s useless until you have
identified the items in your budget. You need to know where the costs are going.
This list varies from project to project, industry to industry, but detailing it
is key to every project. To create a budget, you’ll need to estimate the cost of
all the tasks that make up your project, including all the resources needed to
execute them. Our estimate template facilitates this process.

For example, you’re going to spend money on resources, such as equipment and
your team; you might have real-estate costs, legal and travel expenses. All
these items must be identified and listed in order for you to track their
expenses. You can download our free project budget template if you need help
getting started.


4. CREATE A PROJECT BUDGET

You can probably see where this is going. It’s all part and parcel to creating a
budget. You need to have your fixed and variable costs and expenses figured out
before you can track them. The budget will be the umbrella under which all your
project expenses will be covered.

Of course, once you’ve created a budget, you have to get it approved. This will
allow you to see up parameters for your expenses and help track by letting you
know what is permissible to spend and when those costs are going beyond what has
been earmarked for the project.


5. ASSIGN SOMEONE TO TRACK EXPENSES

A system, budget and everything related to managing your project costs is all
for naught if there is not a person in charge of overseeing this process. You
must assign someone from the team who is tasked with operating the system you
have devised to track expenses.

This person will become invaluable. They’ll be on the front lines of your actual
budget and can raise the red flag when costs are exceeding what has been
approved for the budget expenses. You want someone trustworthy to own this
process.


6. TRACK AND CONTROL EXPENSES IN REAL-TIME

Finally, to streamline the cost management process and make it more effective,
you want to have an online tool. We mentioned online project management software
above, and one of the advantages it has over Excel is that it’s constantly
updated and reflects your actual spending on expenses. Therefore, if you notice
a spike in spending, you not only have identified it quickly but now can address
it before you leak value and risk busting your budget.

The following tutorial video addresses costs, specifically project expenses.
You’re going to have these expenditures, but to avoid wildly overspending, you
must have a system in place to monitor and track them. That’s the only way to
control your expenses and in so doing stay on budget. Watch and learn how to
manage and track your project expenses.


PROJECT EXPENSE TRACKING TEMPLATES

Project expense management isn’t easy. If you’re not ready to upgrade to project
management software, we have dozens of free project management templates you can
use. ProjectManager is the online hub for everything work and project
management. Here are a few of the free project tracking templates for Excel we
offer.


PROJECT BUDGET TEMPLATE

Expenses are part of your project budget. Before you can track them you have to
make accurate estimates of what you expect to spend. Our free project budget
template for Excel is a place to capture all the financial details that pertain
to executing your project. It can also help you monitor those costs once you
start executing your tasks to help you stay within your budget.


PROJECT DASHBOARD TEMPLATE

Another tool to track your expenses is our free project dashboard template for
Excel. Unlike our software, you have to input data to get the output on your
project metrics, but if you’re not using project management software to track
your expenses, then you need this free dashboard template. It monitors costs,
but also tasks and workload.


PROJECT TASK TRACKER TEMPLATE

It’s executing tasks where expenses are spent. If you don’t keep to your
schedule and extend the duration of your tasks, you’re going to spend more
money. Therefore, our free project task tracker template for Excel is helpful
because it describes each task, notes any dependent tasks, who is assigned to
that task, the priority, start and end dates and the planned end date.


HOW PROJECTMANAGER TRACKS PROJECT EXPENSES

ProjectManager is a cloud-based work and project tracking software that updates
in real time to help you accurately track project expenses. Our tool has
features to build and monitor your budget to keep track of what you’re spending
and the status of your project.


BUILD BUDGETS AND TRACK EXPENSES WITH THE GANTT

Easily add budget info to your project, including budget expenses on our Gantt
chart view. Add fixed expenses that don’t have hourly rates. Add planned costs
and set the baseline to capture your budget so you can then compare it with your
actual cost once the project has started. You can then see in real time whether
you’re on track or overspending and respond quickly before costs get out of
hand.


CREATE PROJECT REPORTS IN MINUTES

One-click reports make it easy to get deep into the data and track expenses down
to the task level. Get reports on the project status that show which tasks are
overdue, show your costs to date, planned task costs and planned resource costs.
Filter those reports to just show the expense costs you’re interested in, then
easily share them with stakeholders to keep the updated.

Expenses change over the course of a project and we make it easy to revise your
budget during the project. You need the flexibility to adjust to the changing
constraints in your project and our software lets you revise in real time. Your
budget isn’t chiseled in stone or, worse, on a spreadsheet. Our tool makes sure
your expense forecast is accurate.

ProjectManager is award-winning work and project management software that
connects hybrid teams and tracks their expenses no matter where they work, how
they work or what they do in your organization. Improve your project expense
tracking today—get started for free with ProjectManager.


RELATED POSTS

 * How to Track Project Resources
 * 3 Ways to Improve Your Digital Project Management
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RELATED POSTS

 * How to Track Project Resources
 * 3 Ways to Improve Your Digital Project Management
 * 15 Leadership Training Options




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