Use variables in a budget – Budgeting

Use variables in a budgetBudgetingYou know every field that accepts a variable, and which ones are worth using them in.Every field that accepts one| Where | Field | | ---------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Budget account or subaccount | **Quantity**, **Price/Unit**, **X** | | Markup | **Base** | | Apply Fringes & Supplements | **Timebase (days) for fringe limits**, the supplement **Multiplier** | | Apply Extra Costs | the **Multiplier** | | Extra Costs settings | **Quantity**, **Price** | | Variables | another variable's **Calculation Formula** |Anywhere else takes a plain value.Which are worth itNot every number should be a variable. The test is whether the number **would have to change with something else**.**Worth it:** anything derived from the schedule (quantities in days or weeks), any rate that appears more than once (per-diems, hotel nights, standard fees), anything an assumption drives (crew size, contingency).**Not worth it:** a one-off negotiated fee. Naming it adds a lookup and buys nothing.The most valuable oneTying **quantities** to [work-phase variables](/kb/article/use-phase-durations-in-formulas). An account whose Quantity is `Shooting_workdays` re-costs itself when the shoot changes length — and the shoot changing length is the single most common thing that happens to a budget.Seeing where they are usedA cell shows its value, not its formula, so a budget full of variables looks like a budget full of numbers. The **fx** toggle switches the columns to show the formulas — see [switch between values and formulas](/kb/article/switch-between-values-and-formulas).The **In Use** count in the Variables dialog answers the other direction: how much of the budget a variable touches before you change it.Markdown