Element Budget

Element budget is a type of bottom-up budget that helps you monitor a project based on the linked elements. These elements are created in a multi-level hierarchical structure and allow detailed cost types, such as material, labor, equipment, subcontracting, and sundry. In an element budget, elements are used for the main structure with which you can build the budget. In the element structure, you can link the cost objects of the project budget to the element budget lines.

When defining an element structure for a project, you must create the top element, which is the top of the tree structure. All the other elements in a project structure must be linked to this top element either directly or indirectly and are called child element. You can use the Elements (tpptc1100m000) session to create an element and to specify parameters relating to a budget line quantity, progress recording, cost control and, if applicable, extensions, settlements, and invoice amounts.

The difference between an element budget and an activity budget are:

• Elements are static whereas activities are dynamic and they can be used in a plan. Elements cannot be scheduled whereas activities can be scheduled using the project schedule functionality.
• Elements can be used as a framework whereas if the control is on an Activity Budget (see the Project (tppdm6600m400) the linked activities are used to monitor the project.

An element-based budget structure has these benefits:

• You can define quantities on the relations between elements. For example, the project is a house which needs four doors. The elements House and Door have a relationship with the quantity four. This means that each activity on the budget line is mentioned four times.
• You can define an element with multiple parents in various levels using the parent child relationship functionality in Project. This reduces time when you must create the budget, repetitive of the work (scope). For example, the project is a street with four houses. All these houses require doors, so the house element is available multiple times and the door has a frequency factor of four. This method saves budget lines. Each activity is only mentioned once as a budget line with the same frequency.
• An element structure can have multiple tops. This is especially useful for an estimating structure. The flexibility is supported in this way.

You can use the Element Budget Overview (tpptc1110m000) to generate an overview of the entire budget data for a specific project and activity. You can also use this session to create budget lines for all cost types. You can access this session by selecting the Use Element Budget Overview check box in the Project Budget Parameters (tpptc0100s000) session.