TrueBudget allows you to customize your file in several ways, via the Options menu. Start by pressing the ‘Options’ button, which can be found on the Menu sheet, as well as the TrueBudget ribbon tab at the top of Excel.
General tab
Allow me to change the Line Numbers on the budget pages
If you wish to change the Line Numbers, you may do so by checking this box. You will then be able to change the values in the LINE column on each budget page. Once you’ve completed the changes, you may uncheck this box again to ‘lock’ the values in the LINE columns.
Hide unused rows on the budget pages
If you wish to hide any rows on the budget pages that do not have a total, you can check this box. Unchecking this box will reveal all rows on the budget pages.
Enable Page 7
TrueBudget allows you to add a Page 7 to your budget. This page has two sections (Q & R), each with 25 rows. Section Q is for labor, and Section R is for non-labor. Checking this box will reveal Page 7 at the bottom of the Excel window, as well as reveal Sections Q & R on the Cost Summary sheet.
Enable Handling Fee
The Handling Fee works much like the Production Fee & Insurance and is intended for tracking Sections or Line Numbers that are considered “cost-plus”. For an in-depth explanation, click here to see our tutorial video.
Show Prod Fee at the bottom of each section of the Estimate
By default, TrueBudget will show the Production Fee percentage and dollar amount at the bottom of each section of the Estimate. If you would like to hide this, uncheck this box.
Show Insurance at the bottom of each section of the Estimate
By default, TrueBudget will show the Insurance percentage and dollar amount at the bottom of each section of the Estimate. If you would like to hide this, uncheck this box.
Show Handling Fee at the bottom of each section of the Estimate
Note: This option will only be visible if you have checked ‘Enable Handling Fee’.
If you wish to show the Handling percentage and dollar amount at the bottom of each section of the Estimate, check this box.
Show number of person-days at the bottom of Sections A, B, & G
If you would like to see a sum of the person-days at the bottom of these sections, check this box. Please note that this will show not only the sum of the ‘Days’ column, but will also take into account any values you have in the ‘Qty’ column.
Always match the Job Titles on Page 1A to Page 1B
Checking this box will ensure that whatever job titles you enter on Page 1A will appear on Page 1B. For instance, if you enter the job title ‘Executive Producer’ in Line 1 on Page 1A, it will automatically appear in Line 51 of Page 1B.
Show Date & Time on the bottom right of all pages when printing / creating PDF’s
This feature is turned on by default. If you don’t wish for the date & time to appear on the sheets when you print or create a PDF, uncheck this box.
Automatically save this file whenever I close it
If you would like the TrueBudget file to automatically be saved when you close it, check this box.
Activate the TrueBudget ribbon whenever I open this file
This feature is turned on by default. If you do not wish for the TrueBudget ribbon tab to be the selected tab when you open the file, uncheck this box. (Note: if you are using Excel 2011 for Mac, you will not have this option.)
For Working Variance column, display the following
Be default, the Working Variance column will show the difference between the Working Total column and the Estimate Total column. If you have any Phases enabled, you can change this so it will show the different between the Working Total column and the Phase Total column. You may also select ‘Do not display’ if you do not wish for the Working Variance column to be visible.
Name of the ‘Fringe’ column
By default, the Fringe column is named “Fringe”, but you can change this to whatever you would like.
PH&W tab
TrueBudget allows you to enable various PH&W columns on the Estimate, Working, Payroll Log, and any Phases you have enabled.
The PH&W columns are broken down into two distinct parts. The first part is the PH&W % column. If you wish for this to be visible, check the box next to “Show PH&W % column”, and then underneath, select which areas you wish it to be visible in.
The second part is the PH&W Flat columns. If you wish for these to be visible, check the box next to “Show PH&W Flat columns”, and then underneath, select which areas you wish it to be visible in. To learn how to use the PH&W Flat columns, click here to watch our tutorial video.
Overtime tab
Overtime Columns
By default, the budget pages have overtime columns for 1.5x (time-and-a-half) and 2x (double-time). However, if you were to need to budget for overtime based on 3x (triple-time) and/or 4x (quadruple-time), you can enable those columns.
3x Overtime Columns – you may enable these for the Estimate, Working, and whatever Phases you have enabled.
4x Overtime Columns – you may enable these for the Estimate, Working, and whatever Phases you have enabled.
Overtime Calculation
You may choose how the Hourly Rate is determined for calculating overtime. You can set it independently for the Estimate, Working, Payroll Log, and any Phases that you have enabled.
For each area, you have the following choices:
Day Rate divided by OT Base – this will take the Day Rate and divide it by the OT Base. For instance, if you enter 600 for the Day Rate and 10 for the OT Base, the hourly rate will be 60.
1.5x after 8 hours forever – this will calculate the hourly rate based on paying the person straight time for the first 8 hours, and then time-and-a-half for all hours after the 8th hour. For instance, if you enter 600 for the Day Rate and 10 for the OT Base, the hourly rate will be 54.5455. The math works out this way:
54.5455 x 8 hours x 1 = 436.364
54.5455 x 2 hours x 1.5 = 163.6365
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TOTAL 600.0005
1.5x after 8 hours; 2x after 12 hours – this will calculate the hourly rate based on paying the person straight time for the first 8 hours, time-and-a-half for hours 9-12, and double-time after the 12th hour.
Note: There will be no difference in the hourly rate calculation between these last two options unless the OT Base is greater than 12.
For instance, if you enter 600 for the Day Rate and 14 for the OT Base, the hourly rate will be 33.3333. The math works out this way:
33.3333 x 8 hours x 1 = 266.6664
33.3333 x 4 hours x 1.5 = 199.9998
33.3333 x 2 hours x 2 = 133.3332
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TOTAL 599.9994
I will enter the hourly rates manually – choosing this option will “unlock” the Hourly Rate column in that particular area, and you will now need to type in an amount manually. If you don’t, overtime will not be calculated when you enter data in the Overtime columns.
6th/7th Day tab
If you need to calculate any 6th and/or 7th days in your budget, you can enable these columns.
Enable 6th Days
Checking this box will then reveal additional checkboxes, where you can choose Estimate, Working, and any Phases you have enabled.
Enable 7th Days
Checking this box will then reveal additional checkboxes, where you can choose Estimate, Working, and any Phases you have enabled.
To learn more about using the 6th & 7th day columns, click here to watch our tutorial video.
Phases tab
Phases are additional budget areas, much like the Working. TrueBudget allows you to enable up to three Phases. For each Phase you enable, you may choose the following.
Name
You may name the Phase whatever you would like. If you leave the NAME field blank, a name will automatically be chosen, based on the Phase number enabled. For instance, if you have enabled Phase 1 and leave the NAME field blank, it will be given the name “Phase 1”.
Variance column
You may choose how the Variance column is calculated for each Phase. By default, it will be the Phase Total minus the Estimate Total. However, you may change it to the Phase Total minus the Working Total, or any other Phase you have enabled. You may also select ‘Do not display’ if you do not wish for the Variance column to be visible.
To learn more about using the Phases, click here to watch our tutorial video.
Actual tab
Actualizing to the Cost Summary sheet
In addition to actualizing to the various Line Numbers on the detail budget pages, TrueBudget also allows you to actualize to certain Line Numbers on the Cost Summary sheet; specifically to Lines 19-23 and 27.
Note: These Lines on the Cost Summary sheet may be hidden via the Cost Summary Options menu. If any of them are hidden, the check boxes here will be disabled. If you wish to learn more about the Cost Summary Options menu, refer to this article.
To actualize to these lines on the various logs, enter ‘CS’, followed by the number. For instance, to actualize to Line 19 of the Cost Summary sheet, enter ‘CS19’.
Pop-up box showing a breakdown of actualized costs
Also included on this tab is the ability to enable the pop-up box that will appear when you select a cell in the Actual column on the budget pages. This pop-up box will show you a breakdown of all actualized costs included in the Line you have currently selected. This will be enabled by default, but if you no longer wish for this pop-up box to appear, uncheck the box next to ‘Show a breakdown of costs when I select a cell in the Actual column of the budget pages’.
Actual Variance column
Be default, the Actual Variance column will show the difference between the Actual Total column and the Estimate Total column. If you have any Phases enabled, you can change this so it will show the different between the Actual Total column and the Phase Total column. You may also select ‘Do not display’ if you do not wish for the Actual Variance column to be visible.
Petty Cash Log format to use
TrueBudget has two different Petty Cash Logs that you can choose from: the ‘Linear’ version and the ‘Grid’ version. You may use whichever one you prefer, but you cannot use both simultaneously. If you switch, whatever information you have on your current log should automatically be transferred over to the new format.
Sheets Tab
You can hide most of the sheets in TrueBudget. To hide a sheet, uncheck the box next to the name of that sheet.
Status Bar Tab
The Status Bar can be found in the bottom left corner of the Excel window. TrueBudget allows you to chose what information will appear there. You may choose to show the Estimate Total, Working Total, Working Variance, Actual Total, and Actual Variance. In addition, if you have any of the Phases enabled, you may choose to show the Phase Total and Phase Variance. You may also hide each of these. To show one, check the box next to its name. To hide one, uncheck the box next to its name.
Tab Colors Tab
TrueBudget allows you to change the colors of the tabs for most of the sheets in the file. To change the color of a tab, use the drop-down menu next to the sheet name and choose the color you would like.
Questions? Need more help?
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