The quick answer
Project 360 calculates Budget vs. EAC as (Baseline − EAC) / Baseline. A negative number means the project's current estimate at completion is higher than its baseline budget, so it's forecast to finish over budget. To find out why, open the project from My Project Portfolio, go to Budget and EAC, and read the Budget vs. EAC by WBS table. It shows the baseline, EAC and variance for each main budget line. In this example the baseline is $42,000.00, the EAC is $48,300.00, and Budget vs. EAC is -15.00%. Construction is $1,800.00 over its own baseline, and Change Order Work adds $4,500.00 of EAC with no baseline at all. The project still shows a 23.0% margin on the Financial page, which is a separate question from whether it will finish within budget.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and company names are fictional. Use your own project and values when following the steps.
Before you start
In this example, Alex Morgan at Example Supply Co. manages PRJ2417 Clinic Fit-Out Northgate for the client Westfield Dental Group. The project's budget has three versions. Version 1 is the $42,000.00 baseline. Version 2 raised the estimate to $46,000.00, and Version 3 is the current EAC at $48,300.00.
Project 360 is a SuiteApp, and its dashboard pages have to be set up for your account and role. It reads budget data from the project's work breakdown structure (WBS), so the account needs project budgeting with a WBS in place, and the project needs a baseline and an EAC budget. Each user also needs a Project 360 Access Level on their employee record. Without one, the page says an access level must be assigned on your employee record. Your role and project access still decide which projects, budgets and financial figures you can see, and in some setups project status and project manager assignment affect which projects show up in the portfolio.
Two terms matter here. The baseline is the budget set as the one you measure against. The EAC (estimate at completion) is the current forecast of the project's total cost. They can be different budgets, and a project has only one baseline at a time.
Project 360 pages, labels and columns can vary by SuiteApp version, setup and permissions. Everything in this walkthrough is reading. Don't set a budget as the baseline while you're comparing.
01. Find the project that needs attention
Open the Project 360 Dashboard. Where it sits in the menu depends on how your administrator added it to your center and role.
In My Project Portfolio, look at the Budget column group. Budget vs. EAC for Clinic Fit-Out Northgate shows -15.00% in red. The other projects are on or under budget at 4.20% and 0.0%, or show a dash because there's no budget or EAC to compare. Click the project to open it.
The indicator shows zero and negative values in red, which is why the 0.0% on Retail Lighting Retrofit is red too. Only a negative number means the forecast is over the baseline.
02. Read the project's key indicators
The project opens on Project Overview. Project Information confirms the project, client and project manager. Under Key Performance Indicators, Budget vs. EAC repeats -15.00% and Profitability shows 23.0%. Under Primary Information, the EAC tile shows $48,300.00, up 5.00% vs. Previous EAC, so the forecast rose since the last estimate.
03. Compare the baseline with the EAC
In the left menu, click Budget and EAC. The Budget card has two tiles. Baseline shows $42,000.00 with No Change vs. Initial Baseline. EAC shows $48,300.00, up 5.00% vs. Previous EAC.
Those two tiles are the whole calculation: (42,000.00 − 48,300.00) / 42,000.00 = -15.00%. The forecast is 6,300.00 over the baseline.
The tiles compare against different things. vs. Initial Baseline compares the current baseline with the first baseline the project ever had. vs. Previous EAC compares the current EAC with the EAC version before it. Neither one compares the EAC with the baseline or with actual cost.
04. Find the WBS line behind the variance
Scroll to Budget vs. EAC by WBS. Each main budget line shows its Baseline Budget, EAC and Variance. Sublines aren't listed here, so a line's figures include everything under it.
Design is on budget: $12,000.00 baseline and $12,000.00 EAC, 0.0%. Construction's EAC is $31,800.00 against a $30,000.00 baseline, which is -6.00%. Change Order Work has $4,500.00 of EAC and no baseline budget, so it has no variance of its own. Budget History shows why in this example: that work was estimated after Version 1 was baselined. A line like this adds to the EAC but not to the baseline.
So the 6,300.00 overrun has two sources: 1,800.00 from Construction running over its estimate, and 4,500.00 from work that was never in the baseline. The Total row shows the -15.00%. The project total can't tell those two apart, and they need different responses.
Next to it, Budget vs. Actuals by WBS compares each line's budget with its actual amounts. The Unmatched bar holds project actual amounts that couldn't be tied to a WBS line shown on the chart.
Look at the transactions behind an Unmatched amount before you decide what it means for the forecast. What counts as an actual depends on configuration. Project 360 actuals can include committed costs as well as actual costs, and when no default project cost variance account is set, unposted time isn't picked up as an actual.
05. Read profitability separately
Click Financial in the left menu. The Profitability indicator shows 23.0%. In the Profitability Report, the Total row shows cost $27,720.00, revenue $36,000.00 and profit $8,280.00. 8,280.00 / 36,000.00 = 23.0%.
The project is profitable on these figures even though it's forecast to finish 15.00% over its baseline. The margin compares revenue with the cost in the report. Budget vs. EAC measures the forecast total cost against the approved budget.
Item groups on this report come from the account's project profitability configuration, and the budget charts use it too. If that configuration has been customized, the Financial figures can differ from what you see on the budget pages.
06. Confirm the budget versions on the project
The project record holds the data the dashboard reads. Type Clinic in the global search and select Project: PRJ2417 Clinic Fit-Out Northgate. You can also open it from your projects list.
Open the Budget subtab, then Budget History. Each row is a project budget, with Baseline and EAC columns marking which one is which. Their descriptions in this example are Version 1, 2 and 3. Version 1 is the baseline, total cost 42,000.00. Version 2 raised the estimate to 46,000.00. Version 3 is the current EAC at 48,300.00. The move from 46,000.00 to 48,300.00 is the 5.00% rise the EAC tile showed. The EAC Budget and Baseline Budget subtabs show the lines of each version.
Check the result
- Budget vs. EAC is -15.00%: (42,000.00 − 48,300.00) / 42,000.00.
- Budget vs. EAC by WBS shows Construction at -6.00% ($31,800.00 against $30,000.00) and Change Order Work at $4,500.00 with no baseline.
- Construction's 1,800.00 plus Change Order Work's 4,500.00 is 6,300.00, the amount the EAC is over the baseline.
- The Profitability Report Total shows $8,280.00 profit on $36,000.00 of revenue, 23.0%.
- Budget History shows Version 1 as the baseline at 42,000.00 and Version 3 as the EAC at 48,300.00.
If the subtab says the data might not be up to date, use Actions > Recalculate Financial Data and compare again. It refreshes the calculated financial figures. It doesn't change the budgets. Your role needs access to that action.
Project 360 only reports the gap. What you do about it is a business decision. Approved change-order work may justify a new baseline, or a change order under your contract and billing process. Setting a new baseline also makes that budget the current EAC and moves the reference point for every later comparison, and it may need a specific role permission. An overrun on budgeted work, like Construction here, is a delivery question for the project team.
Common questions
What does a negative Budget vs. EAC mean in Project 360?
The estimate at completion is higher than the baseline budget, so the project is forecast to finish over budget. In this example the baseline is $42,000.00 and the EAC is $48,300.00, which gives -15.00%. Zero means the forecast matches the baseline exactly, and a positive number means it's under.
How does Project 360 calculate Budget vs. EAC?
It's (Baseline − EAC) / Baseline. Here that's (42,000.00 − 48,300.00) / 42,000.00 = -15.00%. With no baseline there's nothing to divide by, so you get a dash instead of a percentage.
What's the difference between a baseline budget and an EAC budget?
The baseline is the budget you set as the reference point to measure against. The EAC is the current forecast of what the whole project will cost. You can save a new EAC without touching the baseline, but setting a new baseline also makes that budget the current EAC.
What does vs. Previous EAC compare against?
The current EAC against the EAC budget before it. It doesn't compare with the baseline or with actual cost. Here the EAC went from 46,000.00 to 48,300.00, which is the 5.00% rise on the tile.
Why is my project over budget when the original WBS lines are close to their estimates?
Look for lines with an EAC and no baseline. In this example Design is on budget and Construction is only 1,800.00 over, but Change Order Work adds 4,500.00 that was never in the baseline. Together they make the 6,300.00 overrun behind the -15.00%.
What is the Unmatched bar in Budget vs. Actuals by WBS?
It's project actual amounts that Project 360 couldn't tie to a WBS line on the chart. Open the transactions behind it before deciding whether it's a mapping problem or real work the forecast is missing.
Why can a project show a positive margin and still be over budget?
They measure different things. Margin compares revenue with cost, so $8,280.00 of profit on $36,000.00 of revenue is 23.0%. Budget vs. EAC compares the forecast total cost with the baseline, and that's still 15.00% over.
Why do I get "A Project 360 access level must be assigned on your employee record"?
Your employee record doesn't have a Project 360 Access Level. An administrator has to set one. You'll still need a role and project access that let you see the projects, budgets and financial data.
Where does Project 360 get its budget and profitability numbers?
Budget, EAC and WBS figures come from the project's budgets, which you can see on the Budget subtab of the project record. Actuals come from project transactions, and the Financial page follows the account's project profitability configuration. If the Budget subtab says the data might not be up to date, run Actions > Recalculate Financial Data before comparing.
Should I rebaseline after an approved change order?
Only if the approved scope should become the new reference point under your budgeting and billing process. Rebaselining just to clear a red number hides the overrun, and the new baseline also becomes the current EAC. An overrun on work that was already budgeted, like Construction here, is a delivery question for the project team.