Initialize: New vs. Existing Projection
Area | When Initializing a New Projection | When Initializing an Existing Projection |
Projection Header | Creates a new projection header for the selected job and month if one does not already exist. Only Open jobs are included. | Does not create a second projection. Instead, it refreshes the existing projection. |
Budget Data | Creates Projection Detail rows from each budget line, including Budget Amount, Budgeted Hours, and Budgeted Units. | Refreshes Budget Amount, Budgeted Hours, and Budgeted Units on existing Projection Detail rows. |
Actuals | Loads Actual Amount, Actual Hours, and Actual Units to date. | Refreshes Actual Amount, Actual Hours, and Actual Units. |
Committed Values | Loads Total and Remaining Committed Cost and Units. | Refreshes Total and Remaining Committed Cost and Units. |
Pending Change Orders | Includes pending CO Amount, Hours, and Units in the projection. | Refreshes Pending CO Amount, Hours, and Units. |
Last Projected Values | Loads the Last Projected Amount, Hours, and Units from the current Job Budget projected fields. | Refreshes Last Projected Amount, Hours, and Units. |
Actuals Exceeding Budget | If actuals already exceed budget, projected values are increased to match actuals. | — |
Method / Projected Values | — | May recalculate Method, Projected Cost, Projected Hours, and Projected Units. |
Projection Revenue Detail | Creates revenue detail rows for the job's revenue lines if they do not already exist. Projected Revenue Amount and Units are initially populated from contract values. | Inserts missing revenue detail rows and refreshes Contract Amount and Units on existing rows. |
Projection Spread | Creates spread rows for each month from the projection month through the job end month. If a prior projection exists, the prior month's spread is used. Otherwise, values start at zero. | Updates existing matching-month spread rows using the prior month's seed and inserts any missing rows. If no prior projection exists, first-time spread values start at zero. |
Projection COs | Carries forward applicable open change orders from the previous projection month. | Carries forward open change orders from the previous projection month only if they are not already present. Existing CO rows are not duplicated. |
Notes | Notes entered during Initialize are added to the projection. | New notes are appended to existing projection notes rather than replacing them. |
Last Initialized Date | Sets the Last Initialized Date when the projection is initialized. | Updates the Last Initialized Date each time Initialize runs. |
Important Behavior
Item | Description |
New Projection | Initialize creates the projection structure, loads current job and budget data, carries forward applicable open COs, and establishes an initial forecast for users to work from. |
Existing Projection | Initialize refreshes the existing projection rather than creating a duplicate. |
Forecast Values | Re-initializing an existing projection can change forecast values. Initialize is not a read-only refresh. |
Notes | Existing notes are preserved. New notes entered during Initialize are appended to the existing notes. |
Change Orders | Open COs are carried forward when applicable, but existing CO rows are not duplicated. |
Revenue | Missing revenue detail rows are added, while existing rows have applicable contract values refreshed. |
Projection Spread | Existing spread rows are updated and missing rows are added based on the applicable prior-month seed. |
What Happens to Existing Data?
Initialize does not simply create a projection—it can also refresh or recalculate information on an existing projection. The impact depends on the type of data being updated.
Data | What Initialize Does |
Budget, Actual, Commitment, Last Projected, and Pending CO values | Refreshed using the current source data. Any manual changes to these values may be replaced. |
Projected values | May be recalculated during initialization. Rows protected by Method 3 are handled differently and may retain their projected values. |
Projection COs | Existing rows are not duplicated. Only missing applicable COs are added. |
Revenue Detail | Existing rows are not duplicated. Missing rows are added and applicable contract values are refreshed. |
Department Approval | Existing rows are not duplicated. Only missing rows are inserted. |
When should you use Initialize?
Initialize is a create/update action, not just a one-time setup button. It can be used to:
Create a new monthly projection.
Refresh a projection when budgets, actuals, or commitments have changed.
Carry forward applicable open change orders from the previous projection month.
Use caution when re-initializing
If users have already manually adjusted forecast values, they should use caution before initializing the projection again. Re-initialization may recalculate or overwrite some forecast values, particularly on rows that are not protected by Method 3.
In summary
New projection: Initialize creates the projection and populates it with current job data.
Existing projection: Initialize refreshes the projection and may overwrite or recalculate budget, actual, commitment, pending CO, last projected, spread, and certain projected forecast values.
Add New Data Only
Will only pull in new phase codes and cost types.
Only Update Actuals
Update only actual values, keep existing projections.
Override All Values
Replace all existing projection data with new values.