Overview
The Budget Form is the heart of the Dash360 cost estimating workflow. Select a project, WBS element, and work package to open the estimate for that work package. The form is organized into collapsible sections — Details, Resource Assignments, Schedule, CPR, Supporting Documents, and Comments — plus a Signatures section at the bottom when the estimate is ready for review.
Use the Previous and Next buttons to move through work packages sequentially. A counter shows your position (e.g., “Work Package 4 of 47”).
Prerequisites
- Select a project, WBS, and work package from the selectors at the top. The form does not load until all three are selected.
- The Cost Class selector (Budget, Baseline, Earned, Actual) controls which estimate you are viewing. Budget is the default.
Details Section
The Details section captures the core estimate metadata for this work package.
| Field | Description |
|---|
| CAM | The Control Account Manager responsible for this work package |
| Earned Value Technique | The EV method used to measure progress (e.g., % Complete, Milestones, LOE) |
| Quantity | Estimated quantity of work |
| % Complete | Current completion percentage |
| Notebook Fields | Configurable fields defined by your administrator — capture assumptions, justifications, and project-specific metadata |
Resource Assignments
Resource assignments are the cost estimate entries for this work package. Three grids organize assignments by type: Labor, Non-Labor, and Travel.
Each grid has Add and Edit buttons. Resource assignments are not edited inline — use the Add button to create a new assignment or the Edit button (or click an existing row) to open the Resource Assignment modal.
Adding or Editing a Resource Assignment
Opening the Add RA modal is a two-step process:
Step 1 — Select Cost Class
Choose the cost class this assignment belongs to (Budget, Baseline, Earned, or Actual). This determines which estimate line you are creating or editing.
Step 2 — Fill in the Resource Assignment form
The RA form fields vary slightly by resource type:
| Field | Labor | Non-Labor / Travel | Notes |
|---|
| Resource Code | Required | Required | Dropdown — selecting a code populates the configured rate |
| Description | Optional | Optional | Free-text label for this assignment |
| Start Date | Required | Required | First period for this assignment |
| Finish Date | Required | Required | Last period for this assignment |
| Basis Code | Yes | Yes | Hidden for Earned and Actual cost classes |
| Activity IDs | Optional | Optional | Multi-select — links this assignment to one or more schedule activities |
| Unit Cost | Auto-calculated | Editable if direct rate = 1 | Labor unit cost is derived from the rate file |
| MTDC | Optional | Optional | Modified Total Direct Cost toggle — set frequency to Once or Yearly |
Time-Phased Grid (Inside the Modal)
The time-phased grid inside the RA modal shows one column per month from Start Date to Finish Date. Each column holds the cost planned for that period. You can:
- Edit individual month values directly in the grid
- Choose a Spread Type to auto-distribute the total:
- Linear — distributes cost evenly across all periods
- Existing Profile — preserves the current distribution shape when the total is changed
- Enable Do Not Change Total to lock the grand total while adjusting the period-by-period split
Contingency and Risk (Inside the Modal)
If risk is configured at the resource assignment level for this project, the RA modal includes a Contingency section:
| Field | Description |
|---|
| Technical Risk Factor / Multiplier | Probability and cost multiplier for technical risk |
| Cost Risk Factor / Multiplier | Probability and cost multiplier for cost risk |
| Schedule Risk Factor / Multiplier | Probability and cost multiplier for schedule risk |
| Basis Text | Narrative justification for each risk factor |
| Override Contingency % | Manually override the calculated contingency percentage |
Supporting Documents (Inside the Modal)
Each resource assignment can have its own file attachments and external links added directly in the RA modal. These are separate from the work package-level Supporting Documents section.
Saving
- Save & Close — saves the assignment and returns to the form
- Save & Add Another — saves and immediately opens a new blank RA form (useful when adding multiple assignments at once)
- Close — discards changes and returns to the form
Risk Factors
Depending on how contingency is configured in the Registry settings for this project, a Risk Factors section may appear in the Resource Assignments area. This lets you define Technical, Cost, and Schedule risk factors with multipliers at the work package level — a work package total rather than broken out by individual assignment.
Moving and Copying Resource Assignments
Use the Move or Copy action on any resource assignment row to relocate or duplicate it:
- Move — removes the assignment from this work package and places it in the destination
- Copy — duplicates the assignment to the destination while leaving the original in place
Both operations let you pick an existing work package as the destination or create a new work package during the operation.
Importing and Exporting Time-Phased Data
- Export — downloads the current time-phased resource grid to Excel
- Import — uploads a previously exported (and edited) Excel file to update the estimate
This lets you do bulk time-phased edits offline and re-import the revised data.
Schedule Section
The Schedule section links this work package’s estimate to schedule activities. Assignments appear in a grid showing the linked activity with a Weight % column. The weight drives how the activity’s percent-complete contributes to the work package’s earned value.
Two date display modes are available:
| Mode | Description |
|---|
| Schedule Dates | Uses the current schedule’s start and finish dates |
| Baseline Dates | Uses the baseline schedule’s start and finish dates |
CPR Section
The CPR (Contract Performance Report) section shows an embedded earned value summary for this work package — you don’t need to navigate to the full CPR report to check performance.
| Metric | Description |
|---|
| BCWS | Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (Planned Value) |
| BCWP | Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (Earned Value) |
| ACWP | Actual Cost of Work Performed |
| SV / CV | Schedule Variance and Cost Variance |
| SPI / CPI | Schedule Performance Index and Cost Performance Index |
Supporting Documents Section
Attach files and add external links at the work package level — basis-of-estimate documents, vendor quotes, specifications, or any reference material. Each attachment is listed with a clickable link.
Each resource assignment also has its own supporting documents section inside the RA modal, separate from this work package-level section.
Signatures
When the estimate is ready for approval, the Signatures section at the bottom of the form shows the configured signature steps in sequence. Each signature step must be completed in order.
- Click Approve Pending Estimate (visible when a step is ready) to record your approval
- Each signature records the approver’s name, the date, and the cost at the time of signing — so the estimate total is locked in at each approval stage
- An administrator can reset signatures if the estimate is revised after approval, which clears the signature chain and requires re-approval
The Approve Pending Estimate button is only visible to the user whose signature is required at the current step. Signatures must proceed in the configured order.
Available Filters
| Filter | What It Controls |
|---|
| Project | The project to load estimates from |
| WBS | Filters the work package list to a specific WBS element |
| Work Package | The specific work package to display |
| Cost Class | Which cost class to view and edit (Budget, Baseline, Earned, Actual) |
