Going over budget is any project manager’s nightmare. Yet, it happens so quickly and sometimes even be quite difficult to foresee – that’s why it’s so important to monitor those projects in order to keep the stakeholders happy.
Whether or not your project managed to stay within its budget is often used as a way of measuring its success. The least you can do is, therefore, to put everything you’ve got into managing that project properly.
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Here is a quick guide to show you how you can do it as thoroughly and efficiently as possible. It’s not a foolproof way for your company to find success, but it will make it a lot easier to find little victories in each project.
#1 Budget for surprises
Responsible project management means that you need to have some extra resources in case of a sudden surprise. You never know what might happen while you think the project is running smoothly – before you know it, something goes wrong, and your budget was anything but prepared.
This is a common reason to why many projects go way over their budgets; they simply didn’t plan for those surprises, and it could cost them their entire project. Factor in things that are outside of your control, such as external environment considerations that may impact the pricing, cost of labor, etc.
It’s just like managing the finances of your household – just with a lot more risk to it.
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#2 Remember to re-forecast
You cannot leave the project to manage itself, and it’s a good idea to have a comprehensive system in place to make the monitoring and management a bit simpler. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a great way to gain complete control over everything that has to do with your project including its finances so that you know everything is on track.
Tweak your budget reviews according to how the project is running, and it will be far easier for you to stay on track. Review the number of people working on the project as well, look at the resources that have been used, and never allow it to roam freely without being reviewed and re-forecasted.
#3 Keep everyone informed
Even if you’re ever so good at reviewing and re-forecasting that budget, it won’t really do any good unless you keep the ones working on the project informed. If you’re going slightly over the budget and need to tweak it, let them know about it – that way, they’ll also be much more likely to keep proper track of their expenses.
Project management is vital to the success of any company, and if you’re not able to manage this properly, your stakeholders will start to lose faith in you. Budget is queen, in other words, and you need to be honest with yourself about the performance if you’d like to stay within it.