When you open a project for the first time, you will begin in the Budgeting module. (1) Note that before you have activated a PRO credit for you project you will only see the tabs for Budgeting and Financing. Cashflow and Cost Control are only available after upgrading to a PRO credit.

The list on the top left (2) shows all budgets for your active project. In this case the only one existing is "1st budget". There can be more than one budget per project in APMS.

In the categories field (3) all categories in the selected budget are listed. The "Summary" category is always there. Other categories are shown according to your budget.

Click in a category to show its content in the edit area (4). Since the Summary is currently selected, the edit area shows a summary of all categories and the edit area for Additional Charges.

To add, delete or duplicate a budget, use the symbols above (1).

General settings like currencies, fringes, taxes, etc. can be set up in Settings (2). Please note that these settings apply to the selected budget only (and its linked financing plans, cash flows and cost reports), not to all budgets within the current project. This allows you to budget different scenarios.

In APMS, budgets consist of

Categories (1),

... Groups (2),

  ... Accounts (3),

     ... and Sub-Accounts (4)

Categories are auto-numbered and cannot be changed in order, but added and deleted. It can be renamed in the navigation area by double-click.

A group has to be within a category and is auto-numbered, beginning with the number of the category.

An account has to be within a group. Account numbers can be changed according to your budgeting or accounting needs.

Sub-accounts always belong to an account. Subaccounts do not have numbers.

The toolbar offers several options to navigate and manage your budget scheme.

Switch to the desired category (1).

Select a group (2) or first create one. Accounts have to be inside of a group.

The new budget account number can be changed as needed.

Edit the account number (1), description (2), quantity and unit (3), price per unit (4), an additional factor (5)

You can also use formulas and variables instead of simple numbers (check out the how-to's). Foreign currencies can be managed from budget settings.

In this example, we budgeted 3 x $ 900 for our first budget item, account 40211 "B Camera" (1), which produces a total of $ 2.700 (2).

The second Total column (3) shows the amount in the display currency we select for our budget (4).

Please note that

- the sum of the group 4.02 "Camera HD" (5),

- the category total for "Equipment" (6) as well as

- the Grand Total (7)

update.

To delete an account, select it (1) and click "Delete" (2).

Note that sub-accounts do not carry account numbers.

Click + to add a new sub-account below.

Click - to delete a sub-account.

The small arrow on the left identifies sub-accounts. Click this arrow or the arrow on the right to expand or collapse the list of sub-accounts.

Click on Summary (1) in the navigation area to show the Additional Charges.

There, click Add Charge (2) to add a new additional charge like overhead, contingency or other markups.

You can change the description, base and percentage of your additional charge.

Base defines on which amount your charge is being calculated. Most likely you will use the built-in formula NPC to refer the Net Production Costs, but you can also refer subtotals, sums of tagged accounts or assigned producers. The same syntax applies as in budgeting.

In this example we want to have a 10% markup (1)

on net production costs of 1.23 mio € (2),

an amount of 123k €,

leading to a Grand Total of 1.353 mio € (3):

To add a fixed amount, set percentage to 100% and base to the desired amount (1)

You can also use formulas, e.g. to calculate a 2% technical insurance on all budget accounts with the tag "insuranced" (150.000), resulting in 3.000 €. (2)

On the right-hand side of the budget you see what we call the "macro" area. Here you can add information to each of your accounts.

(1) Assign an account to a certain producer. This is helpful to divide costs between different producers. You can just type in this field and APMS will list the producers already entered. Later, when you print your budget you can display columns for each producer. You can also use producers in SUM and COUNT formulas in your accounts. This is the syntax: SUM_PROD("Producer") or COUNT_PROD("Producer"). You can manage producers in the settings.

(2) Assign a tag to an account. You can use this for filtering purposes or to mark certain accounts you want to use in a formula calculation. Just type in any text and a tag is created from it. To use a tag in a calculation in an account, you can use either a SUM or a COUNT formula. This is the syntax: SUM_TAG("Tag") or COUNT_TAG("Tag"). You can manage tags in the settings.

(3) Simply add any kind of notes to an account

(4) Set the cashflow rule for an account (see Cashflow section for more info)

(5) Add attachments to your budget. The maximum size per attachment is 2MB.

(6) Add a tax to the account. Tax definitions are set up in the settings.

(7) Add a spending effect to the account. Effects are set up in the settings.

(8) Add fringes & extra costs to the account. Fringes & extra costs are set up in the settings.

On the desired budget, click Settings (1)

Switch to Currencies tab (2)

Here you can edit the exchange rates (3) or update them online (4).

The standard currency (5) sets the base for the exchange rate.

You can budget every account with any defined currency. (1)

The first Total column (2) always shows the amount in the account's currency. (2)

The second Total column (3) always shows the amount in the selected display currency. (4)

You can change the currency in which the sums are displayed from the bottom of every screen.

Switching this does not affect the actual budget.

For every printout, you can choose the currency without changes in the budget.

There's also an option to print the exchange rates as an annex.

If the producer panel is greyed out and you cannot add any producers, you have not created any. Go to Settings->Producers/Tags.

(1) Create producers by pressing the Add Producer button.

(1) Choose an account. If a producer has already been added, you will see his name and the percentage of the account cost attributed to him (2). You can add more than one producer by clicking the blue "+" or delete them by clicking the "-". The sum of all percentages cannot be higher than 100.

In the print window you can simply drag the producers down to the fields in the order you like (1). You can rename the columns to your needs (2).

There are two types of formulas you can use producers with:

SUM_PROD("producername") will return the sum of all accounts attributed to this producer in the macro panels. This formula does not include producers attributed in ADDITIONAL CHARGES, such that, for example, you can calculate the contingency for a certain producer (1).

COUNT_PROD("producername") will return the number of appearances of a certain producer.

The same syntax is used for formulas with tags.

Formulas can be used in combination with all mathematical standard operations: +, -, /, *

You can use formulas in the quantity and price/unit fields in Budgeting, as well as the base field in additional charges.

To add a tag to an account, just select an account, click in the tag panel and type. To delete it from the panel, click the "x" to the left of the tag.

To delete tags from the list of created tags go to Settings->Producers/Tags.

You can use tags in two ways:

COUNT_TAG("tagname") returns the number of appearances of this tag. Use this formula to count the number of crew members from a certain country that generate visa costs for example.

SUM_TAG("tagname") returns the sum of all accounts with this tag. Use this formula to calculate markups on certain elements for example.

Formulas can be used in combination with all mathematical standard operations: +, -, /, *

You can use formulas in the quantity and price/unit fields in Budgeting, as well as the base field in additional charges.

You can manage all variables from the variables tab (2) in Settings (1).

Some predefined variables are available:

NPC for Net Production Costs

GT for Grand Total

DFFF for the DFFF total value (DFFF is a fund in Germany that requires intricate calculations).

All phases that are set up in Cashflow Setup auto-create two variables: one for the number of days and another one for the number of workdays. (4)

To create a new variable, first create another group by clicking "+"

Then create your variable by clicking "Add variable" and define the reference name (2) and the value (3). Hit enter to save and click Ok (4) to leave.

You can reference other variables in the formula and use all standard mathematical operations like +, -, * and /.

If you change the value of a variable here, it will affect all parts of the budget were it is used.

All numeric fields (quantity, price, X) allow the use of formulas.

Formulas include the standard mathematical operations like addition, deduction, multiplication and division (+, -, *, /).

Additionally, formulas may include variables and expressions for tags and producers added to the accounts.

Formulas and variables can be used in Budgeting as well as in Financing.

Variables:

Let's say you have defined a variable "SD" (=Shooting Days). To use it in a formula, just type in the variable name, i.e. SD/5.

Tags & producers:

With tags and producers there are two ways to include them. Either you want to count the number of instances a certain tag (or producer) appears in your budget, or you want to sum up all accounts that have a certain tag (or producer).

This is how you do it:

SUM_PROD("producer") will return the sum of all accounts with this producer

COUNT_PROD("producer")  will return the number of accounts with this producer

SUM_TAG("tag") will return the sum of all accounts with this tag

COUNT_TAG("tag") will return the number of accounts with this tag

Example 1: Let's say you want to count the number of people in your crew and have marked all corresponding accounts with a tag "Crew". You are planning to give everybody a gift of 30$. You can type:

COUNT_TAG("Crew")*30

Accounts:

You can also reference another account in a formula:

ACCOUNT("account_number")

Example: You want to add two accounts. Type: ACCOUNT("10101")+ACCOUNT("10102")

You can toggle values or formulas with the button "Show values" / "Show formulas".

All numeric fields (quantity, price, factor) allow the use of formulas.

Formulas include the standard mathematical operations like addition, deduction, multiplication and division.

Additionally, formulas may include variables and expressions for tags and producers added to the accounts.

Formulas and variables can be used in Budgeting as well as in Financing.

Variables:

Let's say you have defined a variable "SD" (=Shooting Days). To use it in a formula, just type in the variable name, i.e. SD/5.

Tags & producers:

With tags and producers there are two ways to include them. Either you want to count the number of instances a certain tag (or producer) appears in your budget, or you want to sum up all accounts that have a certain tag (or producer).

This is how you do it:

SUM_PROD("producer") will return the sum of all accounts with this producer

COUNT_PROD("producer")  will return the number of accounts with this producer

SUM_TAG("tag") will return the sum of all accounts with this tag

COUNT_TAG("tag") will return the number of accounts with this tag

Example 1: Let's say you want to count the number of people in your crew and have marked all corresponding accounts with a tag "Crew". You are planning to give everybody a gift of 30$. You can type:

COUNT_TAG("Crew")*30

Accounts:

You can also reference another account in a formula:

ACCOUNT("account_number")

Example: You want to add two accounts. Type: ACCOUNT("10101")+ACCOUNT("10102")

Go to to Settings (1) and switch to the effects tab (2).

Add and delete new spending effects. (3)

Specify the name (4) and the percentage of the spending effect you need to reach (5).

Link a financing plan (6). If there is a financing source linked to the defined effect, you will then see the "Amount in Financing Plan", "Sum to Reach" and "Effect Status".

You can also link a cost control set (7). If you do this, APMS will use the values from the chosen cost control set instead of the budget.

To leave this window, click Ok. (8)

In your budget, select the account (or several accounts by pressing shift or ctrl) to which you want to assign an effect. (1)

Click the small "+" next to Effects in the macro area. (2)

Select the effect (1) and type in the percentage of the account total that qualifies for this effect (2).

You can set more than one effect to an account.

Click "-" to remove an effect.

To view the effect status either go to Settings->Effects or filter your budget for a certain effect (the filter tab is on the bottom left of the window).

Set up taxes by clicking Settings (1), switching to the Taxes tab (2) and clicking the small "+" (3).

The description (1) should help you to choose taxes when budgeting.

Percentage (2) is the tax percentage

Tax Refund in Percent (3) means how much of the tax can be refunded. In most countries this is 100%.

If parts of the tax are non-refundable, you can specify the budget account where these costs are budgeted. (4)

In (5) and (6) you can specify the intervals for tax payment and tax refund. These intervals are important for the cashflow.

If you are using producers in your budget, you can choose to set taxes automatically to all their costs (7)

To assign taxes to an account, select it (1) and then choose a tax from the macro area (2).

Budget schemes can be used for printing the budget in another structure than it was created. This in coproductions when you need to use a different layout for the budget.

Budget schemes have to be set up manually.

You can manage budget schemes from the tab (2) at Settings (1).

On the left side you see the structure of your budget at APMS. (3)

On the right you can add, delete and edit your budget schemes. (4) Click "+" to create one.

Type in a name for your new budget scheme (1).

Choose if you want to build a budget scheme from scratch or if you want to start with the APMS structure (2) and autonumbering (3).

Click Ok. (4)

For example, we want to create a very simple structure and start from scratch.

Start building your budget scheme by adding categories (1), groups (2) and accounts (3).

When you have created the structure you need, match accounts per drag'n'drop.

Simply click and hold an account on the left side and move it onto another account on the right side.

(Note: This process cannot be automated because APMS uses flexible budget structures that can be changed by the user.)

If the accounts are matched, the account numbers will show up.

You can also match more than one account on one budget scheme account.

The small red "!" means that there are unmatched accounts within a group. Beware that costs might not show up if matching is incomplete.

Click on the "Edit Additional Charges" bar (1) to match the additional charges in the same way as described above.

Click Ok when you are ready.

The budget schemes you have created are then available for printing.

The import from Excel or text files is an easy way to set up a certain budget structure from scratch. Depending on what you want to import you need to set up your Excel file.

You should use column headers in the first row. Regarding the elements only the account name is required.

After you have selected the desired file to import, you need to help APMS understand the format specifications of your file. If you are not importing any numbers, just click ok.

(1) Select the character that separates each row in your file. This depends on how you exported the file from your accounting software. In most cases it will be a semicolon (;). You can check this if you open the import file in a text editor.

(2) Select the character that separates the decimal values. Either a comma (1,5) or a period (1.5).

(3) Select the character that groups the numbers. Either a quote (1'000), a comma (1,000).

(4) Not applicable, can be left empty

On the left side you now see the column titles from your import file. Select which should be imported. (2)

Drag and drop the columns into the desired order…

…so that all columns checked for import match.

Click "Import".

You should now see the fully imported budget. Please carefully check the group sums and totals for missing fringes or add. costs, currency settings, etc. These elements can't be imported.

Choose the budget you want to export (1) and click Export Data (2).

Now choose the columns you want to export (3) or click the grey checkbox to mark all.

Then, choose a file format and column headers if you like (4),

and click Ok (5).

The export to make APMS data available for other software. However, some data (like additional charges or fringes) can't be exported.

To use filters, first open the filter area by clicking "Filters".

You can filter the whole budget or cost report by any combination of

• positions with or without any attachments (1)
• positions with or without any assigned taxes (2)
• positions with or without any assigned fringes (3)
• positions with or without any cash flow metadata (4)
• positions with or without a specific producer (5)
• positions with or without specific tags (6)
• positions with or without specific effects (7)

To filter for a specific prodcer, click the "Producers" field…

…start typing the first letters of the producer and hit enter to confirm the auto-complete suggestion…

…to see all categories that contain matching positions (1) and all matching positions in the currently selected category (2).

If you now want to see all in-kind-suppy by that producer, add that tag filter.

You can invert all filters by clicking them directly.

The tag filter for "in kind supply" becomes a filter for all positions that are NOT assigned to the tag "in kind support":

To reset a filter, click the small arrow…

…to see the whole data again.

You can close the filter area by clicking "Filters" again. (1)