Resource Allocations
For information on the availability of Resource Allocations, please contact your account representative.
Resource Allocations are designed to help resource managers allocate and assign the right resources to projects based on availability, skill sets, and other criteria. After a resource has been allocated, or reserved, to a project, a project manager may then decide to assign that resource to a specific task.
You can also allocate resources directly to project tasks eliminating the requirement for resources to be assigned separately. This can be useful when the same person both allocates resources and assigns project tasks.
For each project, it is recommended that you choose to either allocate resources directly to project tasks or allocate resources to the project and then assign to project tasks. Using both resource allocations to project tasks and task assignments can create inconsistencies in your project data.
Resource allocations enable companies to get a good sense of employee utilization, a critical efficiency/productivity metric. NetSuite utilization reporting allows customers to select the metrics that matter most to them—worked hours, allocated hours, or assigned hours. These values are divided by available hours, taking into account work calendars and exempt time.
For information on enabling Resource Allocations, see Enabling Project Features.
When Resource Allocations is initially enabled, NetSuite creates resource allocation records for all existing project assignments using a work queue. Project records are not available during this time. After this process is complete, project records will be available.
Resource Allocation Records
Resource time is requested by entering a resource allocation record. When entering the record, you can select the resource, project, task, dates, and hours requested for each allocation. For ongoing, long-term projects, you can also set a recurrence schedule. After a resource allocation record has been created for a project, the allocated resource is available to be assigned to project tasks. If you select a project task when creating the allocation, you do not need to assign the allocated resource on the project task. For more information, see Assigning Resources with Allocations.
Resource allocation records for projects do not assign resources to any specific task. Allocating a resource to a project, as opposed to a project task, allows the resource to be assigned for specific tasks on projects they are allocated to.
For example, a resource manager creates a resource allocation record for Project A allocating a specific resource to 40 hours of work over a two week period. The manager does not select a specific project task on the allocation record. The allocated resource is now available on the project record to be assigned to specific project tasks.
Resource allocations for projects do not limit the time frame or duration of project tasks each employee can be assigned to. Resource allocation records should be used as a tool for resource utilization and planning.
NetSuite automatically levels the requested hours over the time period specified. For a resource who typically works a 40 hour work week, an allocation of 20 hours over two week would result in 2 hours per day of allocated project work.
If you also use Time-Off Management and select a time period that conflicts with approved time off, you will receive a warning when entering a new resource allocation. The Time-Off subtab on resource allocation records shows any approved time off for the selected employee. Resource managers can use this information to better plan their upcoming resource allocations.
Resource allocation records can be created directly from a project record by clicking the New Resource Allocation button at the top of the Resources subtab. Clicking the New Resource Allocation button automatically creates an allocation for the current project.
Creating a resource allocation from a project while in view mode requires the project record to be refreshed before the new allocation is available to assign to a project task.
You can also go to Activities > Scheduling > Resource Allocations > New to create a new allocation record. You view all your resource allocation records at Activities > Scheduling > Resource Allocations. If you use inline editing, you can update your resource allocation records directly in the list.
When updating the Allocate By field, any necessary recalculations to the Number of Hours and Percentage of Time fields occur after the page is refreshed.
If you make changes to both the Number of Hours and Percentage of Time fields, NetSuite will first look at the Allocate By field to determine which change to honor. For example, if the Allocate By field is set to Hours, then NetSuite will recalculate based on the change made to the Number of Hours field and ignore any updates made to the Percentage of Time field.
You can delete multiple resource allocation records from the list using inline editing. Select the record you want to delete by clicking in one of the editable fields. Hold down the Ctrl key and continue to select records to be deleted. When you have finished selecting records, hover over the green icon in the New column of any selected line and click Delete Record to delete all the selected records.
Assigning Resources with Allocations
With the Resource Allocations feature, you can allocate resources to individual projects or directly to project tasks.
For each project, it is recommended that you choose to either allocate resources directly to project tasks or allocate resources to the project and then assign to project tasks. Using both resource allocations to project tasks and task assignments can create inconsistencies in your project data.
When creating a new resource allocation in NetSuite, after you select a project in the Customer:Project field, the Project Task field is populated with all available tasks from the selected project. Selecting a specific project task allocates the chosen resource to that task within the project. Leaving the Project Task field blank allocates the resource to the selected project.
On the project task record, the Resources subtab lists all the project resources allocated to the task. The Estimated Work field is updated for both projects and project tasks based on the allocated time for each resource. You can create new resource allocations from the Resources subtab by clicking New Resource Allocation. Clicking the New Resource Allocation button automatically creates an allocation for the current project task.
Resources allocated to individual tasks can track time against those project tasks. If an allocation is deleted, the resource is no longer able to track any additional time against those project tasks.
Allocating by Percentage
In addition to allocating resources for a specific number of hours, you can also choose to allocate by percentage of time. When allocating a resource by percentage of time, NetSuite uses the resource’s work calendar and designated work hours to determine the number of hours per day in the certain time period the resource is allocated to the project.
For example, a resource that typically works 8 hours a day for a 5 day work week is allocated 50% for two weeks would work on the project 4 hours per day for a total of 40 hours.
Allocation Type
When creating a resource allocation, you must select the type of allocation—Hard or Soft.
In the Allocation Type field, select the type of allocation.
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Hard – This allocation request is not flexible; the resource is committed to the dates and hours required on this request.
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Soft – This allocation request is flexible; adjustments can be made to the date and hours if needed to accommodate other priorities.
The allocation type pertains to project scheduling and staffing methodology and not an indication of the allocation record being unavailable for editing. Records with a hard allocation type can be edited. It is a recommended best practice to use the allocation types as suggested above when creating resource allocations in NetSuite. Allocation types also have no effect on the availability of a resource to be assigned to any specific project task. Allocation types are intended as another tool for resource utilization and planning.
Resource Allocation Chart/Grid
After you have enabled Resource Allocations, you can install the Resource Allocation Chart/Grid SuiteApp. This SuiteApp can be installed directly from Setup > Company > Enable Features by clicking Resource Allocation Chart/Grid in the Related SuiteApps section under Resource Management.
Resource Allocation Chart/Grid is a shared bundle. Please contact your account manager for provisioning of the Resource Allocation Chart/Grid bundle.
When installed, administrators and resource managers can access the Resource Allocation Chart/Grid at Lists > Services > Resource Allocation Chart/Grid. The Resource Allocation Chart/Grid offers two tools for visually managing your resource allocations, with the ability to edit existing allocations and create new allocations directly from the chart or grid. For more information, see Resource Allocation Chart/Grid SuiteApp.
Resource Skill Sets
Resource Skills Sets enables you to add information to employee and vendor records about skills and expertise and then search that information for the best matched project resource.
You define skill categories that are available on the new Skills & Expertise tab on employee and vendor records. Employee and vendor records are updated by selecting skills and setting a skill level for each individual skill. Skill categories are defined for your company at Setup > Services > Skill Category.
This SuiteApp can be installed directly from Setup > Company > Enable Features by clicking Resource Skill Sets in the Related SuiteApps section under Resource Management. Resource Skills Sets is designed to work in tandem with Resource Allocations. However, Resource Allocations is not required to use Resource Skill Sets. For more information, see Resource Skill Sets.
Resource Skill Sets is a shared bundle. Please contact your account manager for provisioning of the Resource Skill Sets bundle.
Before you install the Resource Skill Sets SuiteApp, make sure that the Per-Employee Billing Rates feature is enabled in your NetSuite account. To enable the feature, go to Setup > Company > Enable Features and check the Per-Employee Billing Rates box under Time & Expenses in the Employees subtab. For more information, see Using Billing Classes.
Resource Manager Role
With Resource Allocations also comes a Resource Manager role. This role offers access to the standard Support Center with the addition of permissions to access resource allocations and projects. For more information about standard centers, see NetSuite Standard Centers.
After the Resource Allocation feature has been enabled, the resource manager and administrator roles both have access to resource allocations. Additional roles can be customized to add access to resource allocations. For more information on customizing roles, see Customizing or Creating NetSuite Roles.
Any user without access to custom record entries will not have access to skill, skill level, and skill set records in NetSuite or through SuiteScript. Employees will be able to set and update their skills through the My Skill Set page in the Employee Center.
If you use Approval Routing for resource allocations, only administrators can edit an unapproved resource allocation. For more information, see Resource Allocations Custom Approval Workflow.