Creating a Project or Shell Cash Flow Curve by Auto-distribution

As stated, the Cash Flow module enables you to visualize the distribution of costs planned, spent, and forecasted against time periods.

Example

If you spent $1000, $1500, $800, and $1000 in four months, then you can manually enter each amount in the corresponding time period, and the data can be displayed in a graphical format.

The manual distribution occurs when you set the distribution as manual and manually enter the data in all monthly periods; however, you can switch between a manual and a distribution profile.

You can access the Manual option through the:

At run time, the Profile column drop-down will have distribution profile options, and you can choose a distribution profile and amounts that must be distributed in each period. The remainder will remain in the unassigned column.

When you select the Manual option, the system will retain the amounts of the previous selections, and they are available for override.

The system uses the latest saved Profile for cash flow, while refreshing the data.

Distribution profiles are used to distribute data automatically in the cash flow worksheet. Since entering amounts for each period is sometimes a tedious task, you can use a combination of manual and auto distributions to enter amounts. So, to make the entry method simpler, you can select a distribution profile which would automatically distribute the amounts in each period.

Example

You have spent $1000 in 4 months, equally. Instead of entering $250 in each month I can select a linear distribution curve to distribute automatically.

The system allows you to switch to:

To create a project or shell cash flow curve by auto-distribution:

  1. In your shell, click the Cost Manager grouping node and click Cash Flow to open the log.
  2. Click Create and select Manual to open the New Cash Flow Worksheet window.
  3. Enter the required information in the left pane, and on the right pane select the curve type (for example, Baseline) to open the curve type window.
  4. In the curve type window, enter the values for the following fields:
    • Cost

      You can select Manual (to manually enter cost data), or you can select a cost under the Distribute amount from Cost Sheet Column (to have a set cost data).

    • Schedule

      You can select Manual (to manually enter the schedule data), or you can select dates from the Schedule Sheet or dates from the Activity Sheet.

    • Distribution

      You can select Manual (to manually enter the distribution data), or you can select a distribution method from the Company Level, or the Project Level. For example, you can select S curve from the Company Level block.

    • Variance

      You can select

      • Inflow (the amount assigned to the project as the budget) or
      • Outflow (the amount that has been spent and forecasted to be spent).
  5. When you finish, click Add.

    The New Cash Flow Worksheet window opens. On the New Cash Flow Worksheet window, the Curves block on the right pane, the distribution method is set as manual (Distribution: Manual).

  6. Click Save & Close to go back to the Cash Flow log.
  7. In the Cash Flow log, click to open the cash flow that you have created.
  8. Click the split screen icon (icon with three vertical dots), or slider, to see the cash flow details pane. Proceed to use the Expand or Dock icons Image of expand and dock icons, (upper-right corner) to maximize or to adjust the cash flow detail pane (All Curves) screen for better visibility.

    The cash flow details (the right pane) is presented through a table in the right pane shows the data for the curves. Each row of the table corresponds to one of the curves on the graph and displays the curve data in columns. The data in these columns show the distribution of cost, and the total of cost is the value in the Total field.

    • If you are doing an auto distribution by using a distribution profile, then the values in these columns will be calculated based on the distribution percentages.
    • If you are doing a manual distribution, then you will enter the values into each time period (distributing the amount in the Total column).
  9. In the cash flow details pane click the curve that you have selected curve type (for example, Baseline) to open the curve type window. The following scenarios will explain how to switch manual distribution to auto distribution and vice versa.

    Scenario 1 (Manual to Auto):

    The cash flow worksheet with default distribution profile is set to empty or manual distribution. The user is trying to override the manually distributed amounts with the auto-distributed profile selection, and save the worksheet.

    In this scenario, the Profile column will be editable so that user can quickly select the profile for distribution, but the selection will not be saved.

    The user does not need to provide the distribution for each month in the request to update the distribution values. The user can use the profile value to distribute the values automatically.

    Scenario 2 (Auto to Manual)

    The cash flow worksheet with default distribution profile is set as S Curve. The user is trying to override the auto-distributed values, and save the worksheet.

    In this scenario, although the distribution profile is set as auto amounts in each period, the fields will be editable.

    The user can choose to manually override the auto-distributed values, and the Profile will automatically change to Manual.

    The user can also choose a distribution profile and override the distributed amount manually.

Editing data (Manual to Auto)

When you switch from manual to a Profile the system updates the amounts in each period accordingly. When you override the auto distributed value, the Profile will change to empty, automatically.

You must save your changes to the Manual values by clicking Save on the worksheet.

If you click Cancel, then the worksheet will reset to the previously saved state.

Profile Options Menu in auto-distributed curve

The Profile drop-down field displays Manual, as an option. The profile will be manual when no distribution profile is selected in the auto-distribution profile, in the Properties window. You can switch between manual and distribution regardless of the profile selection, in the Properties window.

Bulk Edit

The Profile drop-down field in the bulk edit dialog is editable when the distribution is set to both auto-distribution or manual distribution. You can bulk update the Profile for multiple rows from Profile to manual or vice versa using the Bulk Edit option within the worksheet.

Refresh

When you refresh the cash flow log, the system will check against each CBS to identify whether the distribution is manual, or the distribution uses a distribution profile and then updates the amounts in each period accordingly.

Note: You can have a combination of manual and auto-distributed values in the same curve.

CSV import

Export in Manual Distribution

You can override the manual distributed costs by using a profile from the Profile column, in the worksheet.

In the Exported CSV template, the Profile column will be empty, but you can provide a valid profile name to quickly allow the distribution of that row by using profile through a CSV input request.

User can import the setup or distribution data by using the Import option. The system will combine the Import options as one single import option.

You can update the values within the Profile column in the worksheet.

If you select a profile as input

In the input CSV template, if you select profile, then the system will override the manual distributed costs with the profile, after a successful import.

Export in Auto-Distribution

The Export option in the worksheet, when the curve has auto-distribution selected should show all the worksheet column data and Profile column should show 'Manual' option if selected in UI. User can update the distributed costs when profile is selected as 'Manual' through CSV import.

When auto-distribution is selected for a curve, the Export option shows data for all of the worksheet, and the Profile column shows Manual.

You can update the distributed costs when the profile is selected as Manual, through CSV import.

Rest Services

You can update the cash flow curve or the distribution by using RESTful web services. You can:


Last Published Sunday, July 20, 2025