Cost overview in MS Project - This way you keep your budget in view

MS Project offers a variety of tools for project planning and monitoring, including the Cost Overview feature. This tutorial will show you how to effectively keep track of your project's costs. Understanding the financial aspects of your projects is crucial to ensuring that you stay within budget and identify potential issues early. So let's dive right in and explore the capabilities that the Cost Overview in MS Project offers.

Key Takeaways

• The Cost Overview provides a clear overview of the total costs and remaining costs of your project.
• It is possible to customize reports and add additional information.
• MS Project allows you to filter data to quickly obtain specific information.
• Reports can help you make informed decisions and identify potential problems in a timely manner.

Step-by-Step Guide to Cost Overview

To utilize the Cost Overview in MS Project, follow these steps:

View Report

First, you need to access the report toolbar. To do this, go to "Report" in the menu at the top. Here you will find various reporting options that allow you to analyze the costs of your project more closely.

Selecting the Cost Overview

In the report, you have the option to create different reports. Choose the "Cost Overview". This view gives you access to a visual table that shows the total costs and other critical cost information of your project.

Total Costs and Remaining Costs

In the Cost Overview, you will see the total costs that have been incurred in your project up to this point. For example, it could be 4190 EUR. You will also notice the remaining costs that will accrue, in this case, 3380 EUR. This information is crucial for quickly assessing the financial status of the project at a glance.

Accumulated Costs and Percentages

The accumulated costs and percentages give you an idea of how much of the project has already been completed. This is a valuable tool for tracking progress and ensuring that you stay within budget. The overview shows that 10% of the costs have been completed.

Layout Editing

You can customize the layout of the Cost Overview to organize the data according to your needs. Click on the layout options to change the appearance of the table and add more relevant information.

Resource Overview

Next is a resource overview. Here, you check how much work has been done by the different resources. This helps you identify how efficiently the team is working and where potential bottlenecks may exist.

Detailed Resource and Cost Insight

When looking at the resource costs, you not only get an insight into actual costs but also remaining costs and cost status. For example, you can view actual costs by resources. This allows you to get a detailed overview of the work done and the associated costs.

Customizing Report Fields

If you want to add more information to the view, you can customize report fields. This includes adding actual costs or removing less relevant information. A clean and specific view makes the data easier to understand.

Data Filtering

To obtain specific information, you can activate filters. For example, if you only want to display actual costs, you can set the filter to show only those and hide other types of costs. This helps you maintain a financial overview of your project.

Exporting Data to Excel

While the reports in MS Project are powerful, sometimes Excel is the preferred choice for a deeper analysis. You can link the data from any report to Excel to analyze it there. This is particularly useful for larger projects where a detailed examination of costs and resources is necessary.

Summary

The cost overview in MS Project is an essential tool for managing your project finances. You have learned how to create reports, customize the layout, and obtain targeted information. By following these steps, you can monitor your projects more rigorously and identify potential issues early on.