Budgeting
You can bind an account's payment cycle to a phase, so its payments move and change length with the phase.
A payment cycle spreads an account's total over a period in regular payments. If a phase sets that period, KOSMA moves the payments and changes their period whenever the phase changes. You do not have to change the rule. You need a licence that covers Budgeting and a budget you can edit.
Select the account and click  on the **Cashflow** panel. KOSMA opens **Set Cash Flow Rule**. If the rule is set to **Milestones/dates**, click **Payment cycle**.
Below the **Payment cycle** dropdown, two frames set the period in which KOSMA spreads the payments. In the first frame, you set **Cycle start** and **Cycle end**, each as a milestone or a date plus an offset in days. In the second frame, **Cycle Start / End Defined by Phase**, one phase sets the start and the end. Only one frame is active at a time. Choose a phase when the payments run exactly as long as the phase, for example a crew salary during the shoot. If the payments start after the phase has begun or go on after it ends, set **Cycle start** and **Cycle end** instead. For a payment that falls due once, see [use milestones in cash flow rules](/kb/article/use-milestones-in-cashflow-rules).
Click into the **Cycle Start / End Defined by Phase** frame, open the **Choose phase...** dropdown and choose the phase. KOSMA activates the frame and dims the other one. The list shows each phase with its start and end date.
From then on, the payment period follows the phase. If the phase grows from two weeks to three, the payment period grows with it. For what a phase is, see [what phases and milestones are](/kb/article/what-phases-and-milestones-are).
A phase has dates only when the project has a date for the **First Shooting Day** milestone. Without that date, the list shows only the name of the phase, and the rule pays nothing.
In the **Payment cycle** dropdown, choose **Monthly**, **Bi-Weekly** or **Weekly**. With a phase, KOSMA does not preselect a cycle, so always choose one. If none of the three fits, change one first, see [If no payment cycle fits](#if-no-payment-cycle-fits).
KOSMA divides the period into cycles of that length, counted from the first day of the period. The share of each cycle falls due at the end of the cycle, moved by the cycle's **Payment delay**. If the last cycle is incomplete, KOSMA pays a smaller share for it at the end of the period, in proportion to its length. For example, three and a half months on **Monthly** pay three full shares and one half share. Any rounding remainder goes to the last payment.
Click **Ok**.
Open the **Payment cycle** dropdown and click **Edit cycle presets**. KOSMA opens **Payment Cycle Presets** and activates the frame with **Cycle start** and **Cycle end**.
Each row is one payment cycle. You can change its **Preset name**, its **Interval** with the unit **Months**, **Weeks** or **Days**, and its **Payment delay** as a positive or negative number of days. The list always holds these three cycles, and you cannot add or delete one. A change applies to every rule in the budget that uses the cycle. KOSMA keeps **Ok** greyed out while a name is empty or an interval is below 1. Click **Ok**. **Cancel** discards your changes.
Click into the **Cycle Start / End Defined by Phase** frame again, then click **Ok** in **Set Cash Flow Rule**.
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