Introduction to Budgets

Updated on Nov 14, 2024

This article is applicable only to the AdvoLogix Fall 2020 (v1.108.x) release onward.

AdvoLogix provides multiple approaches to the new budgeting functionality. Each approach represents a finer degree of analysis and requires incremental effort and planning. Organizations may choose to implement any budgeting options (basic, timekeeper-based, or phase-based) organization-wide or on a matter-by-matter or account-by-account basis.

AdvoLogix supports building the budgets that best suit the legal practice of your organization, with support for building your budgets bottom-up or top-down.

Basic Budget (Matter-Based Only)

The simplest budget may be sufficient when budgeting requirements do not rise to the level of UTBMS or date-based budgeting. Basic budgeting is accomplished by entering budget amounts directly into the matter itself. Subsequently, over time, the actual fees and expenses are automatically tracked for the matter, allowing business processes, reports, dashboards, and other metrics to act on and reflect the budget elements.

Implementing Basic Budget

Enter the following budget amounts (fees, expenses, etc) for each matter. Over time, compare the manually entered budget amounts to the actual total amounts calculated by the system.

The following matter data entry elements are entered directly onto the matter:

Fee Budget - Expected fees for the life of the matter (currency).
Expense Budget - Expected expenses for the life of the matter (currency).
Budget - Total expected expenses and fees for the life of the matter (currency).
Allocated Time - Expected number of hours tracked for the life of the matter (numeric).

AdvoLogix automatically tallies the following data elements:

Total Expenses - Actual current total expenses (currency).
Total Time Amount - Actual current total fees (currency).
Total Time - Actual total number of hours tracked.

The rolled-up computations will automatically overwrite the basic matter budget as we define simple, summary, or detailed budgets.

Simple Budget

The simplest budget may be sufficient when budgeting requirements do not rise to the level of UTBMS or date-based budgeting. Simple budgets are implemented by adding budget records to the matter’s budget-related list. The related list is designed to accommodate multiple budgets for a single matter. Each budget can be assigned a time period and/or external resources. As budgets are created, AdvoLogix automatically totals the individual budget amounts at the matter level.

Implementing Simple Budget

Simple budgets are just the basic budget record that one would create from the matter’s Budgets related list.

The following fields on the related matter budget are applicable for budgets:

Fee Budget - Expected fees for the specified time period (currency).
Expense Budget - Expected expenses for the specified time period (currency).
Start Date - Start of the period for which this budget applies.
End Date - End of the period for which this budget applies.
UTBMS Code Set (optional) - Build your budget around UTBMS Codes. This enables you to allocate budget details using UTBMS codes.
Vendor (optional) - Assign the budget to an external resource provider.

When adding simple budgets for your matter, AdvoLogix will take over the management of the budget computation fields on the matter record. The following matter fields will be automatically calculated:

Fee Budget - Expected fees for the specified time period (currency).
Expense Budget - Expected expenses for the specified time period (currency).
Budget - Expected budget for the specified time period (currency).
Allocated Hours - Expected quantity (hours) for the specified time period (numeric).

Intermediate Summary Budget

Summary budgets are an intermediate approach to budgeting. This approach is best suited for budgeting within specific date periods or when budgeting external resources. Summary budgeting is also applicable when budgets need to be allocated based on the different phases (UTBMS Phases) of legal practice that a matter goes through in its life span.

Implementing Intermediate Summary Budget

Summary budgets are built upon simple budgets that one would have created earlier or by building one from the matter’s Budgets related list. Defining budget summary items or adding details to your budget will convert the budget to a summary budget.

The following fields are applicable for the related summary budget item:

Quantity - Expected quantity or hours for the specified time period (numeric).
Rate - Expected rate for the specified time period (currency).
Timekeeper - A resource for which you are allocating a budget.
Role - The role for which you want to allocate the budget.
UTBMS Code - A code or phase to which you are allocating the budget.
Start Date (optional) - Mark your budget details with the start of the period.
End Date (optional)- Mark your budget details with the end of the period.

When adding summary details to your budgets, AdvoLogix will take over the management of the budget fields on the budget record. The following budget fields will be automatically calculated:

Fee Budget - Expected fees for the specified time period (currency).
Expense Budget - Expected expenses for the specified time period (currency).
Quantity - Expected quantity for the specified time period (numeric).
Target Budget - The expected target for the specified time period (currency).

Detailed Line Item Budget

Line item budgeting allows organizations to budget at the finest level of detail. As with the summary budgeting approach, line item budgets can also be created for a specific date period or UTBMS level. The exception between summary and line item budgeting comes from the latter's ability to allocate budgets at the UTBMS or timekeeper level. This level of detail provides granular control and insights, with the ability to distribute budgets along multiple phases of legal matters.

Implementing Detailed Line Item Budget

Detailed budgets are built upon the summary budgets one would have created earlier or by building one from the matter’s Budgets related list. With more granular control over budget allocations, we can allocate budgets for resources or specific legal activities (UTBMS) that may be summarized by phases collectively.

The following fields are applicable for the related detail budget item:

Quantity - Expected quantity or hours for the specified time period (number).
Rate - Expected rate for the specified time period (currency).
Timekeeper - A resource for which you are allocating a budget.
Role - The role for which you want to allocate the budget.
UTBMS Code - A code or phase to which you allocate the budget.
Start Date (optional) - Mark your budget details with the start of the period.
End Date (optional) - Mark your budget details with the end of the period.

When adding detailed budget items to your summary budgets, AdvoLogix will take over the management of the budget fields on the summary budget record. The following summary budget fields will be automatically calculated:

Quantity - Expected quantity or hours for the specified time period (number).
Total - Expected fee/expenses for the specified time period (currency).
Rate - This will be automatically emptied for parent details when sub-details are added to a budget detail.
Target - Expected target for the specified time period (currency).

When the first incremental budget detail is added to the summary budget detail item, AdvoLogix will initiate actions in the following order:

The user will be presented with an entry form to save the Budget Detail record.
On Save, AdvoLogix will:
1. Add a new summary budget detail item automatically.
2. Move the existing summary budget detail and add it as a detailed budget item to the newly created summary budget detail ( in Step a ) above.
3. Save the detailed budget item ( in Step 1 ) above.

Implementing Parent & Child Budgets

Parent and Child Budgets allow your organization to build simpler, smaller sub-budgets that may belong to certain phases or life cycles of your matter or your vendors. Clubbing multiple budgets into a single-parent budget allows visibility into the accumulated rollup of allocations of hours, fees, and expenses into a singular screen.

Your users can create and go into any budget and edit it to assign a parent budget, which will automatically initiate the rollup of computations from the associated child budget.

Child Budget Fields

Field Label	Description	Functionality
Budget Name	This field allows users to give each budget a descriptive name, making it easier to identify and manage multiple budgets.	Allows users to specify a custom name for each budget. Previously, budgets were identified by automatically generated numbers. Provides a more meaningful and recognizable way to identify budgets. Helps users quickly locate and reference specific budgets by name. This is especially useful in large organizations with numerous budgets.
Total Number of Child Budgets	By showing the number of child budgets associated with a parent budget, this field helps users understand the hierarchy and structure of their budgets.	Displays the count of child budgets associated with a parent budget Gives users a quick overview of how many child budgets are linked to a parent budget. It aids in budget planning and management by giving a clear view of the budget breakdown. Child Budgets related list will populate on the budget record if there are child budgets on the budget.
Total Fee From Child Budgets	Displaying a rollup of fees from all child budgets.	Aggregates and shows the total fees allocated across all related child budgets. Provides a comprehensive view of total fees, aiding in financial oversight and planning.
Total Expense From Child Budgets	Displaying a rollup of all expenses from child budgets.	Aggregates and shows the total expenses allocated across all related child budgets. Offers a clear picture of total expenses, ensuring better expense tracking and control.
Total Budget From Child Budgets	Displaying a rollup of all child budgets.	Aggregates and shows the combined budget from all related child budgets. Facilitates comprehensive budget management by providing an overview of total budget allocations across all child budgets.
Remaining Budget	Displaying the total unallocated budget helps users track available funds.	Shows the total amount of budget that remains unallocated to child budgets. Assists in budget tracking and management by showing the absolute remaining amount.
Total Budget Percentage Remaining	This field provides a high-level overview of the budget utilization, showing what percentage of the total budget is still available.	Calculates and displays the percentage of the total budget that is still unallocated. It helps users monitor the remaining budget across the parent and child budgets. Ensures better financial control and planning by showing the unallocated budget percentage. Enables better management of fee allocations and prevents overspending.
Fee Percentage Remaining	This field focuses specifically on the fee budget, indicating how much of it is still available.	Indicates the percentage of the fee budget that is still unallocated. It is valuable for managing professional fees and ensuring that the fee budget is used appropriately.
Expense Percentage Remaining	Similar to the fee budget field, this field shows the remaining percentage of the expense budget.	Displays the percentage of the expense budget that remains unallocated. Provides information on the remaining expense budget, aiding in expense control.
Active	This field allows users to mark budgets as active or inactive.	A new checkbox field to mark projects as active or inactive. Used primarily for reporting purposes. It is important for filtering and reporting purposes, helping organizations track the status of various projects. By distinguishing active projects from inactive ones, users can ensure accurate reporting and better project management.

Common Terminologies (fields) Used Within Budgets

What is Fee Budget?

A Fee Budget is a rollup summary of all fee-related budget details. You may manually enter your fee budget into this field if there are no fee-related budget details.

Fee Budget can be provided at the following levels within your budget:

Budget level
Budget Detail level (for UTBMS Codes)
Budget Detail level (for UTBMS Codes (enabled as Phases))
Budget Detail level (for Timekeeper)

It's important to note that the values provided at the Budget Detail level will automatically overwrite the budget level value. This is because Budget Details will rollup to the budget automatically.

What is Expense Budget?

The expense Budget, a comprehensive summary of all Expense-related Budget Details, plays a crucial role in the system's reliability and the budget's effectiveness. In the absence of any Expense-related Budget Details, it's essential to manually input your Expense Budget into this field.

Expense Budget can be provided at the following levels within your budget:

Budget level
Budget Detail level (for UTBMS Codes)
Budget Detail level (for UTBMS Codes (enabled as Phases))
Budget Detail level (for Timekeeper)

The values provided at Budget Detail will automatically overwrite the budget-level value, as Budget Details will roll up to the budget automatically.

What is Quantity?

Quantity is a rollup summary of all the values provided as your expected total allocation, usually for your fee items. You may manually enter the quantity into this field if there are no budget details.

Quantity can be provided at the following levels within your budget:

Budget level
Budget Detail level (for UTBMS Codes)
Budget Detail level (for UTBMS Codes (enabled as Phases))
Budget Detail level (for Timekeeper)

The values provided at Budget Detail will automatically overwrite the Budget level value as Budget Details will roll up to the Budget automatically.

What is Total Budget?

Total Budget is a rollup summary of all Budget Details (your expected total allocation for your fee and expense items combined). You may manually enter your total budget into this field if there are no budget details. The Total Budget is automatically computed when the fee and expense budget changes on your budget.

What is Target Budget?

The Target Budget, a convenient rollup summary of all expense-related Budget Details, allows you to manage your budget efficiently. In the absence of expense-related budget details, you can manually enter your expense budget into this field.

The Target Budget can be provided at the following levels within your budget:

Budget level
Budget Detail level (for UTBMS Codes)
Budget Detail level (for UTBMS Codes (enabled as Phases))
Budget Detail level (for Timekeeper)

The values provided at Budget Detail will automatically overwrite the budget-level value, as Budget Details will roll up to the budget automatically.

What is Target Allocation Remaining (%)?

Target Allocation Remaining is the percentage of your expected allocation that remains to be allocated within your budget.

Typically, users start by allocating a target budget as an expected allocation before diving deep into allocating budget details. The value here will automatically be updated on the budget to guide users to the percentage of your budget that remains unallocated (if value is greater than 0) or your budget has been allocated over your expected target allocation (if value is less than 0).

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