Creating a Cost Tracker Project

Create a project in Tempo Cost Tracker to track costs and revenue on a specific collection of issues, defined by a scope. A scope is created from a Jira filter, a structure, Jira projects, or Jira epics.

By default, you are set as the Project Owner of each Cost Tracker project you create. You can share a project with others or transfer the Project Owner role to another person. However, only a Project Owner can modify the project scope by changing the Jira filter. The individuals with whom you’ve shared the project can modify everything else.

If you log time for a future date, that time is not included in your current tracked costs. Costs are actualized when they occur.

In Cost Tracker, projects can be created based on a currency that calculates hourly rates or can be based on time that calculates hours worked.

You can create your projects as Monetary-based or Time-based. Monetary-based projects calculate costs, revenue, and budgets on hourly rates using a selected currency. Time-based projects calculate costs, revenue, and budget using labor hours.

For enterprises that operate on a budget per hour, a Time-based project can help you track the tasks and the project metrics per labor hours.

Before You Begin

• You must have the Tempo Cost Tracker Access global permission.

• Decide which Jira issues you want to include in your Tempo Cost Tracker project.

  • A project can’t initially include more than 10,000 issues.

• If you want to use a structure to define the scope of your project, you must have Structure by Tempo installed and the Connect to Structure app installed.

  • To use a structure as the project scope, you must have View access to the structure.

• You should also ensure that project team members have the appropriate permissions to log time against these issues using  Tempo Timesheets.

Create a Tempo Project in Cost Tracker

All fields are optional. You can simply create an empty project using default values, and New Project is added to the project list on the Cost Tracker home page. You can set your scope and configure your project settings at any time.

If a Tempo administrator has set a default project configuration, some fields already have a value. You can change these fields to meet the needs of the project you’re creating.

1. In your Jira instance, click Apps and then Tempo.

2. From Tempo sidebar, open Cost Tracker.

3. Click Create Tempo Project in the upper right. 
   

   

   The Create Tempo Project form opens.
   

   

4. Enter a Name for your project. You can use any UTF-8 character, including emojis.

5. Click the Scope field to set your project scope.

   

   • Jira Filter - Use this option when you want to use a JQL query to curate the issues to track. You can select a preexisting Jira filter or create a new one.
     Your starred filters appear at the top of the list in alphabetical order. Your other filters are ordered alphabetically afterward. 

   • Structure - Use this option when you have created a structure with the issues you want to track. This option is most useful when you have multiple projects or teams working on the same initiative or in the same cost center.
     If structures aren’t available and the Connect to Structure app is correctly installed, ensure that you’ve created a structure or have permissions to view the structure.

   • Jira Projects - Use this option when you want to track all the work done in specific Jira projects or if you want a quick, broad overview of a project’s budget. You can select multiple Jira projects; however, Cost Tracker can only import up to 10,000 issues when creating a project. If you only want to track current issues and completed issues within a specific timeframe, create a JQL query instead.

   • Epics - Use this option when you want to track specific Jira epics. The selected epics and all tasks within these epics are included. This option is best when you’re tracking a specific initiative or small project.

6. Select a Project Type.

   • Monetary-based: monetary-based calculations are per selected currency. Costs, revenue, and budget are calculated based on hourly rates.

   • Time-based: time-based calculations are per labor hours. Costs, revenue, and budget are calculated based on labor hours. For enterprises that operate on a budget per hour, a Time-based project can help them track the tasks and the project metrics per labor hours.

7. If you selected a Monetary-based project type:

   1. Enter a Default Hourly Rate for all project team members. When you enter a rate, you see actual costs incurred to date immediately. You can set a specific rate for each team role and each team member later.

   2. Select the Currency to use for this project.

8. Click Create to confirm, and the Tempo project is created.
   You can optionally click Create and Configure to create the project and then immediately configure it.

Issues from Jira or Structure are imported according to the default order and displayed in the Scope view. The project is added to the project list on the Cost Tracker home page.

If you created a Time-based project, metrics are presented in worked hours. The project is based on a budget in hours, where scope, cost, and team information are based on hours. Project revenues and budget milestones are calculated in terms of hours.

View Cost Tracker Projects

Click the Cost Tracker link at the top-left to go to the home page and view a complete list of your projects. The amount budgeted and the total actual costs for each are displayed.

The amounts displayed reflect the totals for the last time you accessed the project. When you open a project, the total hours worked are automatically updated.

Synchronize Your Cost Tracker Project

When you import issues or tasks to your Cost Tracker project, you’re creating a snapshot of your project at the time you created it. Keep your project up-to-date with changes in your Jira projects or structures by synching the scope of your project.

1. In the Scope tab, open the Scope menu.

2. Click Sync Scope.
   

   

Delete a Cost Tracker Project

When you delete a project, you are only deleting the project framework you defined - that is, the Cost Tracker project itself. The Jira filter and the issues linked to your project are not deleted.

1. Click Configuration in the Cost Tracker toolbar at the top right.

2. Click Delete Project.

3. Click Yes, Delete It to confirm.

   

Learn More

After you’ve created your cost tracker project, you can tailor it to meet your required reporting and tracking needs.