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ConceptsPlanning and actuals

Planning and actuals

A single “budget vs actual” line does not work for services. Each engagement has its own mix of lines, KPIs, and roles. A consulting engagement tracks different things than a managed service.

DigitalCore solves this with a layered model: define structure once, plan per period, record actuals as you go.

The four layers

  • Templates define structure once at the organisation level. Which finance lines, which KPIs, which roles to track.
  • Engagement configuration is created when a template is assigned. Defaults flow through, and you can override targets, limits, or parties per engagement without touching the template.
  • Monthly plans set target values per item per month: revenue, cost, KPI target, planned hours.
  • Monthly actuals are recorded at check‑in. Variance and status update automatically.

How it works in practice

  1. Open Configure → Templates and create a template using catalog items. Add finance lines, KPIs, and roles.
  2. Open the engagement and assign templates, one per domain (finance, performance, capacity).
  3. Set targets per item per month, in bulk for the whole period or month by month.
  4. Each month, record actuals in Engagements → Check‑in. Plan and actual sit side by side with variance calculated for you.

Same pattern across the four domains

  • Finance: planned revenue and cost lines. Actuals at check-in. Margin equals revenue minus cost.
  • Performance: planned KPI targets. Actuals at check-in. Status from limits, with missed terms posted to finance.
  • Capacity: planned hours by role. Actuals at check-in. Hours valued at the right rate and posted as labour cost.
  • AI Usage: planned token volume and cost target per use case. Actuals at check-in. Cost posts to finance against the engagement.
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