Use the Top-Down Planning tab to enter basic plan information, including fees, resources, and dates and spread the data over a period of time. You can then use this information to run a "what-if" scenario to determine how many hours will be required to complete a project.
If you decide to apply the numbers and resources entered on this tab - to convert the what-if scenario to a project plan - click the
Update Labor Plan button to send the plan's information to the Project Planning tabs.
Contents
Grid Options
| Field | Description |
|---|
 Insert/Add
|
Click this option to open a new row in the grid. The Generic Resource lookup displays. Use this lookup to search for and select the generic resource records that you want to open.
|
 Copy
|
Click this option to copy the current grid row and places it on the clipboard. You may change the field information to create a unique grid row.
|
 Delete
|
Click this option to delete the current row from the grid.
|
Top-Down Budget Grid
Use the Top-Down Budget and Generic Resource grids to enter specific details about the rows of a plan.
| Field | Description |
|---|
| Top-down Budget Drop-down
|
Click the drop-down arrow on a grid header to complete any of the following actions:
- To print grid data, click
Print. When the Print Preview form displays, click
to send the grid data to your default printer.
- To export grid data to an Excel spreadsheet, click
Export to Excel. When Microsoft Excel opens, use its features to modify, print, or email the data, or to save the spreadsheet file locally.
- To turn on grouping for a grid, click
Enable Grouping. When a field displays with the instruction: "Drag a column header here to group by that column," drag and drop column headers into this field, in the sequence that you want them to display.
Not all options are available on all grids.
|
| Top Down Fee
|
Enter a monetary amount that represents the total compensation fee your company expects to receive for the project. Include labor services and direct expenses in the compensation fee.
|
| Description
|
Enter a description of the row. These descriptions display on the labor tab indented below the top planning row, and use the description entered for the Plan Name on the General tab of Project Planning.
|
| % of Fee
|
Enter the row's percent of the compensation fee. Vision calculates the
Amount field based on this percentage.
The % of Fee must total 100%.
|
| Amount
|
Vision calculates the amount based on the % of Fee entered. The calculation is:
Amount = % of Fee * Compensation Fee
For example, if the Compensation Fee is 4000 and the % of Fee is 25, then the Amount is 1000.
4000 * .25 = 1000
|
| Hours
|
Vision inputs the hours based on the following calculation:
Hours = Amount/Rate
For example, if the Amount is 1000 and the Rate is 95, then the Hours are 11.
1000/95 = 10.5 (which Vision rounds to 11)
|
| Start Date
|
This field is required because each plan must have a start date. Enter the start date for the row or click
Calendar and select a date.
|
| End Date
|
Enter the end date for the row or click
Calendar and select a date.
|
| Update Labor Plan
|
Click this button to send the plan's information to the Project Planning tabs.
|
Generic Resources Grid
Use the Generic Resources grid to enter specific details about the generic resources for each line item on the top-down budget. You can enter one or more generic resources for each entry listed in the Top-down Budget grid.
When you use the Top-down Budget and Generic Resources grids, the selection you make on the Top-down Budget grid dictates the information that displays on the Generic Resources grid. For example, if you enter Budget Entry 1 and Budget Entry 2 grid rows on the Top-down Budget grid, you can add generic resources on the Generic Resources grid for each entry. When you select an entry on the Top-down Budget grid, the Generic Resources grid changes to reflect the resources for that entry.
When you finish, use the
Update Labor Plan button to populate the plan’s Labor tab with the data you entered on the Top-down Planning tab.
| Field | Description |
|---|
| Generic Resource Drop-down
|
Click the drop-down arrow on a grid header to complete any of the following actions:
- To print grid data, click
Print. When the Print Preview form displays, click
to send the grid data to your default printer.
- To export grid data to an Excel spreadsheet, click
Export to Excel. When Microsoft Excel opens, use its features to modify, print, or email the data, or to save the spreadsheet file locally.
- To turn on grouping for a grid, click
Enable Grouping. When a field displays with the instruction: "Drag a column header here to group by that column," drag and drop column headers into this field, in the sequence that you want them to display.
Not all options are available on all grids.
|
| Generic Resource
|
Use the Generic Resource lookup to select a generic resource category.
-
You define the categories in the Labor Categories Table.
-
You specify the generic resource category type in the
Generic Method field on the Rates tab.
-
The labor billing rate category table that you specify on the Rates tab provides the contents of the drop-down list for the
Generic Resource field.
|
| Rate
|
Vision inputs the appropriate rate based on the rate defined for the selected Generic Resource. This rate is derived from the billing labor rates, generic table selected on the Rates tab.
If you use
Effective Date Based Rates (which you specify in
), the rate retrieved in this field is the rate that most closely matches the selected start date.
|
| Hours
|
Vision inputs the hours based on the following calculation:
Hours = Amount/Rate
For example, if the Amount is 1000 and the Rate is 95, then the Hours are 11.
1000/95 = 10.5 (which Vision rounds to 11)
|
| Amount
|
Vision calculates the amount based on the % of Fee entered. The calculation is:
Amount = % of Fee * Compensation Fee
For example, if the Compensation Fee is 4000 and the % of Fee is 25, then the Amount is 1000.
4000 * .25 = 1000
|
| Number of People
|
Enter the number of people assigned to the row. When you select
Update Labor Plan, Vision inserts the number of generic resources specified underneath the row description.
|
| Hours Per Person
|
This field calculates the number of hours per person based on the following calculation:
Hours / # of People
You cannot modify this field.
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