Have you ever calculated the cost of a project?
Tags: pm, productivity, product, cost
Published: 2023-06-30 11:50:02

Money, money, money...

It's a fascinating topic when we get it and spend it. It is sad and painful when you have to count how much we have lost 🥲.

If we talk about projects, in addition to the voluminous process of development, testing, and marketing, the shadow of costs always looms. And behind it are the mirages of expected profit.

And if we only live with the expectation that we will soon get a cash profit, not counting how much we spend in the process, then reality will quickly hit us on the head.

So, let's talk about money and how much it costs to develop a project 🧐

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## Project cost - expenses, people, reports

We ask anyone sensitive to costs to step away from the screen. For those with Scrooge McDuck's alter egos, please be very attentive.

Here's how we do it at [SaaSJet](https://saasjet.com/).
First, we use Jira. Yes, there are plenty of Jira haters, but don't rush to get annoyed and stop reading this post.

If you learn how to use it properly and use a third-party app, life becomes more colorful and better.

Therefore, we have created the [Cost Tracker for Jira Cloud](https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/1229405/cost-tracker-for-jira-cloud?hosting=cloud&tab=overview&utm_source=Dev&utm_medium=Article&utm_campaign=Post_Project-Cost_29062023) app and are currently actively using it. In addition, more than 2000 users have already appreciated its benefits along with us.

The algorithm is simple:

1 - Install the app from [ the Atlassian Marketplace](https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/1229405/cost-tracker-for-jira-cloud?hosting=cloud&tab=overview&utm_source=Dev&utm_medium=Article&utm_campaign=Post_Project-Cost_29062023). All users in your Jira are immediately synchronized with the addon.
2 - Next, you need to access the application. Financial information is quite sensitive. You must distribute accesses in the Manage Access tab according to your Jira user groups. Ask the Jira admin to create the necessary groups and rename them to clarify to whom you are giving access.
3 - Now an accountant enters the chat and assigns rates to users. A rate is the cost of an hour of work by one specialist. You also have the opportunity to set a billing rate if you sell the work of your developer/tester/etc. "on the side". 
 ![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/jsqc1v3p1knc3soqivmm.png) 
4 - Next, it's time to add the expenses accompanying the project development. Here, you can enter one-time and recurring expenses (e.g., Jira, Bitbucket, AWS, etc.). You can associate expenses with people, projects, specific tasks, and other objects.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/rrm2m8ydtbod8ravafgl.png)
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/6quomubavrrughnmxd23.png)
5 - The fifth step is to prepare the scope of work. Consider the situation that the user is interested in estimating the amount of work for the last month. Go to Jira filters and create a filter that selects all tasks with a work log for the previous month.

An example of a JQL query:
_(( «worklogDate» >= startOfMonth(-1) )) and (( «worklogDate» <= endOfMonth(-1) )) and project = Development_ 

This filter will be used for monthly reports. 

6 - The last step in the cost report is to go to the appropriate page and create the report. 
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/ltddly9cr4nm8qzsdc5c.png)

7 - Select a saved filter and specify the default hourly rate (this will help you get data for users who are not paid by the hour), the period for the activity log and direct expenses. 
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/co7bizsfg1d1wpxjyspg.png)
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/6f3hil5h4oum7ehg8laq.png)

Each report has a direct link to all its elements and will be adjusted as soon as something changes. For example, users can add missed expenses later, or someone can change the work log.

To finalize the report, the project manager can complete it to freeze all the numbers and have it ready for reporting to stakeholders, etc.

It can also be generated if you need a report with billing hours. And this is how it will look like:

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/bz54l0s3vmpqc0iwbgwz.png)

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We invite you to use [Cost Tracker](https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/1229405/cost-tracker-for-jira-cloud?hosting=cloud&tab=overview&utm_source=Dev&utm_medium=Article&utm_campaign=Post_Project-Cost_29062023) and calculate how much your projects cost.

We have a [30-day trial](https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/1229405/cost-tracker-for-jira-cloud?hosting=cloud&tab=overview&utm_source=Dev&utm_medium=Article&utm_campaign=Post_Project-Cost_29062023) for you, and the add-on is free for small teams of up to 10 users.

Share your thoughts in the comments 💭