# Projects and Estimates #core-concepts #projects #estimates Projects and estimates form the core organizational structure in PAI. Understanding how these elements work together is essential for effectively using the system. ## Projects Overview A project in PAI is the central container for all information related to a production engagement: - **Scope**: Projects contain all data related to bidding/estimation, budgeting, production/post-production, and accounts payable/receivable - **Client Association**: Each project is assigned to a specific client - **Campaign Grouping**: One or more projects can be assigned to a campaign - **Financial Rollup**: Project finance can roll up to the campaign level to track groups of projects against an overall campaign budget ![[PAI-Hierarchy.png]] ### Project Lifecycle Projects in PAI follow a defined lifecycle: 1. **Creation**: Project is established with basic information and client association 2. **Estimation**: Multiple estimate versions may be created during the bidding phase 3. **Approval**: You can approve a single estimate version 4. **Conversion**: An estimate converts to a working budget and generate production documents 5. **Production**: Active project management during execution phase 6. **Completion**: Deliverables are provided and project is finalized 7. **Archival**: Project is archived for historical reference Throughout this lifecycle, PAI maintains the relationships between estimates, budgets, production logistics, and financial tracking. ## Project Creation 1. Use the "Add New" or "Add Project" Buttons 2. Enter a project name 3. Select the client by type/search 4. Create a new client if the client does not exist 5. Click "Create" to generate the new project. ![[create-project-action.gif]] ### Opportunity Information #oppertunties After creating a project, complete the opportunity details to feed data to your [[Client CRM & Pipeline]] Module. To access the opportunities panel, open the sidebar: > [!abstract]- Accessing the Side Bar > To access the Side Bar, you must first be in a project. > 1) At the top right color of the UI, you'll find the Side Bar Button. Click this to Open the Side Bar > > ![[sidebar-button.png]] > > 2) Click on the Side Bar Panel to view it. > > ![[sidebar-home.png]] > > 3) You can cycle between panels via the view selector > > ![[sidebar-panel-switcher.png]] > > 4) You can return to the Side Bar home using the back arrow > > ![[sidebar-home-arrow.png]] > > **Example:** > > ![[open-sidebar-action 1.gif]] Define the basic opportunity details: - Opportunity owner - Reported estimate version - Probability percentage - Lead source - Opportunity type This information flows to PAI's Pipeline module ![[oppertunity-action.gif]] > [!note] > The opportunity settings determine how your project appears in the sales pipeline and affects revenue forecasting. Be sure to set an appropriate probability percentage based on your confidence in winning the project. ## Estimate Structure Estimates are detailed financial projections that include: ### Line Items and Rate Cards #line-items - **Basic Building Blocks**: Estimates are built by adding line items - **Source Options**: Line items can be added from: - A preexisting rate card - Created and added to the rate card during estimation - **Rich Metadata**: Line items contain detailed information: - Name - Account Number - Category - Department - Department Group - Unit - Revenue Recognition Category This metadata automatically organizes line items by categories, departments, or days depending on the estimate view. ![[add-line-item-action.gif]] ### Line Item Quantity and Cost Calculation - **Quantity (QTY)**: How many unique instances of an item you need (e.g., "Two" camera operators) - **Unit Quantity (UNIT QTY)**: How much of the unit type applies to each instance (e.g., "Eight" hours per editor) - **Unit Types**: - Days - Hours - Flat - **Calculation**: QTY × UNIT QTY × RATE determines the total amount for: - External Subtotal Cost (client-facing) - Internal Subtotal Cost (organization's costs) - **Margin Creation**: Different external and internal costs create a margin #### Line Item Calculation Example Let's see how line item calculations work in practice: **Example 1: Camera Operator (Day Rate)** - QTY: 2 (two camera operators) - UNIT: Days - UNIT QTY: 3 (three days each) - External Rate: $800/day - Internal Rate: $750/day - External Cost: 2 × 3 × $800 = $4,800 - Internal Cost: 2 × 3 × $750 = $4,500 - Margin: $4,800 - $4,500 = $300 **Example 2: Editor (Hourly Rate)** - QTY: 1 (one editor) - UNIT: Hours - UNIT QTY: 16 (sixteen hours) - External Rate: $800/Hour - Internal Rate: $800/Hour - External Cost: 1 × 16 × $125 = $2,000 - Internal Cost: 1 × 16 × $125 = $2,000 (assuming same internal cost) - Margin: $0 **Example 3: Project Fee (Flat Rate)** - QTY: 1 (one project fee) - UNIT: Flat - UNIT QTY: 1 (one, Flat) - External Rate: $500/Flat - Internal Rate: $500/Flat - External Cost: 1 × 1 × $500 = $500 - Internal Cost: 1 × 1 × $500 = $500 - Margin: $0 ### Fringes #fringes Fringes are Percentage-based markups applied to line items or groups of line items - **Examples**: Insurance, administrative fees, markups - **Application Levels**: Can be applied at: - Global level (entire estimate) - Category level (e.g., all Labor items) - Department level (e.g., all Camera Department items) - Individual line item level - **Inheritance**: New items automatically inherit fringes from their assigned categories or departments when added ![[add-fringe-action.gif]] > [!tip] > See the [[Fringes|Fringes]] section for detailed information on working with fringes in PAI. ## Estimate Views PAI offers three different views to organize and visualize estimates: ### Sheet View - **Format**: Displays line items in a traditional spreadsheet format - **Organization**: Items organized by categories and departments - **Best For**: Comprehensive overview and management - **Financial Focus**: Provides detailed view of costs and margins ### Days View - **Format**: Organizes line items by their scheduled days - **Visibility**: Shows resource allocation across the project timeline - **Best For**: Detailed day-by-day resource management - **Day Focus**: Shows what resources are assigned to each production day ### Timeline View - **Format**: Calendar-based visualization of the project schedule - **Interaction**: Interactive features enhance scheduling flexibility: - Click on calendar days to assign services - Drag services across multiple days to extend duration - **Automation**: Automatically updates the line item's Unit Quantity for "Days" - **Best For**: Visual resource scheduling and planning - **Calendar Focus**: Provides intuitive visual scheduling interface We provide a dedicated guide for [[TimeLine View]] ## Unit Types and Scheduling The unit type selected for a line item determines how it behaves in the scheduling system: - **Days Unit Type**: - Can be scheduled on specific calendar days - Appears in Days View and Timeline View - Creates logical "day" entities in the system - Converts to call sheets when the project is activated - **Hours Unit Type**: - Cannot be scheduled on specific days - Appears as a project-wide resource - Treated as a global expense applied to the entire project - Cannot be distributed across specific calendar days - **Flat Unit Type**: - Similar to Hours in that it cannot be scheduled - Represents fixed-cost items that apply to the entire project - Not tied to specific production days > [!important] > Only line items with "Days" unit type can be scheduled in the calendar views. If you need to schedule resources on specific days, use the "Days" unit type rather than "Hours" or "Flat." ## Estimate Versioning - **Initial Version**: Each estimate begins with Version 1 (V1) - **Versioning Options**: 1. **Duplicate**: Create an incremental version (e.g., V1 → V2) that preserves all line items and settings 2. **New Blank Version**: Create a completely blank new version for a fresh approach - **History Tracking**: PAI automatically tracks version history - **Comparison**: Users can reference previous iterations and compare changes across versions ![[estimate-version-switcher.png]] ### When to Create New Versions Create new estimate versions when: - Client requests significant changes to the scope - You need to present different pricing options - Project requirements evolve during the bidding process - You want to preserve a record of different approaches ### Naming Estimate Versions You can give estimate versions names to help better identify them. Version names are also externalized on the estimate print views. 1) Select the estimate version you want to name 2) Click on the "Overview" Tab Left of the "Sheet" Tab in the estimate navigation area. 3) Edit the "Version Name Field" to name or modify the version name. ## Estimate Compare You can quickly compare estimate versions within a project by using the estimate compare tool. Similar to Live Margins, you can view estimate comparisons at the category, department, or line level. PAI will showcase the value difference, both positive and negative, based on a selected base estimate. The estimate compare tool allows you to: - Select which estimate versions to display - Select a base version to calculate differences from - Re-order version columns - Compare External or Internal Values - Print a PDF to share the comparison chart with an external stakeholder ## Printing / Externalizing Estimates > [!tip] We have a dedicated guide for [[Estimate Print]]. ## Estimate Status & Lifecycle ### Estimate Status Each estimate version maintains its own independent status. This list is intended to showcase PAI's vanilla logic for these status, although workspace users may elect to provide them alternative meaning: - **Draft**: New versions, still being worked on internally - **Internal Review**: Ready for internal team approval - **Internal Approved**: Received all necessary internal approvals, ready to share with client - **Sent**: Shared with the client (version becomes locked) - **Verbal Commit**: Client verbally agreed but formal approval pending - **Legal Review**: Being reviewed by legal teams before final approval - **Approved**: Accepted by the client - **Canceled**: Estimate version was canceled with cause - **Abandoned**: Estimate version canceled without cause > [!important] > When a version's status is set to **Sent**, PAI automatically locks that version from further modification to preserve the integrity of what was shared with the client. If you need to make changes after sending an estimate, you must create a new version. ### Lifecycle Logic There are three primary phases in the estimate lifecycle: 1) When an estimate is created, it is assigned a "Draft" Status automatically 2) When an estimate is sent, or marked as sent, the estimate version is locked from further modification 3) After an estimate is sent, it can be set to the "Approved" Status. When an estimate is "Approved", it assumes a Project Number and becomes a work order #### Post Approval Modifications You can modify approved estimates in two ways: ###### Change Order You can create a change order for small to large changes, and/or if you have not generated the budget yet. 1) Duplicate the "Approved" estimate to create a new version. 2) Modify the new version 3) Mark the new version as "Sent" 4) Mark the new version as "Approved" 5) The previous "Approved" version will automatically change its status to "Canceled" > [!tip] > If you approve a new estimate after budget creation, only the internal total will be updated for the budget. PAI does not currently add or modify existing expense lines from the budget based on changes to the estimate line items. ##### Create an overage Overages allow you to generate additional external documents for costs added during project execution. Overage versions, similar to estimate versions, can be given statuses. Unlike Estimates, multiple overages can be set to "Approved". 1) "Approved" Overages add their internal and external costs to the overall total of the External and Internal Total values for the project in the Finance Tab and Sidebar. 2) "Approved" Overages Internal Total Increases the Internal Total value in the budget. 3) "Approved" Overages versions become selectable in live margins and finance sections of the project, allowing you to turn them On & Off to preview their value changes. > [!warning] Keep in Mind.. > Approved Overages only update the project's External Total and Internal Total values where present. They do not create or modify existing expense lines in the budget automatically. ## Estimate to Budget Conversion When an estimate achieves **Approved** status A "Start Project" option becomes available for approved estimates. ##### Conversion Process The conversion from estimate to budget is a significant transition in the project lifecycle: 1. User with appropriate permissions clicks "Start Project" on an approved estimate 2. Estimate line items are transformed into individual budget expense lines 3. Days from the estimate become production days with call sheets 4. The budget becomes the working financial document for the project > [!note] > See the [[02-Core-Concepts/Budgets|Budgets]] section for detailed information on how estimates convert to budgets and how budgets are managed during production. ## Project Sidebar Information > [!abstract]- Accessing the Side Bar > To access the Side Bar, you must first be in a project. > 1) At the top right color of the UI, you'll find the Side Bar Button. Click this to Open the Side Bar > > ![[sidebar-button.png]] > > 2) Click on the Side Bar Panel to view it. > > ![[sidebar-home.png]] > > 3) You can cycle between panels via the view selector > > ![[sidebar-panel-switcher.png]] > > 4) You can return to the Side Bar home using the back arrow > > ![[sidebar-home-arrow.png]] > > **Example:** > > ![[open-sidebar-action 1.gif]] The project sidebar provides additional estimate-related information and settings. We have a dedicated guide that details [[Sidebar Financial Panels]]. ### Project Scope Panel - Rich text area for detailed project descriptions - Statement of Work (SOW) details - Project schedule information - General project notes - Client-facing information that appears in estimate print views ### Billing Notes Panel - Payment schedule information - Terms and conditions related to billing - Invoice timing notes - Appears in client-facing estimate documents ### Internal Overview Panel - Private notes visible only to team members - Not displayed in client-facing estimate print views - Can contain sensitive information or internal directives ### Live Margins Panel - Displays the financial overview that changes based on context - When viewing estimates: - Shows external totals (client-facing costs) - Shows internal totals (organization's costs) - Calculates margin (difference between external and internal) - Displays line-by-line margin calculations and percentages ### Comments - Provides a centralized place to communicate about project items. Comments are project wide and are available across all estimate versions. - You can tag other users via "@" to generate a notification to that user - You can react to comments using standard emojis. ## Related Topics - [[02-Core-Concepts/Budgets|Budgets]] - [[TimeLine View]] - [[Estimate Print]] - [[Days In PAI|Days in PAI]] - [[Reference Numbers & Job Codes|Reference Numbers]] - [[Fringes|Fringes]] © 2025 PAI Tech, Inc. [paihq.com](https://www.paihq.com/)