Budget Monitoring In Projects

10 tactics to control costs A guide which provides you the tools for cost reduction When I was head of finance, we were facing a challenge: → How to reduce our hourly rate to stay competitive This became my number one priority to help the business And we succeeded to decrease our hourly rate by 3% while inflation was up! Today I am sharing the tactics to reduce costs: 1. Budgeting and Forecasting: • Importance: Plan and estimate costs, revenue, and expenses. This is where you can get your team to commit on cost reduction. • Focus: Use accurate data and update budgets regularly. 2. Variance Analysis: • Importance: Compare actual performance with budgets to identify deviations. If you found a variation, there is a big chance that you have a topic to explore to reduce costs. • Focus: Investigate significant variances for improved accuracy. 3. Cost Allocation: • Importance: Distribute indirect costs for accurate pricing and control. • Focus: Maintain fair and updated allocation methods. 4. Activity-Based Costing: • Importance: Assign costs to specific activities for better resource allocation. • Focus: Identify and measure cost-driving activities accurately. 5. Zero-Based Budgeting: • Importance: Justify every expense to optimize resource allocation. • Focus: Balance rigor with operational continuity. 6. Cost-Benefit Analysis: • Importance: Compare project costs with expected benefits. • Focus: Consider tangible and intangible factors. 7. Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis: • Importance: Understand how sales, costs, and pricing impact profitability. • Focus: Validate fixed and variable cost assumptions. 8. Inventory Management: • Importance: Optimize inventory levels to reduce costs. • Focus: Use EOQ and JIT techniques for efficiency. 9. Vendor Management: • Importance: Evaluate and maintain supplier relationships. • Focus: Assess performance and diversify suppliers. 10. Procurement Management: • Importance: Acquire goods at the best cost with quality. • Focus: Establish clear procurement processes and collaboration. 👉 What is your favorite method to find cost reductions?

Budgeting ≠ Cutting down expenses Instead, it is about making smarter financial decisions that fuel growth, whether for your finances or business. But did you know there are different ways to build a budget? Here are four methods and when to use them:  → Incremental Budgeting –  This is the simplest and most common budgeting method. It works by taking last year’s budget and adjusting it slightly based on expected changes (inflation, growth, cost increases).  → Activity-Based Budgeting (ABB) - Instead of just tweaking last year’s numbers, ABB starts from scratch and links every cost to a specific business activity. It helps businesses optimize spending by understanding what truly drives costs.  → Value Proposition Budgeting – This method ensures every budget item contributes to the company’s value proposition. If an expense doesn’t add value to customers, employees, or stakeholders, it’s questioned or cut.  → Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB) - ZBB requires every expense to be justified from scratch, rather than assuming past expenses should continue. It’s a powerful way to eliminate inefficiencies and ensure spending aligns with strategic goals.  Each approach has its pros and cons and the best method depends on your goals and business model. Some companies even use a mix of these methods for different departments.  Have you tried any of these methods? #personalfinance

The harsh truth: Without proper techno-economic assessment, your net zero technology or project can be *just* a science experiment. Here’s what you need to know. Performing a techno-economic assessment (TEA) from the early stage of technology or project development will support your decision making. It will provide you with key insights into costs, benefits, and feasibility. Here’s a quick breakdown of the key steps in a TEA: 1. Define Your Goal and Scope • What are you trying to achieve with this assessment? • Set clear objectives, boundaries, and a functional unit (e.g., cost per ton of CO₂ avoided). 2. Design Your Process and System Boundaries • Map out the process with flow diagrams and identify all key input/output streams. • Establish clear boundaries to understand what’s included in the analysis. 3. Gather Data for Inventory Analysis • Collect data on capital expenditures (CAPEX), operating costs (OPEX), energy use, and material inputs. • Address gaps and uncertainties in data collection. 4. Perform Economic Modeling • Break down costs into CAPEX, OPEX, and variable costs. • Use tools like discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis to calculate metrics like NPV and ROI. 5. Assess Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) • Focus on critical metrics such as: • Cost per ton of CO₂ avoided • Energy efficiency • Payback period 6. Run Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analysis • Identify the most significant cost drivers and test assumptions under different scenarios. • Identify and understand financial risks 7. Interpret and Present Results • Link findings to actionable recommendations for optimization or decision-making. • Communicate results in a way that resonates with stakeholders (e.g., policymakers, investors). Pro Tip: Combine TEA with life cycle assessment (LCA) to address both economic and environmental impacts for a holistic evaluation. 💡 Want to learn how to build and apply a TEA for your net zero project? I’ll be hosting regular 2-day training sessions throughout 2025 to provide hands-on guidance and tools to evaluate your projects confidently. The first cohort will be announced later today (as I’m screening through 250 applications!) #CarbonCapture #Research #Scientist #Sustainability #NetZero #ChemicalEngineering #Professor

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗧𝗕𝗠 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆? Everyone talks about FinOps when it comes to cloud cost control. But TBM? It’s the only framework that provides a structured way to align IT spending - both digital and non-digital - with business value. Today most IT cost-cutting efforts focus on cloud costs. But what about on-prem data centers, networking, end-user computing, software licensing, IT service management, and physical infrastructure? That’s where TBM shines. Unlike FinOps, which primarily focuses on cloud cost management, TBM covers all IT spend - digital and non-digital. That means: ✓ On-prem data centers (server costs, cooling, power, maintenance) ✓ SaaS and enterprise software (license costs, renewals, shadow IT) ✓ Network infrastructure (bandwidth costs, MPLS, SD-WAN optimizations) ✓ End-user computing (desktops, mobile devices, IT support costs) ✓ IT services & outsourcing (managed services, BPOs, contract negotiations) This is what makes TBM different - it breaks IT costs into layers: ✓ Cost Pools – The raw IT expenses (hardware, software, labor, facilities, etc.). ✓ IT Towers – Logical groupings like compute, storage, network, and applications. ✓ Products & Services – The services IT delivers (e.g., CRM platforms, cloud storage, collaboration tools). ✓ Business Units – The actual consumers of IT resources (sales, marketing, HR, etc.). This multi-layer mapping gives granular visibility into IT spending. This enables CIOs and CFOs optimize across hybrid IT environments. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗕𝗠? Most organizations optimize reactively - shutting down workloads, cutting headcount, or delaying upgrades. TBM forces a proactive, data-driven approach by integrating: ✓ Cost transparency – Mapping IT costs to business units, services, and outcomes ✓ Showback/chargeback – Assigning costs directly to business teams for accountability ✓ Unit economics – Measuring IT efficiency per unit of business value (cost per transaction, cost per API call, etc.) ✓ Benchmarking – Comparing internal IT costs with industry standards to identify waste The result? ✓ IT isn’t just seen as a cost center - it becomes a strategic partner. ✓ Cost-cutting doesn’t compromise performance or innovation. ✓ Businesses make smarter investment decisions, balancing cost, quality, and value. Why TBM is still underappreciated? TBM doesn’t promise quick fixes. It requires a mature cost culture, strong leadership, and deep integration into financial planning. And the truth is - many companies don’t want to do the hard work. They’d rather cut budgets blindly than ask the harder question: "Is this IT spend actually driving business value?" The companies that do embrace TBM gain full control over IT costs - cloud, data center, software, infrastructure, services, everything. TBM is about spending right, not spending less. #TBM Technology Business Management (TBM) Council

📢 Power BI vs Tableau : Which Data Visualization Tool is Right for You? I worked in both power bi and tableau tools in different projects requirements. Power BI and Tableau stand as titans in the realm of business intelligence and data visualization, each offering distinct advantages tailored to different business needs. This comparison will help you decide which of these tools to use for your data science and analytics needs. The main differences between them are: Power BI, with its seamless integration with Microsoft products and user-friendly interface, proves advantageous for organizations heavily invested in the Microsoft ecosystem. On the other hand, Tableau boasts unparalleled data visualization capabilities and advanced analytics features, making it a preferred choice for data-driven enterprises requiring sophisticated insights. Power BI: ➡️ Developed by Microsoft ➡️ More affordable pricing options, with a free version and lower-cost Pro version ➡️ Strong integration with other Microsoft products, such as Excel and Azure ➡️ Emphasizes ease of use, with a user-friendly interface and simplified data modeling ➡️ Offers real-time collaboration features Tableau: ➡️ Developed by Tableau Software ➡️ Generally more expensive, with a free version (Public) but requiring more advanced licenses for enterprise use ➡️ Offers a wider range of advanced data visualization options and a more powerful data engine ➡️ Emphasizes data discovery and exploration, with robust data blending and data mapping capabilities ➡️ Offers robust mobile and web authoring options for easy sharing of insights and data visualizations. Happy Learning 😃 ! Any key points you would like to add? Let's discuss! Follow Nirav Prajapati for more posts related to #DataAnalytics and #DataScience. #powerbi #datavisualization #tableau #dataanalytics

🚀 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 — 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿 Cost overruns don’t come out of nowhere. They’re the result of decisions, blind spots, and bad assumptions made early on. Here’s a practical checklist to keep your next project on budget — without losing your sanity (or your sponsor’s trust): ✅ 𝟭. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 If your goals, scope, and success criteria are fuzzy, your numbers will be fiction. → Spend more time on alignment than estimates. ✅ 𝟮. 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 — 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 Projects evolve. Scope shifts. People leave. → Set aside a formal “change reserve” and update it monthly. ✅ 𝟯. 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 Historical data beats optimism. Always. → Where data is lacking, use AI to simulate risk-weighted scenarios. ✅ 𝟰. 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 Integration. Training. Stakeholder resistance. Opportunity costs. → Budget what you don’t see on the Gantt chart. ✅ 𝟱. 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗺 Risks aren’t just flags—they’re financial factors. → Quantify risk exposure and include it in your base forecast. ✅ 𝟲. 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 No one owns the numbers = everyone overspends. → Make ownership visible and tied to KPIs. ✅ 𝟳. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 Stakeholders need to see tradeoffs, not just numbers. → Frame your budget around value decisions, not just accounting. 💡 Every budget tells a story. Make sure yours isn’t a fiction. Which of these 7 shifts could help your team the most right now? ♻️ Repost to help project teams stop burning money through vague planning. 💾 Save this post for later—it’s your on-the-go checklist to budget integrity. ➕ And follow Markus Kopko ✨ for more. #projectleadership #budgeting #projectsuccess

Unlocking the Secrets of Cloud Costs: Small Tweaks, Big Savings! Three fundamental drivers of cost: compute, storage, and outbound data transfer. 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐎𝐩𝐬 refer to the strategies and practices for managing, monitoring, and optimizing costs associated with running workloads and hosting applications on provider’s infrastructure. 𝐖𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬: 💡𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭-𝐒𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬: 📌 Ensure you're using the right instance type and size. Cloud providers offer tools like Compute Optimizer to recommend the right instance size. 📌 Implement auto-scaling to automatically adjust your compute resources based on demand, ensuring you're only paying for the resources you need at any given time. 💡𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬: 📌 Serverless solutions like AWS Lambda, Azure Functions, or Google Cloud Functions allow you to pay only for the execution time of your code, rather than paying for idle resources. 📌 Serverless APIs combined with functions can help minimize the need for expensive always-on infrastructure. 💡𝐔𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬: 📌 If you're running containerized applications, services like AWS Fargate, Azure Container Instances, or Google Cloud Run abstract away the management of servers and allow you to pay for the exact resources your containers use. 📌 Use managed services like Amazon RDS, Azure SQL Database, or Google Cloud SQL to lower costs and reduce database management overhead. 💡𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 📌 Use the appropriate storage tiers (Standard, Infrequent Access, Glacier, etc.) based on access patterns. For infrequently accessed data, consider cheaper options to save costs. 📌 Implement lifecycle policies to transition data to more cost-effective storage as it ages. 💡𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 (𝐂𝐃𝐍𝐬): Using CDNs like Amazon CloudFront, Azure CDN, or Google Cloud CDN can reduce the load on your backend infrastructure and minimize data transfer costs by caching content closer to users. 💡𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐬: Set up monitoring tools such as CloudWatch, Azure Monitor etc. to track resource usage and set up alerts when thresholds are exceeded. This can help you avoid unnecessary expenditures on over-provisioned resources. 💡𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢-𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: Deploying applications across multiple regions increases data transfer costs. Evaluate if global deployment is necessary or if regional deployments will suffice, which can help save costs. 💡𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬: Most cloud providers offer free-tier services for limited use. Amazon EC2, Azure Virtual Machines, and Google Compute Engine offer limited free usage each month. This is ideal for testing or running lightweight applications. #cloud #cloudproviders #cloudmanagement #costops #tech #costsavings

Controversial take: Stop trying to do more marketing. Start eliminating the 60% of activities draining your resources. Here's the prioritisation framework I use with my clients to make every marketing dollar count: 1. For Strategic Direction: Impact/Effort Matrix Stop treating all marketing activities equally. Plot everything on this grid: → High Impact, Low Effort: Growth Accelerators (Must prioritise NOW) → High Impact, High Effort: Strategic Investments (Schedule with dedicated resources) → Low Impact, Low Effort: Quick Wins (Batch process when possible) → Low Impact, High Effort: Resource Drains (Eliminate or automate) The most successful CMOs spend 80% of their time on high-impact activities. Yet most marketing teams spread resources evenly across all quadrants. 2. For Campaign Selection: The 3C Framework Before launching any campaign, run it through these filters: → Check alignment with business goals: Does this directly support our primary objective? → Calculate potential ROI: Estimate returns using: Reach × Conversion × Value → Consider resource constraints: Rate campaigns by resources needed vs. available I've watched founders chase trendy channels with terrible ROI while ignoring proven channels simply because they weren't exciting enough. 3. For Budget Allocation: The 70/20/10 Rule Smart marketers divide their budget following this simple ratio: → 70%: Core marketing activities with proven returns → 20%: Emerging channels showing early success → 10%: Experimental initiatives with learning potential If you are just getting started, flip this model, pour all resources into experiments until you find green shoots. 4. For Daily Execution: The Eisenhower Matrix for CMOs Your time is your most valuable marketing asset. Protect it fiercely: → Urgent & Important: Campaign emergencies, key stakeholder requests aligned with objectives  → Important, Not Urgent: Strategy development, team coaching → Urgent, Not Important: Most emails, status meetings (Delegate these!) → Neither Urgent Nor Important: Vanity metrics, unfocused competitor research (Eliminate) The best marketing leaders I know spend most of their time in the "Important, Not Urgent" quadrant. The struggling ones live in "Urgent, Not Important." The startups I've seen scale fastest don't have bigger budgets or better tools. They're just ruthlessly disciplined about prioritisation. Which of these frameworks would have the biggest impact on your marketing efforts? Share below 👇 ♻️ Found this helpful? Repost to share with your network. ⚡ Want more content like this? Hit follow Maya Moufarek.

Analyzing spend data based solely on invoice information may present several challenges: Lack of Detail: Invoice data often lack the granularity needed for a comprehensive spend analysis. For example, invoices might not break down costs in a way that allows for easy categorization or identification of spending patterns across different departments or cost centers. Data Quality and Consistency Issues: Invoices can vary significantly in format, especially from different suppliers. This variance can lead to inconsistencies in how data is recorded, making it challenging to aggregate and analyze spend data effectively. For instance, different descriptions or categorization methods for similar items can lead to inaccuracies in spend analysis. Inability to Capture All Spend: Relying solely on invoice data for spend analysis can result in incomplete visibility into total spend. Not all purchases may result in an invoice processed through the accounts payable system, such as p-card transactions, employee reimbursements, or spend under certain thresholds that may not require formal invoicing. Delayed Visibility into Spend: Invoice processing can be delayed, meaning spend analysis might not reflect real-time or recent spend. This lag can hinder timely decision-making and the ability to promptly identify and address spend issues. Difficulty in Identifying Savings Opportunities: Without detailed and accurate spend data, it can be challenging to identify opportunities for cost savings, such as consolidating purchases to negotiate better prices, identifying off-contract spending, or pinpointing areas with potential for process improvements. Challenges in Supplier Management: Spend analysis based on invoices alone may not provide a complete picture of supplier performance, such as compliance with contract terms, quality of goods or services, and delivery reliability. This limitation can make it difficult to manage supplier relationships effectively and leverage strategic sourcing opportunities. Addressing these challenges often requires integrating invoice data with other sources of spend information, such as purchase orders or contracts to achieve a more comprehensive and accurate view of spend. Additionally, employing advanced data analytics tools and techniques and/or a purchase-to-pay solution can help clean, categorize, and analyze spend data more effectively, leading to better insights and decision-making. #procurement #purchasing #sourcing

How to Reduce Costs Effectively by Optimizing Resources (5M) and Other Methods In today’s competitive business environment, cost optimization is critical for sustainability and growth. At Akij Resource, we’ve been exploring ways to enhance efficiency and reduce unnecessary expenditures without compromising on quality or productivity. Here are some actionable insights: 1. Optimize the 5Ms The 5Ms—Man, Machine, Material, Method, and Money—are key resources for any operation. Here’s how to streamline them: • Man (Human Resources): Invest in upskilling and cross-training employees to perform multiple roles. This reduces dependency on a larger workforce while keeping morale high. • Machine: Maintain and upgrade equipment to avoid downtime and costly repairs. Use predictive maintenance and energy-efficient tools to cut costs. • Material: Minimize wastage through better inventory management and adopting a “just-in-time” approach. Consider recycling and sourcing sustainable materials. • Method: Simplify processes by adopting lean practices. Eliminate redundancies and focus on automation where feasible. • Money: Audit expenses regularly to identify unnecessary costs. Renegotiate with vendors and suppliers for better terms. 2. Embrace Digital Transformation Adopting digital tools such as ERP systems, business process management (BPM) software, or AI-powered analytics can help identify inefficiencies and optimize resource utilization. 3. Outsource and Collaborate For non-core functions, outsourcing can provide cost advantages. Collaborating with partners can also open opportunities for shared resources and infrastructure. 4. Leverage Data Use analytics to track performance, predict trends, and identify bottlenecks. For example, by analyzing production cycles, you can optimize energy use and reduce costs during peak periods. 5. Adopt Green Practices Energy-efficient lighting, renewable energy sources, and waste reduction initiatives not only lower costs but also enhance brand reputation. 6. Incentivize Cost Awareness Encourage employees to identify areas for cost savings by rewarding innovative ideas. Create a culture where every team member is mindful of operational efficiency. Reducing costs isn’t about cutting corners—it’s about smart allocation and optimization of resources. By focusing on the 5Ms and leveraging technology and collaboration, businesses can ensure long-term sustainability and profitability. What cost optimization strategies have worked best for your organization? Let’s discuss in the comments!