PAI has multiple financial Sidebar Panels that are contextual to the current project section or activity you are viewing. These panels collectively provide: - Comprehensive financial analysis (Live Margins) - Real-time expense tracking (Budget Breakdown) - Project-wide financial performance (Finance Sidebar) They're all part of PAI's financial intelligence system that helps users understand project performance, track spending against budgets, and make data-driven decisions. > [!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]] ## Live Margins Live Margins is a margin & variance specific sidebar panel in a PAI project. This dynamic panel adapts its content based on the current context, providing relevant financial insights whether you're building estimates or managing active budgets. **Context-Aware Display:** - **In Estimates:** Shows External, Internal, and Margin calculations with percentage breakdowns and detailed margin analysis for pricing optimization - **In Budgets:** Shows Internal Total, Working Total, and Job Expense Variance tracking to monitor budget performance against approved estimates ### In Estimate Context: ![[live-margin-estimate.png]] - **External** - Total Projected Revenue Sold (Revenue) - **Internal** - Total Authorized Job Expenses (Expense) - **Margin** - External minus Internal (Profit) with percentage calculations - **External Subtotal** - Revenue totals by section - **Discounted Subtotal** - Revenue after discount application - **Job Fee Subtotal** - Total fringe/markup amounts - **Grand Total** - Final estimate totals ### **In Budget Context:** ![[live-margin-budget.png]] - **Internal Total** - Total Approved Job Expenses inclusive of overages (Expense) - **Working Total** - Sum of Projected + Committed + Incurred Expenses - **Job Expense Variance** - Difference between Internal Total and Working Total Job Expenses - **Job Fee Subtotal** - Total fringe amounts - **Grand Total** - Final budget totals **View Options:** - **Categories View** - Groups by categories - **Departments View** - Groups by departments - **Items View** - Shows individual line items **Primary Totals:** - **External** - Total amount you're billing the client for this project (Revenue) - **Internal** - Total approved budget for all your project costs (Expense) **Internal Costs Breakdown:** - **Projected Job Expenses** - Money you're planning to spend (Draft status expenses) - **Committed Job Expenses** - Money you've committed to spend but haven't paid yet (Confirmed / Posted / Requested / Rejected status) - **Incurred Job Expenses** - Money you've approved for payment or already paid (Approved / Scheduled / Paid status) - **Working Total** - All your project expenses added together - **Job Expense Variance** - Difference between your approved internal budget and what you're actually spending **Finance Summary:** - **Working Margin** - Your current projected profit (External Total minus Working Total) - **Realized Margin** - Your actual profit when all expenses are closed out (only shows when all expenses reach "Incurred" status) - **Margin Variance** - Difference between the profit you expected to make from your original estimate versus your actual profit. Shows whether you're making more or less money than planned **Project Financial Performance:** This panel gives you the complete story of your project's financial performance from start to finish, helping you understand not just what you planned to make, but what you're actually making as expenses get paid and the project moves toward completion. The margin variance is particularly important as it can indicate estimate accuracy, spending performance, or scope changes that affected the project's profitability. © 2025 PAI Tech, Inc. [paihq.com](https://www.paihq.com/)