Cost Control
You know how KOSMA works out each of the six money columns in the cost control grid and where you change the figures behind them.
In Cost Control, each account row shows **No.** and **Description**, then six amounts: **Budget**, **Forecast**, **Variance**, **Paid**, **Expected** and **Free**. KOSMA works out all six from the budget, the forecast and the cost items. When you point at a column header, KOSMA shows what the column contains.
You cannot type into any of the six columns in the grid. To change the forecast of an account, select the account and type the amount in the **Recalculation** tab. To record a cost that is paid or still expected, add a cost item in the **Cost Items** tab. KOSMA then updates the six columns.
The header of **Budget** shows:
**Message:** Approved baseline budget
KOSMA reads **Budget** from the budget the cost control set was made from.
The header of **Forecast** shows:
**Message:** Estimated final cost
**Forecast** is the larger of two amounts: the account's total in the **Recalculation** tab, or **Expected** plus **Paid**. When the cost items add up to more than the forecast you typed, KOSMA raises **Forecast** to their sum. A typed forecast below that sum has no effect. See [how a forecast is formed](/kb/article/how-a-forecast-is-formed).
The header of **Variance** shows:
**Message:** Budget minus forecast (negative = over budget)
A negative **Variance** is red. On the row you selected, **Forecast** and **Variance** appear in a rounded field, which is red when the amount is negative. To find the cause of a negative variance, see [understand a negative variance](/kb/article/understand-a-negative-variance).
The header of **Paid** shows:
**Message:** Amount already paid
The header of **Expected** shows:
**Message:** Anticipated cost not yet paid (invoice, quote or estimate)
A cost item without a paid amount counts towards **Expected**. Once you enter its paid amount, it counts towards **Paid** instead. Each cost item counts in only one of the two columns. See [what a cost item is](/kb/article/what-a-cost-item-is).
The header of **Free** shows:
**Message:** Forecast not yet booked as cost items
**Free** is **Forecast** minus **Paid** minus **Expected**. It is never negative, because **Forecast** is always at least **Expected** plus **Paid**. A large **Free** late in a production often means that the forecast still contains money nobody expects to spend. If you consolidate the account, **Forecast** equals **Expected** plus **Paid**, and **Free** is 0.00. See [consolidate an account](/kb/article/consolidate-an-account).
In the demo project, account 1.01 Screenplay has a **Budget** of 45,000.00. It has two cost items: 25,000.00 paid and 20,000.00 expected. **Expected** plus **Paid** is 45,000.00, and the account's total in **Recalculation** is 45,000.00 too, so **Forecast** is 45,000.00. **Variance** is 45,000.00 minus 45,000.00, which is 0.00. **Free** is 45,000.00 minus 25,000.00 minus 20,000.00, which is also 0.00.
An account without cost items shows `-` in **Paid** and **Expected**. If its **Budget** and **Forecast** are equal, **Variance** shows `-` too. **Budget**, **Forecast** and **Free** always show an amount. A group row shows `-` only when all its accounts do.
A group row adds up its accounts. The last row of the grid, for example **Totals in EUR**, adds up the accounts you see. If you filter by category, it shows the total of the filtered accounts only. For the totals of the whole set, see [read the grand totals](/kb/article/read-the-grand-totals).
In KOSMA's code and data, **Forecast** is called `prediction`, **Variance** `deviation` and **Free** `remainder`.
Markdown