How do I plan for a project?

With Fowardly, you can easily plan and project a number of different scenarios, including how a project or projects may affect your business's cash flow going forward.

Steps to Plan a Project

1. On the Cash Flow page, click on Plan a Scenario. 
2. Click on Plan a Project. 
3. Fill out the project details:
   
   • Contact Name. Select the name of the third party, business, or institution that is associated with the project. You will be able to either:
     • Pick from an existing contact or vendor; or
     • Enter a new name.
   • Project Revenue. You may either use the slider to specify this project's expected revenue or enter it directly by clicking on the displayed project revenue value in figures. 
   • Chart of Account. This should be the chart of account that the project revenue would fall under.
   • Project Cost. This will be based on the projected costs of the project. You can enter the value via the following: 
     • Value. The number you enter here will be taken as a flat monetary value.
     • Percentage. The number you enter here will be taken as the percentage value of the total project revenue.
   • Chart of Account. This should be the Chart of Account that the project cost would fall under. 
   • Repeat Every<value>. Enter a numeric value for the repetition frequency. In the same field, select the frequency period from any of the following values from the dropdown control. When you select the frequency period as Weekly or Bi Weekly, the system will pop-up another control that lets you select the specific day(s) of the week when the repetition will occur.
     • Daily
     • Weekly
     • Bi Weekly
     • Monthly
     • Semi Monthly
   • End Date. Enter the end date for the project if it is not open-ended, or else retain the default value of None. Possible values for this field are: 
     • None (open-ended -- nothing to select)
     • After<numeric value> (number of occurrences)
     • By (select date from date picker)

Example: Plan a Project

Now, let's walk through a practical example where a company is deciding whether or not to take on a particular project. Let's assume we are in the construction business, and our client's name is Chester Sampson. The project will gross approximately $50,000 in revenues every month for the next eight months, but the cost of sales is over 50% at $28,000 each month.

• • Contact Name: Chester Sampson
  • Projected Revenue: $50,000
  • Chart of Account: Sales of Product Income
  • Projected Cost: $28,000
  • Chart of Account: Material Cost
  • End Date: After Eight Occurrences

You now have the ability to assess how a net cash position of $22,000 over the next eight months will impact your cash flow projection.