How to Build a Financial Plan and Payment Schedule in CrmLeaf
Construction CRM edition only. Requires the construction vertical add-on module to be enabled for your account by an Administrator. Seeding a cost-code and phase project budget from the financial plan…
Availability: Construction CRM edition only. Requires the construction vertical add-on module to be enabled for your account by an Administrator. Seeding a cost-code and phase project budget from the financial plan additionally requires the Budget add-on module.
Overview
The financial plan turns an approved estimate into the money side of the job: how much the client pays, and when. Its payment schedule holds dated milestones, each of which can be marked as paid once the money arrives. This is the record the site's cash position is read from, and it is the reference point for milestone billing and for the project budget.
The financial plan sits after the estimate and BOQ in the construction delivery flow, and before build execution and maintenance.
How It Works
You create the financial plan for the site, break the client's payment into dated milestones, then keep the schedule current by marking each milestone paid as payments are received.
Estimate approved → Financial plan → Dated payment milestones → Mark as paid → Budget and milestone billing
- The financial plan and payment schedule are construction records of their own, held against the site.
- Each schedule entry carries a date, so the schedule can be read forward as expected cash and backward as collections.
mark-as-paidon a schedule entry stamps the paid date and the payment method on the entry.- For Construction accounts, the projects card view shows the next payment for the project alongside built-up area, floors and building type, so the schedule is visible without opening the plan.
- The Construction project budget template plans by cost codes and phases and is seeded from the financial plan and the estimates, so a seeded budget reports actuals immediately.
- The payment schedule is the plan for what the client owes. Milestone billing is the separate act of raising the invoice from the work a completed milestone consumed.
Who Can Use This Feature?
Administrator
- Decide who may create financial plans and mark schedule entries as paid.
- Enable the Budget module and create the Construction cost-code and phase budget for the project.
- Review the payment schedule against the approved estimate before the plan is used for billing.
User
- Create the financial plan for a site from the approved estimate.
- Enter the dated payment milestones that make up the schedule.
- Mark a schedule entry as paid and record the payment method.
Access depends on the modules and role assigned by your Administrator.
Prerequisites
- The construction vertical module enabled for your account.
- A construction site with an approved estimate, so the total to be scheduled is settled.
- The customer record on the site, because the client is who the schedule bills.
- The Budget module enabled if you intend to plan the job by cost codes and phases.
For Users
Step 1: Open the financial plan for the site
Open the site and go to its financial plan. Confirm the estimate the plan will be based on is the approved one.
Step 2: Create the financial plan
What to do: select Add and create the financial plan for the site. Record the total value to be collected and the currency, consistent with the approved estimate.
What to verify: the plan's total matches the estimate the client approved.
Step 3: Enter the dated payment milestones
What to do: add each payment milestone with its amount and its due date. Break the schedule the way the contract does, for example an advance on signing, staged payments as work completes, and a final payment on handover.
What to verify: the milestone amounts add up to the plan total, and each entry has a date. An entry without a date cannot be read as expected cash.
Step 4: Mark a milestone as paid when payment arrives
What to do: open the schedule entry and use mark-as-paid. Record the payment method used.
What to verify: the entry now shows the paid date and the payment method, and the site's next payment moves on to the following entry.
For Administrators
Step 1: Seed the project budget from the financial plan
What to do: with the Budget module enabled, create a budget for the delivery project using the Construction template. The template plans by cost codes and phases and is seeded from the financial plan and the estimates. Submit and approve the budget when the numbers are settled.
What to verify: the seeded budget lines reflect your cost codes and phases, and actuals appear immediately, because actuals are derived live from the project's expenses, time logs, purchase orders, bills and invoices rather than entered by hand.
Step 2: Review the schedule before billing starts
What to do: check the schedule dates against the programme, and confirm the client on the site is the client who will be invoiced.
What to verify: the project has a client, which is one of the conditions for invoicing a completed milestone.
Expected Result
The site has a financial plan whose payment schedule lists every dated payment milestone. Paid entries carry their paid date and payment method, the project's next payment is visible on the projects card view, and a Construction cost-code and phase budget can be seeded from the plan.
Service Organisation Context
This record belongs to the Construction CRM edition and stays a construction record. It is worth noting, though, that a construction firm is itself a project-based delivery business, and a dated payment schedule built from an approved estimate is the same deliverable-based billing pattern a consulting, implementation or engineering services organisation uses when it agrees staged fees for an engagement. A service reader can borrow the pattern rather than the screen: agree what the client pays at each stage first, then bill each stage from the work it actually consumed, as described in How to Invoice a Completed Project Milestone in CrmLeaf. Outside this edition the equivalent plan is normally carried as project milestones with their own costs and dates.
Important Notes
- Menu names and their position can differ between product editions and can be customised for your account, so your sidebar may not match these paths exactly. Use Search or your Quick Access items if you cannot find a screen.
- Marking a schedule entry paid records the collection against the plan. It is a separate act from raising the client invoice.
- Project budgeting is an add-on. Confirm the Budget module is included in your plan before promising cost-code reporting internally.
- Approving a budget locks its amounts. To change the numbers you revise the budget, which creates a new draft version and leaves the approved one on record.
- Keep the schedule and the programme aligned. A schedule that no longer matches site progress makes the next payment figure on the project card misleading.
Common Scenarios
Example: a three-stage residential contract. The plan holds an advance on signing, a payment on slab completion and a final payment on handover. Each is entered as a dated milestone. When the advance is received by bank transfer, the entry is marked paid with the method recorded, and the project card's next payment moves to the slab milestone.
Example: budgeting by phase. The Administrator seeds a Construction budget from the plan, with lines by cost code and phase. Actuals roll up from site expenses, labour time logs and purchase orders, so the budget cannot disagree with the operational screens, and anything no line claims appears in an uncategorised row.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Possible Cause | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| The financial plan screen is not available. | The construction vertical module is not enabled, or your role does not include it. | An Administrator enables the module or grants the permission. |
| You cannot mark an entry as paid. | Your role does not include the duty, or the entry is already paid. | Check the entry's current state, and ask an Administrator to grant the permission if needed. |
| The next payment is not shown on the project card. | No dated future entry exists on the schedule, or the schedule is not linked to the project. | Add the remaining dated entries and confirm the project and site are linked. |
| The Construction budget template is not offered. | The Budget module is not enabled for the account. | An Administrator enables it, subject to the plan. |
| Budget amounts cannot be edited. | The budget is approved, which locks the amounts. | Revise the budget to create a new draft version. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Does marking a payment schedule entry paid create an invoice?
No. The schedule records the plan and the collection. Client invoices are raised separately, including through milestone billing.
Where do the budget's actual figures come from?
They are derived live from the project's existing expenses, time logs, purchase orders and bills, and invoices. Actuals are never entered into the budget.
Can a project have more than one budget?
One primary budget per project. Revising a budget creates a new version and preserves the approved one.
Can I change a milestone date after the plan is created?
Edit the schedule entry, subject to your permission. Keep the total consistent with the plan and the approved estimate.
Related Articles
Our support team answers on business days. Reference CON-06 so we can jump straight in.