How to create a budget for billing

This guide explains how to create a billing-ready budget in Worklog360 — defining what can be billed, at what rate, and over which period.

Budgets are the foundation of billing in Worklog360. They connect:

• Logged time

• Billable rules

• Role-based rates

• Invoicing

What is a budget in Worklog360?

A budget is a container for worklogs, linked to a specific Jira project and time period.

Once a budget is created:

• All eligible worklogs are automatically assigned to it

• Billable hours are calculated using defined rates

• Costs and revenue roll up in real time

• Invoices can be created directly from the budget

Budgets can be used for:

• Client projects (Time & Material or Retainers)

• Internal projects (cost tracking – work in progress)

Before you create a budget (important)

To ensure correct billing, make sure:

• Projects are logging time using Worklog360

• Billable hours are enabled where applicable

• Roles and rates are defined (see below)

Step 1: Set up roles and rates (one-time setup)

Worklog360 uses role-based rates to calculate money from time.

Cost rate vs billable rate

• Cost rate → what it costs you per hour (salary, overhead)

• Billable rate → what you charge the client per hour

Example:

• Developer: $40 cost / $100 billable

• Designer: $30 cost / $80 billable

Profitability comes from the difference.

Where to configure rates

1. Go to Worklog360 → Manage → Roles and then to People

2. Define roles (Developer, Designer, QA, PM, etc.)

3. Assign:

   • Cost rate

   • Billable rate

📌 These rates will be automatically applied to worklogs based on user role.

Step 2: Create a new budget

1. Go to Worklog360 → Budgets

2. Click Create Budget

Step 3: Fill in the budget details

Core fields

• Budget Name
  A descriptive name (e.g. Project A – October)

• Budget Key
  A unique identifier

• Project
  The Jira project this budget applies to
  📌 Only worklogs from this project can be assigned

• Client
  The client associated with the budget

• Owner
  Person responsible for the budget

• PO Number
  Client purchase order reference (optional)

Step 4: Choose the budget type

Time & Material

• One budget with a start and end date

• All billable time logged in that period is tracked

• Common for hourly-based projects

Retainer

• Creates multiple recurring budgets

• Same amount per period

• Useful for monthly or quarterly retainers

Options:

• Recurring interval: Monthly or Quarterly

• Number of occurrences

Step 5: Define how the budget is measured

Budget based on

Choose which hours and amounts affect budget burn:

• Billable hours only

• Logged Hours (to be done in Q1 2026)

Budget type

• Money-based (e.g. $10,000)

• Hours-based (e.g. 200 hours)

Amount

The total budgeted amount or hours.

Step 6: Set the budget time range

For Time & Material budgets:

• Start date

• End date

📌 Only worklogs with a start date inside this range can be assigned.

Step 7: How worklogs are assigned to the budget

Once the budget is created:

• Any worklog:

  • Logged in the linked Jira project

  • With a date inside the budget range

• Will be automatically assigned to the budget

Example

You create:

• Budget: BudgetX

• Project: ProjectA

• Period: Oct 1 – Oct 31

• Amount: $1,000

Every billable worklog logged in ProjectA during October:

• Is assigned to BudgetX

• Gets a dollar amount based on the user’s role rate

Step 8: Handle worklogs created outside the budget flow

Some worklogs may need manual attention:

• Logged before the budget existed

• Imported from another system

• Logged via a different app

Go to Worklogs & Budget Administration to:

• Mark worklogs as billable

• Update rates or amounts

• Assign them to the correct budget (if eligible)

📌 Worklogs must match:

• Project

• Date range

Step 9: Recalculate the budget (important)

After setup or adjustments:

• Click the Calc button on the budget

This ensures:

• No eligible worklogs are left unassigned

• All amounts are correctly calculated

• Budget totals are accurate

What you get after setup

Once a budget is active, you can:

• Monitor budget burn in real time

• See billable vs non-billable split

• View cost vs revenue

• Use the burn-up chart to detect risk

• Create invoices directly from the budget

👉 Next guide: How to detect budget risk early

Best practices

💡 Always set up rates before creating budgets.

💡 Review budgets weekly, not just at month-end.

💡 Recalculate budgets after importing or adjusting worklogs.